“Notre Dame de Paris,” an artistic analysis of the novel by Victor Hugo. Victor Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral": description, characters, analysis of the work Layers of society in the work Notre Dame Cathedral

MOSCOW STATE

UNIVERSITY OF PRINTING NAMED AFTER I. FEDOROVA

Institute of Publishing and Journalism

Department of Literary History

Course work

on the history of foreign literature

on the topic: Moral issues of V. Hugo's novel "Notre-Dame de Paris"

Performed:

student of group DCIDB-1-3

Dyatlova E. S.

Checked by: Associate Professor Shchepakova T. A.

Introduction

Life and work of V. M. Hugo

Historical and fictional in the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral"

Moral values ​​in the novel "Notre Dame de Paris"

Conclusion

Hugo novel moral graphic

Introduction

The object of study in this work is the text of Victor Hugo’s work “Notre Dame Cathedral”.

The purpose of the work is to study the moral issues of the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral".

During the study it is expected to solve the following problems:

· Getting to know the writer’s life and his work and determining the degree of influence of the events of his life on his work;

· Introduction to the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral”, identification of its distinctive features, structural analysis of the novel’s problems;

· Determination of the visual and expressive means used by the author in the work;

· Study of basic literature on these topics;

The research method is the method of system analysis.

The classic of world literature, Victor Marie Hugo, lived a long life and left a rich literary heritage: poems, plays, literary criticism, but it was his novels that brought him world fame. Especially famous are such works as “Les Miserables”, “The Man Who Laughs” and “Notre Dame Cathedral”. They ensured Hugo's fame and popularity even after almost two centuries due to the relevance of the ethical problems that he raised, enduring ideas and colorful images of characters that evoke empathy, which have long passed into the quality of literary types of heroes. In addition, of course, we should not forget about the author’s skill, which gives these works a masterpiece.

“Notre Dame de Paris” was the first full-fledged and incredibly successful novel by V. Hugo, translated into many languages. The history of its writing is very interesting, because we should not forget about the events that took place at that time: it was created on the eve of the July Revolution of 1830 as a “picture of Paris of the 15th century” and at the same time as a truly romantic work of “imagination, caprice and fantasy.” But the world around him captured the writer: the revolution forced him to postpone writing the novel for a while. But later, as his relatives say, he locked his clothes so as not to leave the house, and five months later, that is, at the beginning of 1831, Hugo appeared at the publisher with a finished novel. This book created a sensation among the people with its realism and picturesqueness. The author did not particularly focus his attention on the psychological analysis of the characters, but he did not need this for the novel to gain unimaginable popularity. "The Cathedral" impressed with the skill of contrasting characters to each other, the colorfulness of the descriptions, the melodrama of the situations - not without reason, Hugo himself called it a "dramatic novel." After all, it is built precisely on a dramatic principle. In his work, Hugo refers to France of the 15th century. At the same time, the main characters are not famous personalities, but ordinary people, residents of Paris. The main storyline includes the love stories of three men for one girl, the gypsy Esmeralda, who, in turn, prefers the handsome but vicious captain Phoebus de Chateaupert. The love of each of the heroes is very unique and different from each other: for some it is tender and submissive, and for others it is a passion that burns from within. All this happens against the backdrop of various historical and personal tragedies. At the same time, the author tells the tragic fates of such characters as Jehan Schoolboy, who succumbed to debauchery and died in the prime of his life, or Paquette Chantfleury, who lost her little daughter and found her in the person she hated most of all, but, alas, for a very short time. The destinies of the characters in "Cathedral" are directed by fate, which is announced at the very beginning of the work. It is symbolized and personified in the image of the Council itself, to which, one way or another, all threads of action converge. In addition, speaking about this building, the author reflects on eternal topics.

Critics of the time attacked Hugo like vultures, but the public did not attach any importance to this: the novel sold out among the people in huge editions so quickly that the publisher Gosselin begged Victor Hugo to give him something else. The poet promised two new novels: "La Quiquengrogne" ("Quicangrogne" - the proper name of the ancient tower) and "Le fils de la bossue" ("The Son of the Hunchback"), which, however, were never written.

So what is special and so significant about this work? Why can’t this beautiful but tragic love story leave anyone indifferent?

For many reasons: starting from the imagery of the characters, the simultaneous historicity and fabulousness of the narrative, ending with the timeliness of its creation - all the distinctive features of the novel can be listed without stopping. But the most important are reflections on eternal themes of morality. These things deserve special attention and detailed creative analysis.

1. Life and work of V. M. Hugo

Naturally, this essay served as a response to real life events. As is known from various sources, Victor Hugo himself distinguished himself not only in literature, but also in political and social activities.

His long, creatively rich life was closely connected with that significant era of French history, which began with the bourgeois revolution of 1789 and, through subsequent revolutions and popular uprisings of 1830-1831 and 1848, came to the first proletarian revolution - the Paris Commune of 1871. Young Hugo was still an adherent of royalist beliefs and an opponent of the Enlightenment philosophy of the 18th century and the revolution it prepared. In his first literary attempts, he sharply glorifies the figure of Napoleon and glorifies medieval France. Along with his age, Hugo underwent an equally significant political evolution from the monarchist errors of his early youth to liberalism and republicanism, in which he finally established himself after the revolution of 1848. This marked a simultaneous rapprochement with utopian socialism and strong support for the dispossessed masses, to whom the writer remained faithful until the end of his life. Hugo had a difficult life: he lost a loved one, resisted the power of Napoleon III, he was even forced to leave his homeland, although he was a peer, but despite this the people loved him. When he returned from an unplanned emigration, the crowd greeted him with applause and enthusiastic shouts: “Long live Hugo!”

And deservedly so. In addition to the fact that the writer fiercely defended the rights of the people, he made a huge contribution to literature. Victor Hugo, the leader and theorist of French romanticism, is considered an example of the romantic movement, despite some features of either classicism or realism in his works. His other great merit is his contribution to drama. He devoted many years of his life to the theater. And his achievements in creating the poem are undoubted. No wonder he is considered a reformer of French verse. Also, contemporaries, and simply connoisseurs of creativity, could be familiar with his graphic sketches on the themes of his own works, paintings.

But most of all, of course, he was loved by the people for his all-consuming philanthropy and compassion, thanks to which he is placed on a par with such great writers as Dostoevsky, Dickens, Tolstoy. Hugo is a worthy representative of the literature of his homeland in the great struggle of literature of the last century for the rights of the “humiliated and insulted.” Humanity will not forget the one who, before his death, summing up his activities, said with good reason: “In my books, dramas, prose and poems, I stood up for the small and unfortunate, begged the mighty and inexorable. I restored the jester, lackey, convict and prostitute." Victor Hugo died in Paris on May 22, 1885, at one and half in the afternoon. All the previous night, despite the bad weather, a large crowd stood in front of his house, waiting for information about the patient. When thousands of people surrounding the house were told that the great poet and citizen, the great “supporter of forgiveness,” loud sobs were heard. The visitors filed into the house in an endless line with the intention of expressing their sympathy to the family; Along with representatives of the press there were government officials, ordinary workers, secular people, members of the municipal council, and artists.

The patriotic publicist and democratic politician overcame the temptations of vanity, many prejudices and misconceptions generated by the environment, and came to the ideas of true humanism and mercy. He became the conscience of France in striving for the spiritual rebirth of humanity.

2. Historical and fictional in the novel "Notre Dame Cathedral"

Of course, many of these ideas for which Hugo was so admired were embodied in Notre Dame. As mentioned earlier, this novel was a response to the events surrounding the writer.

It was not by chance that the author turned to history and chose the 15th century as the time of the events of the novel. Thus, he tried to find an explanation for the future, the reasons that led to the reality around him. And he succeeded. First of all, this can be seen in the fact that in the novel he especially highlights the change in worldviews of the inhabitants of Paris in comparison with the orders of the Middle Ages as a common phenomenon of that time. Here, even more clearly than in poetry, the search for new moral values ​​is outlined, which the writer finds, as a rule, not among the rich and powerful, but among the dispossessed and despised poor. All the best feelings: kindness, sincerity, selfless devotion are inherent in the foundling and hunchback Quasimodo and the gypsy Esmeralda, who are the true heroes of the novel, while their opposites, who are in power, like King Louis XI or the same archdeacon Frollo, are distinguished by cruelty, fanaticism, indifference to the suffering of people. Therefore, Hugo deliberately pushed into the background prominent historical figures (Louis XI, Cardinal of Bourbon, Tristan Lhermitte), constructing the composition of the novel in such a way that the various classes of France of the 15th century appeared before the reader in the most vivid and imaginative way. For the novelist, it was much more important to show socio-historical conflicts than the clashes and intrigues of famous persons in history. Not without reason, he believed that historical science needed to be rewritten, since he believed that it paid more attention to the insignificant everyday affairs of the king than to the more important incidents among ordinary people .

The interest of the romantics in the Middle Ages largely arose as a response to the too strong attention of the classicists to antiquity. The desire to overcome the disdainful attitude towards the Middle Ages, which spread thanks to the enlightenment writers of the 18th century, for whom this time personified the kingdom of darkness and ignorance, useless in the history of human development, also played a role here. And finally, the Middle Ages attracted romantics with their unusualness, as the opposite of ordinary bourgeois life, a dull existence. It seemed to them that the people of that era were especially characterized by the ability to self-sacrifice and exploits, martyrdom in the name of beliefs, that then there lived people with strong characters, persistent, full of raging passions. All this looked very mysterious to them due to insufficient knowledge of the Middle Ages, which, meanwhile, was compensated by turning to folk tales and legends. After all, they had a special meaning for novelists. For example, in the preface to the collection of his historical poems, “The Legend of the Ages,” Hugo states that legend should be given equal rights to history: “The human race can be viewed from two points of view: from the historical and the legendary. The second is no less true than the first. The first is no less mysterious than the second." The Middle Ages appear in Hugo’s novel in the form of a history-legend against the backdrop of a masterfully recreated era.

The basis of this legend is the view of the historical process, unchanged throughout the entire creative career of the mature Hugo, as an eternal confrontation between two world principles: good and evil, mercy and cruelty, compassion and intolerance, feelings and reason. This is what arouses the writer’s interest much more than the analysis of a specific historical situation. Hence the well-known supra-historicism, the symbolism of the images of Hugo’s heroes, and their inherent timeless character. Hugo himself frankly admitted that history as such did not interest him in the novel: “The book has no claims to history, except perhaps to describe with a certain knowledge and a certain care, but only briefly and in fits and starts, the state of morals, beliefs, laws , arts, and finally, civilization in the fifteenth century. However, this is not the main thing in the book. If it has one merit, it is that it is a work created by imagination, whim and fantasy."

It is known that for the descriptions of the Cathedral and Paris in the 15th century, the depiction of the morals of the era, Hugo studied considerable historical material and allowed himself to show off his knowledge, as he did in his other novels. Medieval scholars and critics of the novel meticulously checked the “documentation” reviewed by Hugo and could not find any serious errors in it, despite the fact that the writer did not always obtain his information from primary sources. The great historian of the romantic era, Michelet himself, spoke highly of Hugo’s reconstruction of paintings of the past.

However, the main thing in the book, to use Hugo's words, is “whim and fancy,” that is, what was entirely created by his imagination and is very unlikely to be connected with history.

In turn, in “Notre Dame Cathedral” an idealistic concept of history is manifested: highlighting and revealing the contribution of the people to history, Hugo at the same time does not depict his real struggle against absolutism and feudalism, but shows only the possibilities of raising the national heroic spirit, the ability of the people to self-sacrifice, to all kinds of humane actions, which the writer put above all else and of which neither the nobles nor the clergy were in any way capable. The author depicts the image of the people through such characters as Pierre Gringoire and Jehan Frollo. So different they demonstrate the character of the people from opposite sides.

Pierre Gringoire is a dreamer, poet and philosopher, always open to new knowledge, looking for answers to eternal questions, promoting new ideas of the era of humanism. He is ready to help save the girl who personifies the soul of the people, because it was Pierre who provoked the poor to save her from the gallows. At the same time, as a representative of the new time, he is no longer ready for the feat of self-sacrifice that novelists associated with the Middle Ages.

On the other hand, Jehan Frollo, depraved, having lost moral values, he opposed the moral principles of his teacher and older brother, and all he needed from life was passions and pleasures. But it was he who continued the work of Pierre Gringoire and raised the spirit of the poor during the storming of the Cathedral. His courage bordered on recklessness, but his charm allowed him to attract the crowd with him.

"Feudalism requires a sharing of power with a theocracy, awaiting the emergence of the people who, as always happens, will take the lion's share." In other words, Hugo sought to show the people as the main driving spiritual force of history, all the significance of which is associated with the idea of ​​​​the triumph of true justice.

3. Contrast between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The main idea of ​​the novel

By the way, throughout the entire narrative the author compares medieval ossified dogmas and prejudices, depersonalization of man, feudalism and the ideas of the Renaissance, humanism, and the value of the human person. The first is expressed in the image of Archdeacon Claude Frollo. This man is harsh. He is a strict adherent of science, asceticism, renunciation of all life's pleasures in our usual understanding of the word. More precisely, he finds them for himself in science and religion. But the author shows what happens to him when he meets a gypsy and truly falls in love. He loses self-control, becomes a terrible person, capable of achieving his goals by force, deception and blackmail. He is cruel and rude. This is how the author shows us the true face of the Middle Ages. But, nevertheless, he does not forget his ideas. Claude Frollo turns out to be a symbol of the perverted human soul, crushed by the feudal order, and at the same time it is a real image of a 15th-century cleric who, with all his learning, superstitions and prejudices, cannot give vent to natural human passions. The Archdeacon, as a real person, is able to evoke compassion in the reader.

On the other hand, Esmeralda is a naive and passionate girl who loves dancing, nature, noise, outdoor life, and most importantly, freedom. From all the countries that the young girl visited, she accepted snatches of strange dialects, foreign songs and concepts. Residents of the neighborhoods where she visits love her for her cheerfulness, inspiration, for her dances and songs. Esmeralda is the poeticized “soul of the people”, her image is almost symbolic; but reality is given to him by her innocence and spontaneity, and therefore, this is the possible fate of any real girl from the people in those days.

The author draws another comparison between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in the comparison of architecture and printing. Human thought, liberated from the destructive influence of feudalism and Catholic dogmas, was able to spread thanks to the book. At first we feel a kind of regret that architecture is losing its power, because previously the main idea was the innermost essence of buildings, and especially temples, in their forms and even the very place that was chosen for them. “Every civilization begins with theocracy and ends with democracy,” writes Hugo. “This law of the consistent transition from autocracy to freedom is also imprinted in architecture.” The author looks at the evolution of the appearance of architecture along with the development of society. Notre-Dame de Paris was Hugo's greatest achievement. According to Michelet, Hugo built a poetic cathedral next to the old cathedral on such a solid foundation and with equally high towers. Indeed, Notre Dame Cathedral is an important connecting link for all the characters, all the events of the novel; this image carries a different semantic and associative load. The cathedral, built and remodeled by many hundreds of nameless masters, becomes the occasion for the creation of a poem about the talent of the French people, about national French architecture. But then he talks about how it is losing its function. Comparing these two types of art, he writes: “If, instead of those individual characteristic monuments that we have just mentioned, we examine the general appearance of this art from the 16th to the 18th centuries, we will notice the same signs of decline and thinness.” And on the other hand: “In the meantime, what happened to book printing? All the vital juices that dry up in architecture flow into it.”<…>“One should not be mistaken: architecture is dead, dead forever. It is killed by the printed book; killed because it is less durable; killed because it is more expensive.” Hugo considers printing as a progressive phenomenon of the 15th century and notes its victories in the struggle against the unquestioned authority of the Catholic Church, which consisted in the fact that it gave any person the opportunity to express their ideas. He calls her "the true representative of human thought." Through the lips of a man of the 19th century, Hugo reads the waste of Catholicism and creates a poetic hymn to the book, a faithful companion of human progress. In the fifth book of the novel, revealing the meaning of the words spoken by Archdeacon Frollo: “The book will kill the building,” Hugo writes: “In our opinion, this thought was dual. First of all, it was the thought of the priest. It was the fear of the clergy before a new force - printing; it was the horror and amazement of the altar server in front of Gutenberg's printing press emitting light... The church pulpit and the manuscript, the oral word and the handwritten word sounded the alarm in confusion before the printed word... It was the cry of the prophet, who already hears the noise and seething of liberated humanity, who already foresees the time when reason will shake faith, free thought will overthrow religion from its pedestal, when the world will shake off the yoke of Rome."

In this negative attitude towards medieval and Catholic ideals, Hugo expresses his ideas of humanism. But he also manages to do this in another image - the hunchback Quasimodo. Not handsome in appearance, having been subjected to persecution and hatred from people all his life, he retained kindness and meekness within himself. His abilities for tender love and care are especially revealed in his attitude towards Esmeralda. But it is in Quasimodo, whose name has already become a household name, that the idea of ​​forgiveness, born from a feeling of love for humanity, is embodied. It is significant that it was precisely this moral idea of ​​Hugo’s first novel that F. M. Dostoevsky highly appreciated. Proposing “Notre Dame de Paris” for translation into Russian, he wrote in the preface, published in 1862 in the magazine “Time”, that the idea of ​​this work is “the restoration of a lost person, crushed by the unjust oppression of circumstances... This idea is the justification of the humiliated and all the outcast pariahs of society." “Who would not think,” Dostoevsky further wrote, “that Quasimodo is the personification of the oppressed and despised medieval people... in whom love and the thirst for justice finally awakens, and with them the consciousness of their truth and their still unexplored infinite powers ". This is how Fyodor Mikhailovich expressed the main idea of ​​the novel. This is exactly the worldview that Victor Hugo himself came to during his life before the creation of this work through evolution and the formation of new political views and moral values. When he came to this idea of ​​humanism, philanthropy and personal freedom, his way of conveying it was precisely by writing “Notre Dame Cathedral,” the first major work of his life. Subsequently, it ran like a red thread through all of his work, especially large works. Such as "The Man Who Laughs" and "Les Miserables". In them, the heroes are also divided into two opposing “camps” - hard-heartedness and kindness, compassion and hatred, those in power and the people, old dogmas and new thinking.

3. Moral values ​​in the novel "Notre-Dame de Paris"

Victor Hugo created this novel pursuing not only historical and political goals. As in any other work, there is propaganda of some moral values, a life lesson that the author is trying to convey to the reader.

Firstly, this is, of course, the idea that internal beauty is much more important and valuable than external beauty. To convey it, the author contrasts two heroes: Quasimodo and Captain Phoebus de Chateaupert. Both fall under the attention of the beautiful Esmeralda, but only one deserves it, and the other does not.

Don't look at your face, girl

And look into the heart.

Such poems were composed by poor deaf Quasimodo. Yes, he is scary in appearance, oppressed by the crowd, hiding in the dark corners of the Cathedral from human cruelty, but his wonderful feelings for the gypsy reveal to us his sensitive, kind and affectionate soul. He is not only a symbol of the greatness of the people's soul, but also a symbol of moral righteousness. Yes, he dumps his adoptive parent the Archdeacon, but deservedly so. In addition, he himself condemns himself to death next to Esmeralda. This is how eternal love and true marriage “in sickness and in health” are depicted in our eyes until death or even after. The reader can only assume that the hunchback no longer saw the meaning of his life without his benefactor and without his love. This “marriage” is contrasted with the marriage of Phoebus, which is described in the book as follows: “Phoebus de Chateaupert also ended tragically. He got married.” Just two sentences, but how much meaning is conveyed in them, especially when you have known the hero throughout the entire novel. This unscrupulous and dishonest man becomes the object of Esmeralda’s pure and bright love and tries to take advantage of her. The author compares both of them with an ugly clay vase, but intact and full of water, and a crystal, cracked one, in which the flower has withered, unlike the first. The same can be said about the heroes: the captain is handsome on the outside, but with a rotten core, and the hunchback is unattractive on the outside, but beautiful on the inside.

Separately, in this struggle for Esmeralda’s love, it is worth highlighting Claude Frollo. He devoted his whole life to science, religion and holiness, confident that women could not touch his heart. But a sudden flare-up of passion turned him into a gray-haired old man ahead of time. To give an idea of ​​the appearance of Claude Frollo, the author recommends that the reader look at the engraving from the painting “The Alchemist” by Rembrandt, “this Shakespeare of painting.” He is also opposed to Quasimodo, only in a purely spiritual sense. Unlike the deaf, in the cleric love awakens depravity, burning passion. As he himself says, this is “the love of the outcast.” If in Claude the attraction to Esmeralda awakens only the sensual beginning, leads him to crime and death, perceived as retribution for the evil he has committed, then Quasimodo’s love becomes decisive for his spiritual awakening and development. The death of Quasimodo at the end of the novel, in contrast to the death of Claude, is perceived as a kind of apotheosis: it is the overcoming of physical ugliness and the triumph of the beauty of the spirit.

In addition, it is worth noting that the novel is filled with betrayal. Almost each of the heroes betrays someone: Jehan Frollo betrays his brothers, both the elder and the half-brother. He never listens to any of Claude's moral teachings, and also does not help Quasimodo at the trial, although he could talk about his deafness. In turn, the betrayal of the archdeacon is even more terrible: he betrayed God and his oaths. Another example of betrayal can be called the act of Pierre Gringoire at the very end, when instead of the girl he saved a goat, although he could well have saved both from death. All this does not evoke understanding in the reader, but rather only hostility, as, I think, was intended by the author.

The story of Paquette Chantfleury or Gudula evokes sympathy in the reader, despite her former way of life. This is the greatest maternal grief - the loss of a child, which prompted her to an ascetic life full of hardships in her cell. But she doesn’t need anything more than the return of her daughter. Of course, her tragic fate and end evoke only compassion, but at the same time, her hate-filled nature cannot be called pure and immaculate. True holiness does not lie in the conscious renunciation of life's comforts, but in forgiveness, the expulsion of hatred from one's heart.

These and many other moral concepts are contained on the pages of the novel, taking the reader away from betrayal, deception, hypocrisy or cruelty in the future, like the author’s moral teachings.

Visual and expressive means in the novel

Victor Hugo is known as the master of antithesis. His works contrast everything: from opposing world principles - good and evil, love and hate, to heroes, eras and much more. "Notre Dame Cathedral" is also built on contrast. For example, Claude Frollo is contrasted with several characters at once: Quasimodo in the correctness of his spiritual impulses and actions, Pierre Gringoire in philosophy and openness to the ideas of modern times, Esmeralda in spiritual purity. As mentioned earlier, the author compares printing and architecture, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, strict Catholicism and free humanism. Using the method of antithesis, he thus very clearly and clearly conveys to the reader his most important thoughts, his point of view, for this he does not require a lyrical hero.

The only thing that has no comparison or contrast in the book is the Council itself. Quite the contrary, it serves as a unifying milestone for everything: all events take place either in the building itself or near it on the Place de Greve, just as the characters are constantly located near it or inside it. In addition, its architecture combines styles from all eras due to constant alterations and additions. But the Cathedral not only serves as a connecting link, being an expression of the soul of the people and the philosophy of the era, it becomes the personification of fate or “Ananke” for the heroes. It is for this reason that the novel is named after him.

It is also worth noting that this building has become a popular place, both among Parisians themselves and among visitors, precisely thanks to the talented, colorful and detailed description of Victor Hugo, which is very characteristic of the writer’s style. His novels often contain long digressions. Sometimes they are not directly related to the storyline, but they are always distinguished by their poetry, picturesqueness or educational value. This is how we get to know Paris in great detail, thoroughly, but at the same time excitingly. The reader can vividly imagine both the city itself and the Cathedral. But this is the best evidence of the author’s talent.

Hugo's dialogue is lively, dynamic, colorful. His language and manner of narration are filled with comparisons, metaphors and epithets. In addition, developing the position about language as a means of expressing thought, Hugo notes that if each era brings something new to language, then “each era must also have words expressing these concepts.” Therefore, he also includes in the novel terms characteristic of a particular environment or profession. Victor Hugo is a true master of words and pen. The reader is immersed in the setting he depicts and reads his novels with rapture.

Conclusion

Thus, we come to the conclusion that the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral” is a fascinating, amazing story, filled with both truth and fiction. This is the author’s attempt to find the reasons surrounding the events of the 19th century in the distant past, to understand why France came to revolution and uprisings. But at the same time, he is convinced that the explanation for all this should be sought not in historical science, which considers only the actions of kings and prominent political figures, but in the moods wandering among the masses. Hugo's confidence that ordinary people are the main uplifting spiritual and political force of any country is very vividly embodied in the novel. And he also conveys to the reader his belief that the whole essence of justice and morality lies in the diverse and all-encompassing worldview of the people.

Using the best romantic techniques and some principles of drama, the writer contrasts the strict and gloomy Middle Ages, nevertheless, full of feats of self-sacrifice and martyrdom, and the free Renaissance with its innovative philosophy of humanism. And as the main principle of life, he considers philanthropy, respect for the individual, compassion and mercy. It is precisely this worldview that the novelist comes to in adulthood, having endured many hardships and sorrows, which provokes him to write his first major work in his life, which provided the author with such enormous popularity, carried through the centuries. Despite his peerage and upbringing, Hugo dedicated his life to defending the rights of the common people out of love for them. It is not without reason that he makes the main characters of the novel precisely those from different social strata of society. In response, readers admired him and adored his picturesque books, absorbing all the moral values ​​dictated in them.

The writer touched on eternal questions, tried to find answers to what tormented him, and convey them to the reader. Thanks to his talent and skill, as well as his closeness to the ordinary person and citizen, his intercession for him and his love for humanity, his name has been etched in the centuries along with Dostoevsky, Dickens and Tolstoy. He became an honored representative of France in the romantic direction, as well as in intercession for the ideals of mercy, and his first novel, Notre-Dame de Paris, is a beautiful work that has become a classic of literature, a testament to the genius of the author, which will still be read by generations and generations.

List of used literature

1.Hugo V. Notre Dame Cathedral. Novel / Transl. from fr. N. Kogan. - M.: "Eksmo", 2003, 539 p.

Evnina E.M. Victor Hugo. - M.: Nauka, 1976, 215 p.

Lunacharsky A.V. Victor Hugo. The creative path of a writer. T.6 - M. - L.: Goslitizdat, 1931, 320 p.

Paevskaya A. N. Victor Hugo: His life and literary activity. - M.: Book on Demand, 2011. - 50 p.

Tolmachev M.V. Witness of the century Victor Hugo. Collected Works in 6 volumes. T.1. M.: Pravda, 1988, 295 p.

Treskunov M.V. Hugo. Notre Dame Cathedral. - Chisinau: “Cartea Moldovenasca”, Chisinau, 447 p.

Tutoring

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Sections: Literature

Goals:

Educational:

1. Introduce students to the work of Victor Hugo.
2. Teach interpretation of literary text.

Educational:

1. To develop the ability to analyze an epic work.
2. Develop students' independent judgment.

Educational:

1. Develop students' coherent speech.
2. Expand your horizons.
3. Cultivate a love of art.

Equipment: board, chalk, multimedia projector.

During the classes

I. Teacher's opening speech.

Hello guys! Today we continue to study the work of V. Hugo. In this lesson we will study the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral” - a work that reflects the past through the prism of the views of a writer - a humanist of the 19th century, who sought to emphasize those features of the past that are instructive for the present. But before that, let’s review the material we studied.

II. Repetition of what has been learned.

1. What are the years of V. Hugo’s life (Appendix 1).

2. Name the stages of V. Hugo's creativity.

I. (1820-1850)

II. Years of exile (1851-1870)

III. After returning to France (1870-1885)

3. Where was V. Hugo buried? Adele Foucher

4. Name the main features of V. Hugo's work.

• The main principle for Hugo’s romantic poetics is the depiction of life in its contrasts. He believed that the determining factor in development is the struggle between good and evil, that is, the eternal struggle of the good or divine principle with the evil, demonic principle.
• The evil principle is those in power, kings, despots, tyrants, high dignitaries of the church or unrighteous state law.
• A good beginning is those who bring goodness and mercy.
• Perception of the world in many dimensions (not only in the present time, but also in the distant past).
• Striving for a truthful and multifaceted portrayal of life.
• Contrast, grotesque, and hyperbole are Hugo's main artistic techniques.

What is grotesque? Grotesque is a style, a genre of artistic imagery, based on a contrasting combination of verisimilitude and caricature, tragedy and comedy, beauty and ugliness. For example, the image of Quasimodo (ugly) and Esmeralda (beautiful.)

What is a hyperbole? Hyperbole is an exaggeration of certain properties of an object to create an artistic image. Let's look at the example of Quasimodo's image:

“ The poor baby had a wart on his left eye, his head sunk deep into his shoulders, his spine curved, his chest protruding, his legs twisted; but he seemed tenacious, and although it was difficult to understand what language he was babbling in... Quasimodo, one-eyed, hunchbacked, bow-legged, was only “almost” a man”.

III. Checking homework.(Appendix 3)

Now let’s listen to a short message on the topic: “The history of the creation of the novel”:

“The beginning of work on “Notre Dame Cathedral” dates back to 1828. Hugo's appeal to the distant past was caused by 3 factors in the cultural life of his time: the widespread use of historical themes in literature, a passion for the romantically interpreted Middle Ages, and the struggle for the protection of historical and architectural monuments.

Hugo conceived his work at the time of the heyday of the historical novel in French literature.

The idea to organize the action around Notre Dame Cathedral was entirely his; it reflected his passion for ancient architecture and his activities in defense of medieval monuments. Hugo visited the cathedral especially often in 1828 while walking through old Paris with his friends - the writer NODIER*, the sculptor DAVID D ANGE, the artist DELACROIX*.

He met the first vicar of the cathedral, Abbot EGZHE, the author of mystical works that were later recognized as heretical by the official church, and he helped him understand the architectural symbolism of the building. Without a doubt, the colorful figure of Abbot EGGE served the writer as a prototype for Claude Frollo.

The preparatory work on the novel was careful and scrupulous; none of the names of the minor characters, including Pierre Gringoire, were invented by Hugo; they were all taken from ancient sources.

In the first manuscript of 1828, Phoebus de Chateaupert is missing; the central link of the novel is the love of two persons for Esmeralda - Claude Frollo and Quasimodo. Esmeralda is accused only of witchcraft.

* Charles Nodier (1780-1844) - French writer.
* EUGENE DELACROIX (1798-1863) – French painter, distinguished by his love of nature, sense of reality “Dante and Virgil”...

IV. Work on the analysis of the epic text.

Now let's turn directly to the analysis of the novel.

In this novel, V. Hugo addresses the events of the 15th century. The 15th century in the history of France is the era of transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Only one historical event is indicated in the novel (the arrival of ambassadors for the marriage of the Dauphin* and Margarita Flanders in January 1482), and historical characters (King Louis XIII, Cardinal of Bourbon) are relegated to the background by numerous fictional characters.

HISTORICAL REFERENCE.

* since 1140, the title of the rulers of the county of Dauphine (old province of France, mountainous area).
* Louis XIII - King of France in 1610 - 1643. Son of Henry IV and Marie de Medici.

Explain why the novel is called “Notre Dame Cathedral”?

The novel is called this because the central image is a cathedral.

Indeed, the image of Notre Dame Cathedral, created by the people over centuries, comes to the fore.

HISTORICAL REFERENCE (Appendix 2)

Construction of the cathedral, according to plans drawn up by Bishop Maurice de Sully, began in 1163, when the first foundation stone was laid by King Louis VII and Pope Alexander III, who specially came to Paris for the ceremony. The main altar of the cathedral was consecrated in May 1182, by 1196 the temple was almost finished, work continued only on the main facade. Towers were erected in the second quarter of the 13th century. But the construction was completely completed only in 1345, during which time the original construction plans were changed several times.

In this novel, for the first time, the writer raised a serious socio-cultural problem - the preservation of architectural monuments of antiquity.

Find a fragment in the novel that talks about the author’s attitude towards the cathedral as an architectural monument of antiquity.

“Later, this wall (I don’t even remember exactly which one) was either scraped or painted over, and the inscription disappeared. This is exactly what they have been doing for two hundred years with the wonderful churches of the Middle Ages. They will be mutilated in any way - both inside and outside. The priest repaints them, the architect scrapes them; then the people come and destroy them.”

Regretfully. “This was the attitude towards the marvelous works of art of the Middle Ages almost everywhere, especially in France.”

What are the three types of damage that the author talked about? (Example from text)

“ On its ruins one can distinguish three types of more or less deep damage:

1. “Dealt by the hand of time”.

2. “...then hordes of political and religious unrest rushed at them... which tore apart the luxurious sculptural and carved decoration of the cathedrals, knocked out rosettes, tore necklaces of arabesques * and figurines, and destroyed statues.”

3. “The destruction of fashion has been completed, more and more pretentious** and ridiculous.”

* arabesque is a complex patterned ornament of geometric shapes and stylized leaves.

** pretentious - overly intricate, complicated, intricate.

Do you agree with the opinion of V. Hugo?
- Name the main characters of the novel?

Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Claude Frollo.

It is important to note that the fates of all the main characters in the novel are inextricably linked with the Council, both by the external outline of events and by the threads of internal thoughts and motivations.

Let's take a closer look at the image of Claude Frollo and his connection with the cathedral.

Who is Claude Frollo? (TEXT)

Claude Frollo is a clergyman, ascetic and learned alchemist.

What do you know about Claude's life?

“ Indeed, Claude Frollo was an extraordinary person.

By origin, he belonged to one of those families of the middle circle, which in the irreverent language of the last century were called either eminent citizens or minor nobles.

Claude Frollo from infancy was destined by his parents for the clergy. He was taught to read Latin and instilled in him the habit of lowering his eyes and speaking in a low voice.

He was by nature a sad, sedate, serious child who studied diligently and quickly absorbed knowledge.

He studied Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Claude was obsessed with a real fever to acquire and accumulate scientific wealth.

The young man believed that there was only one goal in life: science.

...Parents died of the plague. The young man took his brother (baby) in his arms... imbued with compassion, he felt passionate and devoted love for the child, for his brother. Claude was more than a brother to the child: he became his mother.

At the age of twenty, with the special permission of the papal curia, he was appointed clergyman of Notre Dame Cathedral.

... Father Claude's fame extended far beyond the cathedral.

How do people feel about him?

He was not loved either by respectable people or by the small people who lived near the cathedral.

How did Quasimodo treat him?

He loved the archdeacon as much as no dog, no elephant, no horse had ever loved their master. Quasimodo's gratitude was deep, ardent, boundless.

How did Esmeralda feel about Claude Frollo?

She is afraid of the priest. “For how many months has he been poisoning me, threatening me, scaring me! Oh my God! How happy I was without him. It was he who plunged me into this abyss...”

Do you think Claude Frollo is a dual person? If yes, please explain? How is this duality expressed? (examples from the text).

Certainly. Claude Frollo is a dual person, because on the one hand, he is a kind, loving person, he has compassion for people (he raised his younger brother, put him on his feet, saved little Quasimodo from death, taking him into his upbringing); but on the other hand, he has a dark, evil force, cruelty (because of him Esmeralda was hanged). TEXT: “Suddenly, in the most terrible moment, satanic laughter, laughter in which there was nothing human, distorted the deathly pale face of the priest.”

Now let's trace Claude Frollo's connection with the cathedral.

Remember how Claude feels about the cathedral?

Claude Frollo loved the cathedral. “I loved the inner meaning of the cathedral, the meaning hidden in it, I loved its symbolism hidden behind the sculptural decorations of the facade.” In addition, the cathedral was the place where Claude worked, practiced alchemy, and simply lived.

What events in the life of Claude Frollo are connected with the cathedral?

Firstly, it was at the cathedral, in a manger for foundlings, that he found Quasimodo and took the foundling to himself.
Secondly, “from his galleries the archdeacon watched Esmeralda dancing in the square” and it was here that he “begged Esmeralda to take pity on him and give him love.”

Let us consider in detail the image of Quasimodo and his connection with the cathedral.

Tell us about the fate of Quasimodo?

From childhood, Quasimodo was deprived of parental love. He was raised by Claude Frollo. The priest taught him to speak, read, and write. Then, when Quasimodo grew up, Claude Frollo made him a bell ringer in the cathedral. Due to the strong ringing, Quasimodo lost his hearing.

How do people feel about Quasimodo?
- Is everything the same? (find a fragment from the text)

• ABOUT! Nasty monkey!
• As evil as she is ugly!
• The devil in the flesh.
• Oh, vile mug!
• O vile soul.
• A disgusting monster.

Why are people so cruel to Quasimodo?

Because he's not like them.

Do you think Quasimodo is a dual character or not?
- How is this expressed?

Certainly. On the one hand, Quasimodo is evil, cruel, bestial, his very appearance instills fear and horror in people, he does all sorts of nasty things to people, but on the other hand, he is kind, he has a vulnerable, gentle soul and everything he does is just a reaction to that evil , which people do to him (Quasimodo saves Esmeralda, hides her, takes care of her).

Do you remember the events in the life of the hunchback that are associated with the cathedral?

Firstly, in the cathedral the hunchback hid Esmeralda from people who wanted to kill her.
Secondly, here he killed the brother of the priest Jehan and Claude Frollo himself.

What does the cathedral mean to Quasimodo?

“A refuge, friend, protects him from the cold, from man and his malice and cruelty... The cathedral served for him as an egg, a nest, a home, a homeland, and finally, the Universe.” “The cathedral replaced not only people for him, but also the entire universe, all of nature.”

Why does Quasimodo love the cathedral?

He loves it for its beauty, for its harmony, for the harmony that the building exuded, for the fact that Quasimodo felt free here. My favorite place was the bell tower. It was the bells that made him happy. “He loved them, caressed them, spoke to them, understood them, was gentle with everyone, from the smallest bells to the largest bell.”

Does the attitude of the people affect the character of Quasimodo?

Undoubtedly it has an impact. “His malice was not innate. From his very first steps among people, he felt and then clearly realized himself as a being rejected, spat upon, branded. Growing up, he encountered only hatred around him and became infected with it. Pursued by general anger, he himself picked up the weapon with which he was wounded.”

What role does Claude Frollo play in the life of the hunchback?

Claude picked him up, adopted him, fed him, raised him. As a child, Quasimodo was accustomed to take refuge at the feet of C. Frollo when he was being pursued.

What does Quasimodo mean to Claude?

The archdeacon had in him the most obedient slave. The most efficient servant.

Another main character in the novel is Esmeralda

Who is she?

Gypsy.

Find a description of Esmeralda in the text.
- What can you say about her?

“In the spacious, free space between the fire and the crowd, a young girl danced.

Was this young girl a human being, a fairy or an angel...

She was short in stature, but seemed tall - that was how slender her figure was. She was dark-skinned, but it was not difficult to guess that her skin had that wonderful golden hue that is characteristic of Andalusian and Roman women. The little foot was also the foot of an Andalusian woman - she walked so lightly in her graceful shoe. The girl danced, fluttered, twirled on an old Persian carpet carelessly thrown at her feet, and every time her radiant face appeared in front of you, the gaze of her large black eyes blinded you like lightning...

Thin, fragile, with bare shoulders and slender legs occasionally glimpsed from under her skirt, black-haired, quick as a wasp, in a golden bodice that tightly fitted her waist, in a colorful billowing dress, shining with her eyes, she truly seemed like an unearthly creature...”

Esmeralda is a very beautiful girl, cheerful and bright.

How do people feel about Esmeralda?

a) People (Argotines)?

The Argotinians and Argotine women quietly stood aside, making way for her, their brutal faces seemed to brighten at her mere glance.

b) Pierre Gringoire?

“Lovely woman!” “...I was fascinated by the dazzling vision.” “Really,” thought Gringoire, “this is a salamander, this is a nymph, this is a goddess.”

c) Claude Frollo?

“The only creature that did not arouse hatred in him.” “...To love her with all the fury, to feel that for the shadow of her smile you would give your blood, your soul, your good name, your earthly and afterlife for this...” "I love you! Your face is more beautiful than God’s face!..”

“I love you and have never loved anyone but you. The captain had repeated this phrase so many times under similar circumstances that he blurted it out in one breath, without forgetting a single word.”

So, the main characters of the novel are Esmeralda, Quasimodo, C. Frollo. They are the embodiment of one or another human quality.

Think about what qualities Esmeralda is endowed with?

Hugo endows his heroine with all the best qualities inherent in representatives of the people: beauty, tenderness.

Esmeralda is the moral beauty of the common man. She has simplicity, naivety, incorruptibility, and loyalty.

Indeed, but, alas, in a cruel time, among cruel people, all these qualities were rather shortcomings: kindness, naivety, simplicity do not help to survive in the world of anger and self-interest, so she dies.

What about Quasimodo?

Quasimodo is Hugo's humanistic idea: ugly in appearance, rejected by his social status, the cathedral bell ringer turns out to be a highly moral person.

What are the qualities that Quasimodo has?

Kindness, devotion, the ability to love strongly, selflessly.

Remember Phoebus de Chateaupere. What qualities does he have?

Phoebus is selfish, heartless, frivolous, cruel.

He is a bright representative of secular society.
- What qualities does Claude Frollo have?

Claude Frollo is kind and merciful at the beginning, but at the end he is a concentration of dark gloomy forces.

V. Summing up.

VI. Homework.

We looked at the main characters in the novel by V. Hugo

“Notre Dame Cathedral”.

Open your diaries and write down your homework:

Write a short essay - an argument on the topic: “Why did the author end the novel this way?”

LITERATURE.

1. Hugo V. Notre-Dame de Paris: A Novel. - M., 2004.
2. Evnina E.M. V.Hugo. – M., 1976.
3. Notes on foreign literature: Materials for the exam / Comp. L.B. Ginzburg, A.Ya. Reznik. - M., 2002.

The idea for the novel “Notre Dame de Paris” arose from Hugo in the early 20s and was finally formed by mid-1828. The prerequisites for the creation of an epoch-making work were the natural cultural processes that took place in the first third of the 19th century in France: popularity in literature historical topics, the writers’ appeal to the romantic atmosphere of the Middle Ages and the public struggle for the protection of ancient architectural monuments, in which Hugo took a direct part. That is why we can say that one of the main characters of the novel, along with the gypsy Esmeralda, the bell ringer Quasimodo, the archdeacon Claude Frollo, the captain of the royal riflemen Phoebus de Chateaupert and the poet Pierre Gringoire, is Notre Dame Cathedral itself - the main scene and an invisible witness to the key events of the work.

In working on the book, Victor Hugo relied on the literary experience of Walter Scott, a recognized master of historical novels. At the same time, the French classic already understood that society needed something more vibrant than his English colleague, operating with typical characters and historical events, could offer. According to Victor Hugo, it should have been “...at the same time a novel, a drama and an epic, of course, picturesque, but at the same time poetic, real, but at the same time ideal, truthful, but at the same time at the same time majestic" (magazine "French Muse", 1823).

“Notre Dame de Paris” became exactly the novel the French writer dreamed of. He combined the features of a historical epic, a romantic drama and a psychological novel, telling the reader the incredible private lives of different people, taking place against the backdrop of specific historical events of the 15th century.

Chronotope novel, organized around Notre Dame Cathedral - a unique architectural monument that combines the features of Romanesque and Gothic architecture - includes Parisian streets, squares and districts running from it in all directions (Cathedral and Grève Square, Cité, University, City, " Courtyard of Miracles”, etc.). Paris in the novel becomes a natural continuation of the Cathedral, towering over the city and protecting its spiritual and social life.

Notre Dame Cathedral, like most ancient architectural monuments, according to Hugo, is the Word embodied in stone - the only restraining force for the rude, uneducated Parisian people. The spiritual authority of the Catholic church is so great that it easily turns into a refuge for Esmeralda, accused of witchcraft. The inviolability of the temple of the Mother of God is violated by the royal archers only on the orders of Louis XI, who asked for prayerful permission for this act from his heavenly patroness and promised to bring her a beautiful silver statue as a gift. The French king has nothing to do with Esmeralda: he is only interested in the revolt of the Parisian mob, who, in the opinion of Louis XI, decided to kidnap the witch from the Cathedral in order to put her to death. The fact that people are striving to free their sister and get rich at the expense of church riches does not occur to either the king or his entourage, which is an excellent illustration of the political isolation of the authorities from the people and lack of understanding of their needs.

The main characters of the novel are closely connected with each other not only by the central love theme, but also by his affiliation with Notre Dame Cathedral: Claude Frollo is the archdeacon of the temple, Quasimodo is a bell ringer, Pierre Gringoire is a student of Claude Frollo, Esmeralda is a dancer performing on Cathedral Square, Phoebe de Chateaupert is the groom of Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier, living in a house whose windows overlook the Cathedral.

At the level of human relationships, characters intersect with each other through Esmeralda, whose artistic image is the plot-forming element for the entire novel. The beautiful gypsy in “Notre Dame Cathedral” attracts everyone’s attention: Parisian townspeople enjoy watching her dances and tricks with the snow-white goat Djali, the local mob (thieves, prostitutes, imaginary beggars and cripples) reveres her no less than the Mother of God, the poet Pierre Gringoire and the captain of the royal riflemen Phoebus experience physical attraction to her, the priest Claude Frollo has a passionate desire, Quasimodo has love.

Esmeralda herself - a pure, naive, virgin child - gives her heart to the outwardly beautiful, but internally ugly Phoebus. The girl's love in the novel is born out of gratitude for salvation and freezes in a state of blind faith in her lover. Esmeralda is so blinded by love that she is ready to blame herself for Phoebus’s coldness, having confessed under torture to the murder of the captain.

Young handsome man Phoebe de Chateaupert- a noble man only in the company of ladies. Alone with Esmeralda - he is a deceitful seducer, in company with Jehan the Miller (Claude Frollo's younger brother) - he is a fair foul-mouthed man and a drinker. Phoebus himself is an ordinary Don Juan, brave in battle, but cowardly when it comes to his good name. The complete opposite of Phoebus in the novel is Pierre Gringoire. Despite the fact that his feelings for Esmeralda are not particularly sublime, he finds the strength to recognize the girl as a sister rather than a wife, and over time, to fall in love with her not so much as a woman, but as a person.

The unusually terrible bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral sees the personality in Esmeralda. Unlike other heroes, he pays attention to the girl no earlier than she shows concern for him by giving water to Quasimodo standing at the pillory. Only after getting to know the gypsy’s kind soul does the hunched freak begin to notice her physical beauty. External discrepancy between yourself and Esmeralda Quasimodo worries quite courageously: he loves the girl so much that he is ready to do everything for her - not to show himself, to bring another man, to protect her from an angry crowd.

Archdeacon Claude Frollo- the most tragic character in the novel. The psychological component of “Notre Dame de Paris” is connected with it. A well-educated, fair, God-loving priest, falling in love, turns into a real Devil. He wants to achieve Esmeralda's love at any cost. There is a constant struggle within him between good and evil. The archdeacon either begs the gypsy for love, then tries to take her by force, then saves her from death, then he himself gives her into the hands of the executioner. A passion that finds no outlet ultimately kills Claude himself.

Composition

The novel “Notre Dame de Paris”, which we are considering in this work, provides convincing evidence that all the aesthetic principles set forth by Hugo are not just a theorist’s manifesto, but the foundations of creativity deeply thought out and felt by the writer.

The basis, the core of this legendary novel is the view of the historical process, unchanged throughout the entire creative career of the mature Hugo, as an eternal confrontation between two world principles - good and evil, mercy and cruelty, compassion and intolerance, feelings and reason. The field of this battle in different eras attracts Hugo to an immeasurably greater extent than the analysis of a specific historical situation. Hence the well-known supra-historicism, the symbolism of the heroes, the timeless nature of psychologism. Hugo himself frankly admitted that history as such did not interest him in the novel: “The book has no claims to history, except perhaps to describe with a certain knowledge and a certain care, but only briefly and in fits and starts, the state of morals, beliefs, laws , arts, finally, civilization in the fifteenth century. However, this is not the main thing in the book. If it has one virtue, it is that it is a work of imagination, whim, and fancy.” However, it is reliably known that to describe the cathedral and Paris in the 15th century, depicting the morals of the era, Hugo studied considerable historical material. Researchers of the Middle Ages meticulously checked Hugo’s “documentation” and could not find any serious errors in it, despite the fact that the writer did not always draw his information from primary sources.

The main characters of the novel are fictitious by the author: the gypsy Esmeralda, the archdeacon of Notre Dame Cathedral Claude Frollo, the cathedral bell ringer the hunchback Quasimodo (who has long since become a literary type). But there is a “character” in the novel who unites all the characters around him and wraps almost all the main plot lines of the novel into one ball. The name of this character is included in the title of Hugo's work. This name is Notre Dame Cathedral.

The author's idea to organize the action of the novel around Notre Dame Cathedral is not accidental: it reflected Hugo's passion for ancient architecture and his activities in defense of medieval monuments. Hugo visited the cathedral especially often in 1828 while walking through old Paris with his friends - the writer Nodier, the sculptor David d'Angers, and the artist Delacroix. He met the first vicar of the cathedral, Abbot Egge, the author of mystical works that were later recognized as heretical by the official church, and he helped him understand the architectural symbolism of the building. Without a doubt, the colorful figure of Abbot Egge served as the writer’s prototype for Claude Frollo. At the same time, Hugo studied historical works, made numerous extracts from books such as “History and Study of the Antiquities of the City of Paris” by Sauval (1654), “Review of the Antiquities of Paris” by Du Brel (1612), etc. The preparatory work on the novel was such in a thorough and scrupulous manner; none of the names of the minor characters, including Pierre Gringoire, were invented by Hugo; they were all taken from ancient sources.

Hugo's concern about the fate of architectural monuments of the past, which we mentioned above, is more than clearly visible throughout almost the entire novel.

The first chapter of book three is called “The Cathedral of Our Lady.” In it, Hugo talks in poetic form about the history of the creation of the Cathedral, very professionally and in detail characterizes the building’s belonging to a certain stage in the history of architecture, describes its greatness and beauty in a high style: “First of all - to limit ourselves to the most striking examples - it should be pointed out that it is unlikely in the history of architecture there is a more beautiful page than the facade of this cathedral... It is like a huge stone symphony; a colossal creation of both man and people, united and complex, like the Iliad and the Romancero, to which it is related; a wonderful result of the combination of all the forces of an entire era, where from every stone splashes the imagination of the worker, taking hundreds of forms, guided by the genius of the artist; in a word, this creation of human hands is powerful and abundant, like the creation of God, from whom it seems to have borrowed its dual character: diversity and eternity.”

Along with admiration for the human genius who created the majestic monument to the history of mankind, which Hugo sees as the Cathedral, the author expresses anger and sorrow that such a beautiful building is not preserved and protected by people. He writes: “Notre Dame Cathedral is still a noble and majestic building. But no matter how beautiful the cathedral remains, decrepit, one cannot help but grieve and be indignant at the sight of the countless destruction and damage that both years and people have inflicted on the venerable monument of antiquity... On the forehead of this patriarch of our cathedrals, next to the wrinkle, you invariably see a scar... .

On its ruins one can distinguish three types of more or less deep destruction: first of all, those that are inflicted by the hand of time, inconspicuously gouging and covering the surface of buildings with rust, are striking; then hordes of political and religious unrest, blind and furious in nature, rushed at them randomly; completed the destruction of fashion, more and more pretentious and absurd, replacing one another with the inevitable decline of architecture...

This is exactly what they have been doing for two hundred years with the wonderful churches of the Middle Ages. They will be mutilated in any way - both inside and outside. The priest repaints them, the architect scrapes them; then the people come and destroy them”

The image of Notre Dame Cathedral and its inextricable connection with the images of the main characters of the novel

We have already mentioned that the fates of all the main characters of the novel are inextricably linked with the Council, both by the external outline of events and by the threads of internal thoughts and motivations. This is especially true of the inhabitants of the temple: Archdeacon Claude Frollo and the bell ringer Quasimodo. In the fifth chapter of book four we read: “...A strange fate befell the Cathedral of Our Lady in those days - the fate of being loved so reverently, but in completely different ways, by two such dissimilar creatures as Claude and Quasimodo. One of them - a semblance of a half-man, wild, submissive only to instinct, loved the cathedral for its beauty, for its harmony, for the harmony that this magnificent whole radiated. Another, gifted with an ardent imagination enriched with knowledge, loved its inner meaning, the meaning hidden in it, loved the legend associated with it, its symbolism hidden behind the sculptural decorations of the facade - in a word, loved the mystery that has remained for the human mind from time immemorial Notre Dame Cathedral."

For Archdeacon Claude Frollo, the Cathedral is a place of residence, service and semi-scientific, semi-mystical research, a container for all his passions, vices, repentance, throwing, and, ultimately, death. The clergyman Claude Frollo, an ascetic and alchemical scientist personifies a cold rationalistic mind, triumphing over all good human feelings, joys, and affections. This mind, which takes precedence over the heart, inaccessible to pity and compassion, is an evil force for Hugo. The base passions that flared up in Frollo’s cold soul not only lead to his own death, but are the cause of the death of all the people who meant something in his life: the archdeacon’s younger brother Jehan dies at the hands of Quasimodo, the pure and beautiful Esmeralda dies on the gallows, handed over by Claude to the authorities, the pupil of the priest Quasimodo, first tamed by him and then, in fact, betrayed, voluntarily commits himself to death. The cathedral, being, as it were, an integral part of the life of Claude Frollo, even here acts as a full participant in the action of the novel: from its galleries the archdeacon watches Esmeralda dancing in the square; in the cell of the cathedral, equipped by him for practicing alchemy, he spends hours and days in studies and scientific research, here he begs Esmeralda to take pity and give him love. The cathedral ultimately becomes the site of his terrible death, described by Hugo with stunning power and psychological authenticity.

In that scene, the Cathedral also seems almost an animated being: only two lines are devoted to how Quasimodo pushes his mentor from the balustrade, the next two pages describe Claude Frollo’s “confrontation” with the Cathedral: “The bell-ringer retreated a few steps behind the archdeacon and suddenly, rushing at him in a fit of rage, he pushed him into the abyss, over which Claude bent... The priest fell down... The drainpipe over which he stood stopped his fall. In despair, he clung to it with both hands... An abyss yawned beneath him... In this terrible situation, the archdeacon did not utter a word, did not utter a single groan. He just wriggled, making superhuman efforts to climb up the chute to the balustrade. But his hands slid along the granite, his legs, scratching the blackened wall, searched in vain for support... The Archdeacon was exhausted. Sweat rolled down his bald forehead, blood oozed from under his nails onto the stones, and his knees were bruised. He heard how with every effort he made, his cassock, caught on the gutter, cracked and tore. To top off the misfortune, the gutter ended in a lead pipe that bent under the weight of his body... The soil gradually disappeared from under him, his fingers slid along the gutter, his arms weakened, his body became heavier... He looked at the impassive sculptures of the tower, hanging like him , over the abyss, but without fear for himself, without regret for him. Everything around was stone: right in front of him were the open mouths of monsters, below him, in the depths of the square, was the pavement, above his head was a crying Quasimodo.”

A man with a cold soul and a heart of stone in the last minutes of his life found himself alone with a cold stone - and did not expect any pity, compassion, or mercy from him, because he himself did not give anyone compassion, pity, or mercy.

The connection with the Cathedral of Quasimodo - this ugly hunchback with the soul of an embittered child - is even more mysterious and incomprehensible. Here is what Hugo writes about this: “Over time, strong ties connected the bell-ringer with the cathedral. Forever cut off from the world by the double misfortune that weighed on him - his dark origin and physical deformity, closed since childhood in this double insurmountable circle, the poor fellow was accustomed to not noticing anything that lay on the other side of the sacred walls that sheltered him under their canopy. While he grew and developed, the Cathedral of Our Lady served for him as an egg, then a nest, then a home, then a homeland, then, finally, the universe.

There was undoubtedly some kind of mysterious predestined harmony between this creature and the building. When, still quite a baby, Quasimodo, with painful efforts, made his way at a galloping pace under the gloomy arches, he, with his human head and animal body, seemed like a reptile, naturally arising among the damp and gloomy slabs...

Thus, developing under the shadow of the cathedral, living and sleeping in it, almost never leaving it and constantly experiencing its mysterious influence, Quasimodo eventually became like him; it seemed to have grown into the building, turned into one of its constituent parts... It is almost without exaggeration to say that it took the form of a cathedral, just as snails take the form of a shell. This was his home, his lair, his shell. Between him and the ancient temple there was a deep instinctive attachment, a physical affinity...”

Reading the novel, we see that for Quasimodo the cathedral was everything - a refuge, a home, a friend, it protected him from the cold, from human malice and cruelty, it satisfied the need of a freak rejected by people for communication: “Only with extreme reluctance did he turn his gaze to of people. A cathedral populated by marble statues of kings, saints, bishops, who at least did not laugh in his face and looked at him with a calm and benevolent gaze, was quite enough for him. The statues of monsters and demons also did not hate him - he was too similar to them... The saints were his friends and protected him; the monsters were also his friends and protected him. He poured out his soul to them for a long time. Squatting in front of a statue, he talked with it for hours. If at this time anyone entered the temple, Quasimodo would run away, like a lover caught in a serenade.”

Only a new, stronger, hitherto unfamiliar feeling could shake this inextricable, incredible connection between a person and a building. This happened when a miracle, embodied in an innocent and beautiful image, entered the life of an outcast. The name of the miracle is Esmeralda. Hugo endows this heroine with all the best traits inherent in representatives of the people: beauty, tenderness, kindness, mercy, simplicity and naivety, incorruptibility and loyalty. Alas, in cruel times, among cruel people, all these qualities were more disadvantages than advantages: kindness, naivety and simplicity do not help to survive in the world of anger and self-interest. Esmeralda died, slandered by her lover, Claude, betrayed by her loved ones, Phoebus, and not saved by Quasimodo, who worshiped and idolized her.

Quasimodo, who managed, as it were, to turn the Cathedral into the “killer” of the archdeacon, earlier, with the help of the same cathedral - his integral “part” - tries to save the gypsy by stealing her from the place of execution and using the cell of the Cathedral as a refuge, i.e. a place, where criminals persecuted by law and authority were inaccessible to their pursuers, behind the sacred walls of the refuge the condemned were inviolable. However, the evil will of people turned out to be stronger, and the stones of the Cathedral of Our Lady did not save Esmeralda’s life.

At the beginning of the novel, Hugo tells the reader that “several years ago, while examining the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, or, more precisely, examining it, the author of this book discovered in a dark corner of one of the towers the following word inscribed on the wall:

These Greek letters, darkened with time and quite deeply carved into the stone, are some features characteristic of Gothic writing, imprinted in the shape and arrangement of the letters, as if indicating that they were inscribed by the hand of a medieval man, and especially the gloomy and fatal meaning in them concluded, deeply struck the author.

He asked himself, he tried to comprehend whose suffering soul did not want to leave this world without leaving this stigma of crime or misfortune on the forehead of the ancient church. This word gave birth to this book.”

This word means "Rock" in Greek. The destinies of the characters in “Cathedral” are directed by fate, which is announced at the very beginning of the work. Rock here is symbolized and personified in the image of the Cathedral, to which all the threads of action somehow converge. It can be considered that the Council symbolizes the role of the church more broadly: the dogmatic worldview - in the Middle Ages; this worldview subjugates a person just as the Council absorbs the destinies of individual characters. Thus, Hugo conveys one of the characteristic features of the era in which the novel takes place.

It should be noted that if the romantics of the older generation saw in the Gothic temple an expression of the mystical ideals of the Middle Ages and associated with it their desire to escape from everyday suffering into the bosom of the religion of otherworldly dreams, then for Hugo medieval Gothic is a wonderful folk art, and the Cathedral is an arena of non-mystical, but the most everyday passions. and otherworldly dreams, then for Hugo medieval Gothic is a wonderful folk art, and the Cathedral is an arena not of mystical, but of the most everyday passions.

Hugo's contemporaries reproached him for not being Catholic enough in his novel. Lamartine, who called Hugo “the Shakespeare of the novel” and his “Cathedral” “a colossal work,” wrote that in his temple “there is everything you want, but there is not a bit of religion in it.” Using the example of the fate of Claude Frollo, Hugo strives to show the failure of church dogmatism and asceticism, their inevitable collapse on the eve of the Renaissance, which was the end of the 15th century for France, depicted in the novel.

There is such a scene in the novel. Before the archdeacon of the cathedral, the stern and learned guardian of the shrine, lies one of the first printed books to come out of Gutenberg's printing press. It happens in Claude Frollo's cell at night. Outside the window rises the gloomy bulk of the cathedral.

“For some time the archdeacon silently contemplated the huge building, then with a sigh he extended his right hand to the open printed book lying on the table, and his left hand to the Cathedral of Our Lady and, turning his sad gaze to the cathedral, said:

Alas! This will kill that.”

The thought attributed by Hugo to the medieval monk is the thought of Hugo himself. She gets his rationale. He continues: “...So a sparrow would have been alarmed at the sight of the angel of the Legion, spreading his six million wings before him... That was the fear of a warrior watching the copper ram and announcing: “The tower will collapse.”

The poet-historian found a reason for broad generalizations. He traces the history of architecture, treating it as “the first book of humanity,” the first attempt to consolidate the collective memory of generations in visible and meaningful images. Hugo unfolds before the reader a grandiose procession of centuries - from primitive society to ancient society, from ancient society to the Middle Ages, stops at the Renaissance and talks about the ideological and social revolution of the 15th-16th centuries, which was so helped by printing. Here Hugo's eloquence reaches its apogee. He composes a hymn to the Seal:

“This is some kind of anthill of minds. This is the hive where the golden bees of the imagination bring their honey.

This building has thousands of floors... Everything here is full of harmony. From Shakespeare's Cathedral to Byron's Mosque...

However, the wonderful building still remains unfinished.... The human race is all on scaffolding. Every mind is a mason.”

Using Victor Hugo's metaphor, we can say that he built one of the most beautiful and majestic buildings to be admired. his contemporaries, and more and more new generations never tire of admiring him.

At the very beginning of the novel, you can read the following lines: “And now nothing remained either of the mysterious word carved into the wall of the gloomy tower of the cathedral, or of that unknown fate that this word so sadly denoted - nothing except the fragile memory that the author of this dedicates books to them. Several centuries ago, the person who wrote this word on the wall disappeared from the living; the word itself disappeared from the cathedral wall; perhaps the cathedral itself will soon disappear from the face of the earth.” We know that Hugo’s sad prophecy about the future of the cathedral has not yet come true, and we would like to believe that it will not come true. Humanity is gradually learning to treat the works of its own hands more carefully. It seems that the writer and humanist Victor Hugo contributed to the understanding that time is cruel, but it is human duty to resist its destructive onslaught and protect the soul of the creator people embodied in stone, in metal, in words and sentences from destruction.

Tatiana Sokolova

Victor Hugo and his novel Notre Dame

http://www.vitanova.ru/static/catalog/books/booksp83.html

Victor Hugo, the author of the novel “Notre Dame de Paris,” one of the most famous works of world literature, as a writer and as a person is a separate bright page in the history of the 19th century and, above all, in the history of French literature. Moreover, if in French culture he is perceived as Hugo primarily as a poet, and then as an author of novels and dramas, then in Russia he is known primarily as a novelist. However, despite all such “discrepancies,” he invariably rises against the backdrop of the 19th century as a monumental and majestic figure.

In the life (1802-1883) and work of Hugo, personal and universal, a keen perception of his time and a philosophical and historical worldview, attention to the private lives of people and an active interest in socially significant processes, poetic thinking, creative activity and political actions are inextricably fused. Such a life not only chronologically “fits” into the framework of the century, but also forms an organic unity with it and at the same time does not dissolve in the mass of nameless and unknown destinies.

Hugo's youth - the time when he was formed as a creative personality - fell during the Restoration period. He manifests himself primarily in poetry, in odes that he writes on the occasion of significant events, for example: “The Virgins of Verdun”, “On the restoration of the statue of Henry IV”, “On the death of the Duke of Berry”, “On the birth of the Duke of Bordeaux”, etc. Two the first of those mentioned brought the author two prizes at once at the very prestigious competition of the Toulouse Academy Des Jeux Floraux. For the ode “On the Death of the Duke of Berry,” the king himself granted the young poet a reward of 500 francs. The Duke of Berry was the nephew of the king, the royalists saw him as the heir to the throne, but in 1820 he was killed by the Bonapartist Louvel. The title of Duke of Bordeaux belonged to the son of the Duke of Berry, who was born six months after the death of his father - this event was perceived by the royalists as a sign of providence, which did not leave the French throne without an heir. During this period of his life, Hugo sincerely shared the feelings and hopes of the legitimists (adherents of a “legitimate”, i.e., “legitimate” monarchy). In literary work, his idol becomes F. R. Chateaubriand, one of the outstanding figures of the legitimist movement and a writer, whose works begin the 19th century in literature: these are the stories “Atala” (1801) and “Rene” (1802), the treatise “The Genius of Christianity” (1802), the epic “Martyrs” (1809). Hugo is read by them and the magazine “Conservateur”, published by Chateaubriand in 1818-1822. He dedicates the ode “Genius” to Chateaubriand, dreams of being like his idol, and his motto becomes “Be Chateaubriand or nothing!”

Since 1824, writers and poets who acted as adherents of the new “literature of the 19th century,” i.e., romanticism, regularly gathered with C. Nodier, who had recently received the position of curator of the Arsenal library and began to live as was due to his position, at the library. His romantic friends, including Hugo, gather in the salon of this apartment. During these years, Hugo published his first poetry collections: “Odes and Various Poems” (1822) and “New Odes” (1824).

Hugo's ode "On the Coronation of Charles X" (1824) became the last expression of the poet's royalist sympathies. In the second half of the 1820s. he is moving towards Bonapartism. Already in 1826, in an article devoted to the historical novel “Saint-Mars” by A. de Vigny, Hugo mentioned Napoleon among the great people of history. In the same year, he begins to write a drama about Cromwell, who, like Napoleon, is a kind of historical antithesis to the “legitimate” monarch on the throne. His ode “Two Islands” is dedicated to Napoleon: the two islands are Corsica - the birthplace of the unknown Bonaparte and the island of St. Helena, where the world-famous Emperor Napoleon died captive. Two islands appear in Hugo's poem as a double symbol of the great and tragic fate of the hero. Finally, “Ode to the Column of Vendôme” (1827), written in a fit of patriotic feelings, glorifies the military victories of Napoleon and his associates (the column, which to this day stands on the Place Vendôme in Paris, was cast from bronze cannons taken by the Napoleonic army in as trophies in 1805 at the Battle of Austerlitz).

In the historical conditions of the 1820s. “Hugo’s Bonapartist sympathies were a manifestation of liberal political thinking and evidence that the poet had said goodbye to the retrograde legitimist ideal of the king “by the grace of God.” In Emperor Napoleon he now sees a new type of monarch who inherits the throne and power not from feudal “legitimate” kings, but from Emperor Charlemagne.

In Hugo's poetry of the 1820s. to an even greater extent than the evolution of the author’s political ideas, his aesthetic searches in line with romanticism are reflected. Contrary to the classicist tradition, which strictly separated “high” and “low” genres, the poet equates the literary rights of a noble ode and a folk ballad (collection “Odes and Ballads”, 1826). He is attracted by the legends, beliefs, customs reflected in ballads, characteristic of bygone historical eras and inherent in the national French tradition, the peculiarities of psychology and beliefs of people who lived several centuries ago - all of this merges with the romantics into a single concept of “local color”. Hugo’s ballads, such as “King John’s Tournament,” “The Burgrave’s Hunt,” “The Legend of the Nun,” “The Fairy,” and others, are rich in signs of national and historical flavor.

Hugo turns to exotic “local color” in the collection “Orientals” (1828). At the same time, he does not just pay tribute to the romantic fascination with the East: “Orientals” are marked by bold and fruitful searches in the field of visual possibilities of the poetic word (“painting”) and experimentation in terms of metrics. The variety of poetic meters that Hugo uses in his poems essentially puts an end to the dominance of the Alexandrian twelve-syllable verse, canonized in classicism.

Already in the early period of his work, Hugo addressed one of the most pressing problems of romanticism, which was the renewal of drama, the creation of romantic drama. In the preface to the drama “Cromwell” (1827), he declares that the model for modern drama is not ancient or classic tragedy, which the romantics considered hopelessly outdated, but Shakespeare’s dramas. Refusing to contrast the sublime genre (tragedy) and the funny (comedy), Hugo demands that modern romantic drama express the contradictions of life in all their diversity. As an antithesis to the classicist principle of “ennobled nature,” Hugo develops the theory of the grotesque: this is a means of presenting the funny, the ugly in a “concentrated” form. These and many other aesthetic guidelines concern not only drama, but, essentially, romantic art in general, which is why the preface to the drama “Cromwell” became one of the most important romantic manifestos. The ideas of this manifesto are implemented in Hugo’s dramas, which are all written on historical subjects, and in the novel “Notre Dame Cathedral.”

The idea of ​​the novel arises in an atmosphere of fascination with historical genres, which began with the novels of Walter Scott. Hugo pays tribute to this passion both in drama and in the novel. In the article “Quentin Dorward, or the Scotsman at the Court of Louis XI” (1823), he expresses his perception of W. Scott as a writer whose novels meet the spiritual needs of “a generation that has just written the most extraordinary thing in human history with its blood and tears.” page." During these same years, Hugo was working on a stage adaptation of W. Scott’s novel “Kenilworth”. In 1826, Hugo's friend Alfred de Vigny published the historical novel Saint-Map, the success of which, obviously, also influenced the writer's creative plans.

Hugo turned to prose genres from the very beginning of his creative activity: in 1820 he published the story “Hug Jargal”, in 1826 the novel “Gan the Icelander”, in 1829 - the story “The Last Day of the Condemned Man”. These three works are connected by the tradition of the English “Gothic” novel and the so-called “furious” literature in France, which contained all the attributes of a “terrible” or “black” novel: terrifying adventures, extraordinary passions, maniacs and murderers, persecution, guillotine, gallows .

However, if in his first two works Hugo follows the trend of fashionable adventure, then in “The Last Day of the Condemned Man” he argues with this fashion. This unusual work is made in the form of notes from a death row prisoner. The unfortunate man talks about his experiences and describes what he can still observe in the last days before his execution: solitary confinement, the prison yard and the road to the guillotine.

The author deliberately remains silent about what brought the hero to prison, what his crime was. The main thing in the story is not the bizarre intrigue, not the plot of a dark and horrifying crime. Hugo contrasts this external drama with an internal psychological drama. The mental suffering of the convict seems to the writer more worthy of attention than any intricacies of circumstances that forced the hero to commit a fatal act. The writer’s goal is not to “horrify” with a crime, no matter how terrible it may be. Gloomy scenes of prison life, a description of the guillotine awaiting the next victim, and an impatient crowd thirsty for a bloody spectacle should only help to penetrate the thoughts of the condemned, convey his despair and fear and, revealing the moral state of a person doomed to a violent death, show the inhumanity of the death penalty as means of punishment incommensurate with any crime. Hugo's views on the death penalty were very relevant. From the very beginning of the 1820s, this issue was repeatedly discussed in the press, and in 1828 it was even raised in the Chamber of Deputies.

At the end of the 1820s. Hugo plans to write a historical novel, and in 1828 he even enters into an agreement with the publisher Gosselin. However, the work is complicated by many circumstances, and the main one is that his attention is increasingly attracted by modern life. Hugo began working on the novel only in 1830, literally a few days before the July Revolution, and in the midst of its events he was forced to remain at his desk in order to satisfy the publisher, who demanded the fulfillment of the contract. Forced to write about the distant Middle Ages, he reflects on his time and on the revolution that has just happened, and begins to write “The Diary of a Revolutionary 1830.” He welcomes the revolution in an ode to “Young France”, and on the anniversary of the revolution he writes “Hymn to the Victims of July”. His thoughts about his time are closely intertwined with the general concept of human history and with ideas about the fifteenth century, about which he writes his novel. This novel is called “Notre Dame de Paris” and is published in 1831.

“Notre Dame de Paris” became a continuation of the tradition that developed in French literature of the 1820s, when, following Walter Scott, the “father” of the historical novel, brilliant works of this genre were created by such authors as A. de Vigny (“Saint-Mars” , 1826), P. Mérimée (“Chronicle of the Times of Charles IX,” 1829), Balzac (“Chouans,” 1829). At the same time, the aesthetics of the historical novel, characteristic of romanticism, took shape, the main postulates of which were the idea of ​​history as a process of progressive development from less perfect forms of society to more perfect ones.

Romantics of the 1820-1830s history seemed to be a continuous, natural and expedient process, based on the development of moral consciousness and social justice. The stages of this general process are individual historical eras - steps to the most perfect embodiment of the moral idea, to the full development of human civilization. Each era inherits the achievements of all previous development and is therefore inextricably linked with it. History understood in this way acquires harmony and deep meaning. But since the discovered pattern has always existed and exists in modern times, and the cause-and-effect relationship unites the entire past and present history into an inextricable process, the solution to many modern issues, as well as the prediction of the future, can be found precisely in history.

Literature, whether it be a novel, a poem or a drama, depicts history, but not in the same way as historical science does. Chronology, the exact sequence of events, battles, conquests and the collapse of kingdoms are only the external side of history, Hugo argued. In the novel, attention is concentrated on what the historian forgets or ignores - on the “wrong side” of historical events, that is, on the inner side of life. In art, truth is achieved primarily through the contemplation of human nature, human consciousness. The author’s imagination comes to the aid of facts, which helps to discover their causes under the outer shell of events, and therefore, truly understand the phenomenon. Truth in art can never be a complete reproduction of reality2. This is not the writer's task. Of all the phenomena of reality, he must choose the most characteristic, of all historical persons and events, use those that will help him most convincingly embody the truth revealed to the author in the characters of the novel. At the same time, fictional characters expressing the spirit of the era may turn out to be even more truthful than historical characters borrowed by the poet from the works of historians. The combination of facts and fiction is more truthful than facts alone, and only their fusion gives the highest artistic truth, which is the goal of art.

Following these new ideas for his time, Hugo creates “Notre Dame Cathedral.” The writer considers the expression of the spirit of the era to be the main criterion for the veracity of a historical novel. This is how a work of art fundamentally differs from a chronicle, which sets out the facts of history. In a novel, the actual “outline” should serve only as a general basis for the plot, in which fictional characters can act and events woven by the author’s imagination can develop. The truth of a historical novel is not in the accuracy of the facts, but in fidelity to the spirit of the times. Hugo is convinced that in the pedantic retelling of historical chronicles one cannot find as much meaning as is hidden in the behavior of the nameless crowd or “Argotines” (in his novel this is a kind of corporation of vagabonds, beggars, thieves and swindlers), in the feelings of the street dancer Esmeralda, or the bell ringer Quasimodo , or in a learned monk, in whose alchemical experiments the king also shows interest.

The only immutable requirement for the author's fiction is to meet the spirit of the era: the characters, the psychology of the characters, their relationships, actions, the general course of events, the details of everyday life - all aspects of the depicted historical reality should be presented as they actually could have been. Where to get all this material? After all, the chronicles mention only kings, generals and other outstanding figures, wars with their victories or defeats and similar episodes of state life, events of a national scale. The everyday existence of the nameless mass of people, which is called the people, and sometimes the “crowd”, “rabble” or even “rabble”, invariably remains outside the chronicle, outside the framework of official historical memory. But in order to have an idea of ​​a long-gone era, you need to find information not only about official realities, but also about the morals and way of everyday life of ordinary people, you need to study all this and then recreate it in a novel. Traditions, legends and similar folklore sources existing among the people can help the writer, and the writer can and should fill in the missing details in them with the power of his imagination, that is, resort to fiction, always remembering that he must correlate the fruits of his imagination with the spirit of the era.

The Romantics considered imagination the highest creative ability, and fiction an indispensable attribute of a literary work. Fiction, through which it is possible to recreate the real historical spirit of the time, according to their aesthetics, can be even more truthful than the fact itself. Artistic truth is higher than factual truth. Following these principles of the historical novel of the Romantic era, Hugo not only combines real events with fictional ones, and genuine historical characters with unknown ones, but clearly gives preference to the latter. All the main characters of the novel - Claude Frollo, Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Phoebus - are fictional by him. Only Pierre Gringoire is an exception: he has a real historical prototype - he lived in Paris in the 15th - early 16th centuries. poet and playwright. The novel also features King Louis XI and the Cardinal of Bourbon (the latter appears only occasionally). The plot of the novel is not based on any major historical event, and only detailed descriptions of Notre Dame Cathedral and medieval Paris can be attributed to real facts.

The abundance of topographical details is striking when reading the novel from the very beginning. The Place de Greve is described in particular detail, bordered on one side by the Seine embankment, and on the rest by houses, among which were the house of the Dauphin Charles V, and the city hall, and the chapel, and the Palace of Justice, and various devices for executions and torture. In the Middle Ages, this place was the center of life in old Paris: people gathered here not only during festive festivities and shows, but also to watch the execution; in Hugo's novel, all the main characters meet on the Place de Greve: the gypsy Esmeralda dances and sings here, causing the admiration of the crowd and the curse of Claude Frollo; in a dark corner of the square, in a miserable closet, a recluse languishes; the poet Pierre Gringoire wanders among the crowd, suffering from the neglect of people and from the fact that he again has no food or shelter; here a bizarre procession takes place, in which a crowd of gypsies, the “brotherhood of jesters”, subjects of the “kingdom of Argo” merge, that is, thieves and swindlers, buffoons and jesters, tramps, beggars, cripples; Here, finally, the grotesque ceremony of the clownish coronation of the “father of jesters” Quasimodo unfolds, and then the culminating episode for the fate of this character, when Esmeralda gives him water to drink from her flask. Describing all this in the dynamics of the events taking place in the square, Hugo vividly recreates the “local flavor” of the life of medieval Paris, its historical spirit. Not a single detail in the description of the way of life of old Paris is accidental. Each of them reflects mass historical consciousness, the specificity of ideas about the world and man, the beliefs or prejudices of people.

It is no coincidence that it was the 15th century. attracts Hugo's attention. The writer shares contemporary ideas about this era as a transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, which many historians (F. Guizot, P. de Barant), writers (Walter Scott), as well as utopian thinkers Fourier and Saint-Simon considered the beginning of a new civilization . In the 15th century, they believed, the first doubts arose in the unreasoning, blind religious faith and the morals constrained by this faith changed, old traditions passed away, and the “spirit of free research” appeared for the first time, that is, free-thinking and spiritual independence of man. Hugo shares similar ideas. Moreover, he relates this concept of the past to current events in France - the abolition of censorship and the proclamation of freedom of speech during the July Revolution of 1830. This action seems to him a great achievement and evidence of progress, and in it he sees the continuation of a process that began in the distant past. XV century In his novel about the late Middle Ages, Hugo seeks to reveal the continuity of events of the past and present.

He considers Notre Dame Cathedral to be the symbol of the era when the first shoots of freethinking appear. It is no coincidence that all the main events of the novel take place in the cathedral or on the square next to it, the cathedral itself becomes the object of detailed descriptions, and its architecture is the subject of deep author’s thoughts and comments, clarifying the meaning of the novel as a whole. The cathedral was built over centuries - from the 11th to the 15th. During this time, the Romanesque style, which initially dominated medieval architecture, gave way to Gothic. Churches built in the Romanesque style were harsh, dark inside, characterized by heavy proportions and a minimum of decoration. Everything in them was subject to inviolable tradition; any unusual architectural technique or innovation in interior decoration was categorically rejected; any manifestation of the individual authorship of the architect was considered almost sacrilege. Hugo perceives the Romanesque church as a petrified dogma, the embodiment of the omnipotence of the church. He calls Gothic, with its diversity, abundance and splendor of decorations, in contrast to the Romanesque style, “folk architecture,” considering it the beginning of free art. He admires the invention of the pointed arch, which is the main element of the Gothic style (as opposed to the Romanesque semicircular arch), as a triumph of human construction genius.

The architecture of the cathedral combines elements of both styles, which means it reflects the transition from one era to another: from the constraint of human consciousness and the creative spirit, completely subordinated to dogma, to free searches. In the echoing twilight of the cathedral, at the foot of its columns, under its cold stone arches directed towards the sky, medieval man must have felt the indisputable greatness of God and his own insignificance. However, Hugo sees in the Gothic cathedral not only a stronghold of medieval religion, but also a brilliant architectural structure, the creation of human genius. Erected by the hands of several generations, Notre Dame Cathedral appears in Hugo's novel as a “stone symphony” and “stone chronicle of centuries.”

Gothic is a new page in this chronicle, on which the spirit of opposition was first imprinted, Hugo believes. The appearance of the Gothic pointed arch heralded the beginning of free thought. But both Gothic and architecture in general will have to retreat to the new trends of the times. Architecture served as the main means of expressing the human spirit until printing was invented, which became an expression of man's new impulse towards free thought and a harbinger of the future triumph of the printed word over architecture. “This will kill that,” says Claude Frollo, pointing to the book with one hand and the cathedral with the other. The book as a symbol of free thought is dangerous for the cathedral, symbolizing religion in general, “... for every human society the time comes... when a person escapes the influence of the clergy, when the growth of philosophical theories and state systems corrodes the face of religion.” This time has already come - Hugo gives a lot of reasons to think so: in the Constitution of 1830, Catholicism is defined not as a state religion, but simply as the religion professed by the majority of the French (and previously, for centuries, Catholicism was officially the support of the throne); anti-clerical sentiments are very strong in society; Countless reformers argue among themselves in attempts to update a religion that, from their point of view, is outdated. “There was no other nation in the world that was so officially godless,” said one of them, Montalembert, the ideologist of “liberal Catholicism.”

The weakening of faith, doubts about what had been an unquestioned authority for centuries, the abundance of new teachings, according to Hugo, who enthusiastically accepted the revolution of 1830 at first, indicate that society is approaching the final goal of its development - democracy. Many of Hugo's illusions regarding the triumph of democracy and freedom in the July Monarchy very soon dissipated, but at the time of writing the novel they were stronger than ever.

Hugo embodies the signs of the depicted era in the characters and destinies of the characters in the novel, primarily such as the archdeacon of Notre Dame Cathedral Claude Frollo and the bell ringer of the cathedral Quasimodo. They are, in a certain sense, antipodes, and at the same time, their destinies are interconnected and closely intertwined.

The learned ascetic Claude Frollo only at first glance appears to be an impeccable servant of the church, guardian of the cathedral and adherent of strict morality. From the moment he appears on the pages of the novel, this man amazes with a combination of opposite features: a stern, gloomy appearance, a closed expression on his face, furrowed with wrinkles, remnants of graying hair on an almost bald head; at the same time, this man looks no more than thirty-five years old, his eyes glow with passion and thirst for life. As the plot progresses, the duality is increasingly confirmed.

The thirst for knowledge prompted Claude Frollo to study many sciences and liberal arts; at the age of eighteen he graduated from all four faculties of the Sorbonne. However, he places alchemy above all else and practices it despite religious prohibitions. He is reputed to be a scientist and even a sorcerer, and this evokes an association with Faust; it is no coincidence that the author mentions the office of Doctor Faust when describing the archdeacon’s cell. However, there is no complete analogy here. If Faust makes a pact with the devilish force in the person of Mephistopheles, then Claude Frollo does not need this; he carries the devilish principle within himself: the suppression of natural human feelings, which he refuses, following the dogma of religious asceticism and at the same time considering this a sacrifice to his “sister” - science, turns into hatred and crime in him, the victim of which becomes his beloved creature - the gypsy Esmeralda. The persecution and condemnation of her as a witch in accordance with the cruel customs of the time, it would seem, ensured him complete success in protecting himself from the “devilish obsession”, that is, from love, but the whole conflict is resolved not by the victory of Claude Frollo, but by a double tragedy: Both Esmeralda and her pursuer die.

With the image of Claude Frollo, Hugo continues what was established in the literature of the 18th century. the tradition of depicting a villainous monk in the grip of temptations, tormented by forbidden passions and committing a crime. This theme varied in the novels “The Nun” by Diderot, “Melmoth the Wanderer” by Maturin, “The Monk” by Lewis and others. In Hugo, it was turned in the direction that was relevant for the 1820-1830s: then the issue of monastic asceticism and celibacy was actively debated Catholic priests. Liberal-minded publicists (for example, Paul Louis Courier) considered the demands of severe asceticism unnatural: the suppression of normal human needs and feelings inevitably leads to perverted passions, madness or crime. In the fate of Claude Frollo one can see one illustration of such thoughts. However, the meaning of the image is far from exhausted by this.

The spiritual breakdown experienced by Claude Frollo is especially indicative of the era in which he lives. As an official minister of the church, he is obliged to guard and protect its dogmas. However, this man’s numerous and deep knowledge prevents him from being obedient, and in search of answers to many questions that torment him, he increasingly turns to books banned by the church, to alchemy, hermetic, and astrology. He is trying to find the "philosopher's stone" not only in order to learn how to get gold, but in order to have power that would almost equalize him with God. Humility and submission in his mind give way to the daring spirit of “free exploration.” This metamorphosis will be fully realized during the Renaissance, but its first signs were already noted in the 15th century, Hugo believes.

Thus, one of the many cracks that “corrode the face of religion” passes through the consciousness of a person who, by virtue of his rank, is called upon to protect and support this religion as the basis of an unshakable tradition.

As for Quasimodo, he undergoes a truly amazing metamorphosis. At first, Quasimodo appears to the reader as a creature who can hardly be called a man in the full sense of the word. His name is symbolic: the Latin quasimodo means “as if,” “almost.” Quasimodo is almost like the son (adopted son) of Claude Frollo and almost (meaning not quite) human. He is the center of all conceivable physical deformities: he is blind in one eye, he has two humps - on his back and on his chest, he limps, he cannot hear anything, since he is deaf from the powerful sound of the large bell that he rings, he says so rare that some consider him mute. But his main ugliness is spiritual: “The spirit that lived in this ugly body was just as ugly and imperfect,” says Hugo. There is a frozen expression of anger and sadness on his face. Quasimodo does not know the difference between good and evil, knows neither pity nor remorse. Without reasoning and, moreover, without thinking, he carries out all the orders of his master and master Claude Frollo, to whom he is completely devoted. Quasimodo does not recognize himself as an independent person; what distinguishes man from beast has not yet awakened in him - the soul, moral sense, the ability to think. All this gives the author reason to compare the bell-ringer-monster with the chimera of the cathedral - a stone sculpture, fantastically ugly and terrible (these sculptures in the upper tiers of the cathedral were supposed, according to pagan ideas, to drive away evil spirits from God's temple).

When the reader first meets Quasimodo, this character is an absolute disgrace. All the qualities that create ugliness are concentrated in it; physical and at the same time spiritual ugliness is manifested to the highest degree; in a certain sense, Quasimodo represents perfection, the standard of ugliness. This character was created by the author in accordance with his theory of the grotesque, which he outlined back in 1827 in the preface to the drama “Cromwell.” The Preface to Cromwell became the most important manifesto of Romanticism in France, largely because it substantiates the principles of contrast in art and the aesthetics of the ugly. In the context of these ideas, the grotesque seems to be the highest concentration of certain properties and a means of expressing reality in which opposite principles coexist, sometimes closely intertwined and interact: good and evil, light and darkness, future and past, great and insignificant, tragic and funny. To be truthful, art must reflect this duality of real existence, and its moral task is to capture in the struggle of opposing forces the movement towards goodness, light, high ideals, and towards the future. Hugo is convinced that the meaning of life and historical movement is progress in all spheres of life and, above all, the moral improvement of man. This fate, he believes, is destined for all people, even those who initially seem to be the absolute embodiment of evil. He tries to lead Quasimodo on the path of improvement.

The human awakens in Quasimodo at the moment of shock he experiences: when he, chained to a pillory in the middle of the Place de Greve, beaten (for attempting to kidnap a gypsy, as he vaguely guesses), thirsty and showered with rude ridicule of the crowd, is shown mercy by the same street dancer: Esmeralda, from whom he expected revenge, brings him water. Until now, Quasimodo had met only disgust, contempt and mockery, anger and humiliation from people. Compassion became for him a revelation and an impulse to feel the person in himself. The sip of water that he receives thanks to Esmeralda is symbolic: it is a sign of sincere and artless support that an endlessly humiliated person receives from another, also generally defenseless against the elements of prejudice and passions of a rude crowd, and especially before inquisitorial justice. Under the impression of the mercy shown to him, the human soul awakens in Quasimodo, the ability to experience his individual feelings and the need to think, and not just obey. His soul opens up to Esmeralda and at the same time separates itself from Claude Frollo, who until that moment had reigned supreme over him.

Quasimodo can no longer be slavishly obedient, and unknown feelings awaken in his heart, still quite wild. He ceases to be like a stone statue and begins to turn into a person.

The contrast between Quasimodo's two states - the old and the new - symbolizes the same idea to which so many pages are devoted in Hugo's novel about Gothic architecture and the 15th century. with his awakening "spirit of free exploration." As an expression of the author’s position, it is especially significant that the formerly absolutely submissive Quasimodo becomes the arbiter of Claude Frollo’s fate. This ending to the plot once again emphasizes the idea of ​​a person’s aspiration (even the most humiliated and disenfranchised) towards independence and free-thinking. Quasimodo himself voluntarily pays with his life for his choice in favor of Esmeralda, who embodies beauty, talent, as well as innate kindness and independence. His death, which we learn about at the end of the novel, is both terrifying and touching in its pathos. It finally merges the ugly and the sublime. Hugo considers the contrast of opposites to be an eternal and universal law of life, the expression of which should be served by romantic art.

The idea of ​​spiritual transformation and human awakening, embodied in Quasimodo, later met with the lively sympathy of F. M. Dostoevsky. In 1862, he wrote on the pages of the magazine “Time”: “Who would not think that Quasimodo is the personification of the oppressed and despised medieval French people, deaf and disfigured, gifted only with terrible physical strength, but in whom love and a sense of justice finally awakens , and with them the consciousness of one’s truth and one’s still unexplored infinite powers...” In the 1860s. Quasimodo is perceived by Dostoevsky through the prism of the idea of ​​the humiliated and insulted (the novel “The Humiliated and the Insulted” was published in 1861) or the outcasts (“Les Misérables” Hugo published in 1862). However, this interpretation is somewhat different from the author’s concept of Hugo in 1831, when “Notre Dame Cathedral” was written. At that time, Hugo’s worldview was focused not on the social aspect, but on the historical one. He thought of the image of the people on the scale of the “general plan”, and not of an individual person. Thus, in the drama “Ernani” (1830) he wrote:

People! - that's the ocean. All-Part Excitement:

Throw something at it and everything will start moving.

He cradles coffins and destroys thrones,

And rarely the king is beautifully reflected in him.

After all, if you look deeper into those darknesses,

You will see the ruins of more than one empire,

Graveyard of ships released into darkness

And never known to him again.

(Translation by V. Rozhdestvensky)

These lines are more correlated with the mass hero of the novel - with the crowd of the Parisian “plebs”, with the scenes of the riot in defense of the gypsy and the storming of the cathedral, than with Quasimodo.

Hugo's novel is full of contrasts and antithesis images: the freak Quasimodo - the beautiful Esmeralda, the lover Esmeralda - and the soulless Phoebus, the ascetic archdeacon - the frivolous juir Phoebus; the learned archdeacon and the bell-ringer are contrasting in intelligence; in terms of capacity for genuine feeling, not to mention physical appearance, - Quasimodo and Phoebus. Almost all the main characters are marked by internal contradiction. The exception among them is, perhaps, only Esmeralda - an absolutely integral nature, but this turns out tragically for her: she becomes a victim of circumstances, other people's passions and the inhuman persecution of “witches”. The play of antitheses in the novel is essentially the implementation of the author's theory of contrasts, which he developed in the preface to Cromwell. Real life is woven from contrasts, Hugo believes, and if a writer claims to be truthful, he must identify these contrasts in the environment and reflect them in the work, be it a novel or a drama.

But the historical novel also has another, even more ambitious and significant goal: to survey the course of history as a whole, to see in the unified process of the movement of society over the centuries the place and specificity of each era; moreover, to grasp the connection of times, the continuity of past and present and, perhaps, foresee the future. Paris, viewed in the novel from a bird's eye view as “a collection of monuments of many centuries,” appears to Hugo as a beautiful and instructive picture. This is the whole story. Having covered it with a single glance, you can discover the sequence and hidden meaning of events. The steep and narrow spiral staircase that a person needs to overcome in order to climb the cathedral tower and see so much, in Hugo’s work is a symbol of humanity’s ascent along the ladder of centuries. Hugo’s fairly integral and harmonious system of ideas about history, reflected in “Notre Dame Cathedral,” gives reason to consider this novel truly historical.

To draw a “lesson” from history is one of the most important fundamental principles of the historical genres of Romantic literature - both novel and drama. In “Notre Dame Cathedral” this kind of “lesson” follows primarily from a comparison of the stages of the movement towards freedom in the 15th century. and in the life of contemporary society for the writer.

In the novel one can hear an echo of another acute contemporary political problem for Hugo - the death penalty. This issue was discussed in the Chamber of Deputies and in the press in connection with the trial of the ministers of Charles X, defeated by the revolution of 1830. The most radical opponents of the monarchy demanded the death penalty for ministers who violated the law with their ordinances in July 1830 and thereby caused the revolution. They were objected to by opponents of the death penalty. Hugo adhered to the position of the latter. A little earlier, in 1829, he dedicated the story “The Last Day of the Condemned Man” to this problem, and in the drama “Ernani” (1830) he spoke out for the ruler’s mercy towards his political opponents. Motifs of compassion and mercy are heard throughout almost the entire work of Hugo and after Notre Dame.

So, the meaning of events, incomprehensible to people of the 15th century, is revealed only a few centuries later, medieval history is read and interpreted only by subsequent generations. Only in the 19th century. It becomes obvious that the events of the past and present are connected into a single process, the direction and meaning of which are determined by the most important laws: this is the aspiration of the human spirit towards freedom and the improvement of the forms of social existence. Understanding history in this way in its connections with modernity, Hugo embodies his concept in the novel Notre-Dame de Paris, which thanks to this sounds very relevant in the 1830s, although it tells about events of the distant past. “Notre Dame de Paris” became an event and the pinnacle of the historical novel genre in French literature.