The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo. I continue my quest to read the books that I should have read in my youth. Add another to the list. Quite simply, I enjoyed this book, despite that it did not have the happy ending that, as an American, I guess I crave. Humans are shallow now, and humans were shallow then, as Esmerelda so clearly illustrates. Beauty--and ugly--are only skin deep, yet Esmerelda can't look past either Quasimodo's fugly exterior or Phoebus's pretty-boy looks to see the truth about either of them.
Some priests are depraved now, and some priests were depraved then. Exhibit A, the bishop, guilty of both attempted kidnap and attempted rape, and cruelly able to send Esmerelda to her death because he couldn't have her.
Some individuals hurt themselves with their prejudices today; the samewas true back then. Look to Sister Gedulla for proof. If only she hadn't spent virtually her whole life, blinded by her hatred for gypsies, she might have seen that the Esmerelda, the "gypsy", was actually the daughter she long sought to find.
And life's choices are hard. Did you ever have to make up your mind? Pick up the one and leave the other behind . . . And so it was for Quasimodo. There could be no happiness in either choice.
Listening to: The Woman in White.
Reading: The Jungle?? Haven't decided yet.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment