| Quasimodo | |
|---|---|
|
Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. | |
| Created by |
Victor Hugo |
| Portrayed by |
Lon Chaney |
| Information | |
| Aliases | The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
| Species | Human Hunchback |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Bell Ringer |
| Family |
Unknown Father Unknown Mother Claude Frollo |
| Spouse(s) | Unknown |
| Children | None |
| Nationality | French |
| IMAGES |
Quasimodo is the titular character of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. In all adaptations, he is the main protagonist, notably in the 1923 (by Universal), 1939 (by RKO), 1956 (by Allied Artists), and 1996 (by Disney) films based on the novel.
Description in Universal films.[]
Quasimodo is the main protagonist in the Universal Classic silent film The Hunchback Of Notre-Dame played by the legendary Lon Chaney Sr in 1923. Quasimodo is based in the character with the same name of Victor Hugo's Gothic novel of 1831, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (or Notre-Dame de Paris in his original french language).
The film takes place in the year 1482, and tells the story of a deformed man adopted by a priest. He is forbidden to leave the cathedral, because the hypocritical and prejudiced public would not accept him, but Quasimodo comes out at a festival and they name him "King of the Madmen", but he is taken back to the cathedral by Jehan. Jehan is the master of Quasimodo, and evil brother of the priest Don Claudio and has him kidnap a beautiful gypsy named Esmeralda, but the captain Phoebus rescues her from the hunchback and Jehan abandons him to his fate. Phoebus falls in love with the gypsy as a casual romance, while Quasimodo is condemned to be flogged in the plaza of the cathedral, but Esmeralda takes pity on him and gives him water. Quasimodo is attracted to Esmeralda by the way he forgives him and develops a strong love for her, probably the most sincere of all, since Phoebus' "love" was superficial passion, and Jehan was love-hate. Jehan soon makes an evil plan that consists in sending Esmeralda to hang by accusing her of a crime that he did not commit, so when she was going to be executed, Quasimodo arrives and rescues her by putting her safely in the belfry, where Don Claudio gives her protection while stay inside the church. The adoptive father of Esmeralda and leader of the Gypsies Clopin tries to rescue Esmeralda from the cathedral with all her people, and Jehan tries to take her by force. Quasimodo gets rid of the gypsies led by Clopin, throwing rocks and molten lead from the top of the cathedral. Quasimodo finds Jehan attacking Esmeralda with a dagger, the hunchback defends the gypsy by throwing Jehan from on high, but Quasimodo was wounded in the back with the dagger. Phoebus finds Esmeralda and hugs her. Quasimodo dies, and Don Claudio witnesses the death of the hunchback, while the bell sways silently.
Characteristics.[]
Quasimodo was a deformed man of the face, and with a great malformation in the back that gave him a humpbacked posture. It is described in the same way as the novel, with red hair, physical deformities, a blind eye for deformity, deaf by the sounds of bells, and very strong and agile because the cathedral constantly climbed and was a bell ringer. He also acts rather immature, like in the novel, due to his inability to properly communicate after he became deaf from ringing the Notre Dame bells. However, when he saves Esmeralda from execution, he shows his kind heart by keeping her safe in the cathedral.