Opposites Attract?

Class date: Thursday, Jan. 21st

Today we got to know Captain Phoebus de Chateaupers—the heroic captain of the King’s archers who came to the rescue of Esmeralda as she was being kidnapped by a villainous hunchback!

Prior to this chapter, all we knew about him was that he is handsome and that Esmeralda loves him.

The chapter opened with the dapper captain in a place he'd rather not be: the home of his betrothed, Fleur-de-Lys. Uncomfortable with the aristocratic young lady, and, more so, with the prospect of marriage, Phoebus is forced into awkward conversation with her by his future mother-in-law. The poor girl, who hears him ask her the same inane question for the third time, yearns for some indication that he loves her, or, at least, is looking forward to their marriage. However, we learn that Phoebus is vain and shallow, and would rather go to taverns than come visit his betrothed. So, when everyone's attention is drawn to a pretty gypsy dancing outside, he immediately welcomes the distraction... and the pretty gypsy.

So far, in our study of the novel, we've used a couple of different approaches to better understand the characters. We've visualized them ("Bringing Quasimodo to Life"), charted their relationship to other characters ("Character web"), and personally connected with them ("Something Precious... to Me"). But, this time, we used a different approach to clarify our understanding of Phoebus.

After having gotten a sense of Phoebus' character, I asked the students to compare Phoebus to Esmeralda.

“He’s the opposite!” said Katy, starting us off in the right direction.

After several more student comments along the lines of, “Phoebus only cares for himself, but Esmeralda thinks of others,” we came to the two characters' attitudes to love.

As the students had read, Phoebus does not seem to take love seriously. It’s a chore for him to spend time with the one he is supposed to love for the rest of his life.

When I asked what love meant for Esmeralda, Andy raised his hand immediately and answered by quoting a line we read last week, “For Esmeralda, love ‘is being two and yet being only one.’” In my excitement at his answer, I interrupted with praise before he finished the rest of the quote: “A man and a woman fused into an angel. It’s heaven!”

Not only did the differentiation of the two characters clarify what was important to them, but it gave the students the sense of a potential conflict to come--Esmeralda loves a man who does not share her sacred view of love.

And, furthermore, the seeds for an understanding of the deeper meaning of the novel have been planted.