“A Visit to Hugo’s Paris”

Class date: Friday, Jan. 15th

Today we took a stroll though the streets of Paris… Victor Hugo’s Paris.

The Palace of Justice, the Place de Greve, the Court of Miracles, and, of course, Notre Dame Cathedral were among the places we found on our map of Paris.

Why focus a whole class on setting? Isn't that just the place where the characters and action are located? For Hugo, it's much more. The settings deeply enhance the meaning of the characters and the plot.

The locations are intimately connected to characterization. “King” of the outlaws, Clopin Trouillefou’s domain is the hellish witches den called the “Court of Miracles”; Quasimodo’s sanctuary from the hateful world is the majestic Notre Dame.

If they don’t particularly enrich characterization, the locations add meaningful irony to the events. At the Place de Greve, the very place that Quasimodo was “celebrated” as the “Pope of Fools” the previous night, he is, the next day, ridiculed and derided on a pillory by that same crowd. The symbolism and irony of these settings will now be something they'll be looking for throughout the rest of the story.

On our stroll through Hugo’s Paris, we also made a couple of sightseeing stops—especially Notre Dame.

The students started “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” when they saw the photographs of Notre Dame—an impressive sight even in a photo. But, their wonder seemed to be due to more than simply the impressive sight.

“Is that where Quasimodo lives?” asked one incredulous student.

“Here is where he would climb all over ‘like a lizard’, and those are some of the statues he considered his friends and had conversations with,” I said, pointing to the façade. And, indicating the North Tower, “That’s where his precious bells are located."

“I climbed to the top!”

A student said this.

She was recalling a trip to Paris when she was much younger. “I was crying when we got to the top because I was so tired!” She had excitedly realized that these were the same 387 stairs which Quasimodo would run up excitedly when called upon to ring the bells.

The power of the photos of Notre Dame weren't just in visualizing the setting the novel. The larger-than-life characters, as the students were seeing, didn’t belong to another universe, but lived in a world they could visit themselves.

At the end of class, Andy asked if Notre Dame would be on the itinerary for this summer's JH trip to Paris.

But, of course! We would not miss a chance to walk in Quasimodo's footsteps.