Hunchback Of Notre Damn Historical Analysis

Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Damn is an animated film based upon Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name. The main characters Quasimodo, the hunchback who lives in the bell tower of Notre Damn, Esmeralda, the gypsie girl, Claude Frollo, the cruel Archdeacon of Notre Damn, and Captain Phoebus, the antagonist who defies Frollos’ orders, are all representative of the social classes and turmoil that occurred throughout the early 19th century in France. The original novel was written during the July 1830 Revolution, with strong influences from Hugo’s personal beliefs in social and political equality for all people as well as his opposition to the monarchy that begun after Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat at Waterloo. This film is accurate in the sense that it shows the class struggle of the time in a way that both honors the novel and its historical context but is also appropriate for its younger

audience.
The main plot of the movie is about a young disfigured man, Quasimodo, who has been told all his life that he is a monster and that the only person who loves him is the same person who locks him away from the world, his master Frollo. At the same time, Frollo is sending out orders for the military to find and persecute all gypsies, saying that they are thieves and not worthy of being free citizens of Paris. When Esmeralda the gypsie meets Quasimodo, they both discover that they, as outcasts, are not less than the other people and thus begin to defy the military and government. They are assisted by the morally righteous soldier Phoebus, who helps to free the gypsies and eventually falls in love with Esmeralda, breaking social barriers by doing so. The themes in this film are social divisions, de-humanization, and religious faith—specifically pre-Reformation Catholicism. The production of the film did cast a lighter feel on the story, with talking gargoyles and cheery musical numbers, as well as the story being narrated by the gypsie joker, Clopin Troillefou, who was also the organizer of the Festival of Fools. That being said, it still did show the darker side of the time period, with a focus on the role of the Catholic Church and the struggle for minority groups to rise out of the lower class.
The look of the set does capture the look of the time. The Church of Notre Damn, which is the main set of the story is very accurately depicted as the grand stone structure that it is. Costumes were appropriate, though some of the gypsies clothing seemed more elaborate than would be expected considering they were poor street performers¬–they had bright colored fabrics and jewelry which does not seem very likely given their social status. The film is not expected to be entirely historically accurate considering that it is a children’s film, but within that it does a good job of distinguishing social classes through location and appearance. The rich and noble ride on horses and wear elaborate robes, while the poor walk on the street and do not have as elaborate of apparel.
The film was released in 1996, at which point in the world there were conflicts in the Middle East, including between Israelis and Palestinians. People who worked on the film would have also lived through the events of the Cold War. This may have influenced how they depicted this film by trying to stress the importance of toleration and acceptance of others who are different because they had and were currently living through times where wars and political tension developed as a result of superiority complex’s from certain groups or nations.
In terms of historical context and greater analysis of historical accuracy, this film does sugar coat a lot of the events of that time.

For instance, the gypsie Esmeralda gets her happy ending in the movie, marrying the knight and gaining acceptance for her and all other gypsies. In reality, gypsies continued to be greatly discriminated against. In 18th century France, the “Bohemians” as they were referred to, were considered lesser members of society and were often arrested and put into the army, or at the very least lived under stricter control of the government. Additionally, during the time of the French Revolution, people were becoming increasingly suspicious of the Catholic Church, with people becoming split between those who supported the Constitutional Church and those who remained loyal to the refractory priests. The film touches upon the suspicion of the church and other problems associated with it, such as the government (Frollo) challenging the church’s authority by leading his soldiers into it, as well as Frollo using the church to justify his immoral

actions.
The Catholic Church during the French Revolution had become over-powered by the French government, thus ending all aspects of a separated church and state. This is because France was on the verge of bankruptcy right before the revolution, so they turned to the church for funding. The government justified this action by claiming that church property should belong to everyone in order to benefit the greater good of the nation, and thus should be considered a religious act. Additionally, the government began selling monasteries and nunneries in order to benefit France’s finances. At this point, France had not only taken control of the Church’s revenue and property, but had completely re-drawn the lines between church and state.
By this time, the National Assembly had been formed and began to take interest in the church/state relationship. The National Assembly believed that clergy should be paid through state taxes and that priests and bishops should be elected by the citizens. The Pope did not approve of this since it continued to allow the government to have a large involvement with the affairs of the Church.
During the September Massacre’s, over 200 priests were slaughtered by the revolutionaries. This was a result of the eradication of the ancien regime. All religion was abolished during that period, resulting in the church and state completely separating, with the state fighting against the church forcing it to stop practicing until the beginning of Napoleons reign.
Much of the plot line was embellished or invented. For instance, the idea that the gypsies would have their own secret hideout filled with gems is pretty outlandish. But things such as Frollo disregarding the Church’s rules of sanctuary and bringing his troops into the church are fathomable, considering that the state was taking advantage of the church during that time. The treatment of minorities in this film also follows accurate historical events, but is altered to not seem as extreme. In real life, the gypsies would not have gotten a happy ending, but rather would have continued to live in poverty due to the fact that they were not respected by the government and therefor could not get well paying jobs or social respect. This film shapes the utility of film as a historical document very little, considering those watching it are expecting a children’s cartoon and not an extremely accurate historical documentary.