Many in the world know this female character - Esmeralda. This is the heroine of the famous novel Notre Dame de Paris, authored by Victor Hugo. Esmeralda is a beautiful girl, a dancer who was stolen and raised by gypsies. They ruined her naivety and beauty, as well as Claude Frollo, who was in love with her. Let's take a closer look at what kind of character Esmeralda is.
Childhood
A little girl was stolen from her mother by Packetta by Spanish gypsies. In return, they left a child known as Quasimodo. It was they who gave her the name Esmeralda. The character from birth was named Agnes.
Return to Paris
After the girl grew up in a camp of gypsies, she returned to Paris, where she began to earn money through dancing and demonstrating her trained goat named Jally. She had to live in a very disadvantaged area, the population of which was gypsies, thieves, professional beggars and other rabble. But she was there in absolute safety, since all the inhabitants loved her for kindness, beauty and spontaneity.
beauty
What kind of character is Esmeralda? This is a girl of extraordinary beauty. In the work, the author compares it with an angel or a fairy. Everyone who saw her was fascinated. Despite the fact that the girl was small, she still seemed tall due to the harmony of her camp. Her skin was swarthy in the evening, and in the afternoon cast a wonderful golden hue, which was inherent in the Romans or Andalusians. She had a very small leg. She walked very gracefully. In motion, she seemed to dance, spin, and flutter. Whenever her sweet face appeared in front of someone, everyone was blinded, like lightning, by the look of her black large eyes.
Love
Despite all the beauty the character possesses, Esmeralda is a girl of limited mind. Although she had a life experience behind her, she remained very naive. Esmeralda did not understand people at all. That is why she fell in love with Captain Phoebus, who was an empty man. He, being the head of the patrol, saved her from Quasimodo. Phoebe also had feelings for the girl, but they were of a different kind and were simple lust.
Despite the fact that the girl’s beauty brought income and attracted a lot of people to performances, she ruined her. Priest Claude Frollo and his adopted son, a hunchback named Quasimodo, also fell in love with her very much.
The priest was a very strong person. He did his best to fight the temptation that gripped him, but passion was stronger than the pursuit of knowledge and faith in God. Enraged, he stabbed Phoebe, and Esmeralda fell for the murder. In addition, she was accused of witchcraft. And at that time it was worse than any other crime.
Death sentence
They grabbed the girl, began to torture and judge. The priest offered her help, but on the condition that the girl would love him. Esmeralda, who loved Phoeb very much, refused him. After she was tortured, unable to bear the pain, the girl agreed with the charges and confessed to witchcraft. She was sentenced to death, but Quasimodo saved her by pulling her out of the loop. He hid it outside the walls of that very Cathedral of Notre Dame.
The beggars and robbers, who were the brothers of Esmeralda, decided to save her from the monastery, because they thought that she was imprisoned there. Thus, a situation arose that was disastrous for Esmeralda. The brothers began to take the cathedral in a fit, and Quasimodo defended himself, as he thought that they wanted to grab and hang the girl. He fought back with success, and the king’s troops later dispersed the crowd.
As a result, Esmeralda was hanged anyway. Fate before the execution brought her to her real mother, who could not save her. At the wrong time, the girl saw Phoebe passing by and called him. By this she attracted attention, and she was found.
Character on screen
The film of the same name, which appeared in 1956, became the most successful screen incarnation of the girl. Actress Gina Lollobrigida appeared in a bright way. In the film, the girl was not hanged, but killed with an arrow.
And this is not the only film adaptation. For example, in the 1996 cartoon, the girl wasn’t killed - Esmeralda is such a bright character. Disney, the company that shot the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, decided to keep the girl alive and make her happy with Phoebe. She later appeared in the animated series.