Is Quasimodo inspired by a real story?

One of the most iconic literary works in history is “Notre-Dame de Paris”, also known as “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, written by renowned French author Victor Hugo.

Published in 1831, the novel tells the story of Quasimodo, the lonely bell ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, amid to the tumultuous Paris of the 15th century, under the reign of Louis XI.

Passion and humiliation

Set in medieval Paris, the plot revolves around Quasimodo, a deaf and hunchbacked bell ringer, whose world is transformed when he falls in love with the gypsy Esmeralda. The young woman shows compassion for Quasimodo after witness her public humiliation.

At the same time, Claude Frollo, archdeacon of the cathedral, nurtures an unhealthy obsession with Esmeralda. Upon discovering that she has affection for Captain Phoebus, Frollo commits an act of violence against the captain, resulting in Esmeralda being unfairly accused of being responsible for the crime.

Quasimodo seeks to protect Esmeralda by sheltering her in the cathedral, but her efforts are in vain, and she is sentenced to death by hanging. Desperate and filled with deep resentment, the protagonist confronts Frollo and throws him from one of the cathedral’s towers. In the tragic ending of the narrative, Quasimodo’s remains are found hugging Esmeralda’s body in her tomb.

A success around the world, the story inspired cinema and theater. In 1939, for example, the classic film “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” featured Charles Laughton in the lead role. Disney also revisited the work in 1996 with an animation that still fascinates different generations.

Real inspiration?

In addition to literary fiction, there is historical evidence that suggests the existence of a real “hunchback” which may have inspired Victor Hugo, reports the BBC.

In 2010, researchers discovered references in the memoirs of British sculptor Henry Sibson, who worked on Notre-Dame Cathedral during the 19th century. Sibson mentioned a hunchbacked colleague known for being reserved and not very sociable among sculptors.

“I made a request at the government studies, where they were building great figures, and here I met Mr. Trajano, the most dignified, paternal and kind man who ever lived. He worked for the government sculptor, whose name I forgot because I didn’t I had a relationship with him. All I know is that he was hunchbacked and didn’t like to mix with sculptors”, explain the British sculptor’s memoirs, now at the Tate Gallery in London.

As recalled by Time magazine, the sculptor worked on the historic cathedral at a similar time to when Victor Hugo wrote his novel.