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Chapters
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The Hunchback of Notre-Dame has 30 chapters.
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Chapters30 items
The Grand Hall
The novel opens on January 6, 1482, the Feast of Fools in Paris. A massive crowd has packed the Great Hall of the Palace of Justice to watch a mystery play and witness the electio…
Pierre Gringoire
We follow Pierre Gringoire after his play collapses completely. He wanders through the festival crowd, broke and humiliated, watching the chaos around him.
Monsieur the Cardinal
Back in the Great Hall, Hugo pauses the narrative to describe the arrival of Cardinal Bourbon and the Flemish ambassadors.
Master Jacques Coppenole
One of the Flemish visitors, Jacques Coppenole, introduces himself not as a diplomat but as a hosier, a maker of stockings.
Quasimodo
The grimace contest produces a winner no one expected: Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bell-ringer of Notre-Dame, who stuck his face through the window not to compete but simply becaus…
La Esmeralda
We meet Esmeralda properly for the first time. She is a young Romani street dancer who performs in the square with her trained goat, Djali.
The Danger of Confiding a Secret to a Goat
Gringoire follows Esmeralda through the streets and ends up in the Court of Miracles, the hidden underground community of Paris's poor, criminals, and outcasts.
A Priest and a Philosopher Are Two Different Things
This chapter focuses on Claude Frollo, the archdeacon of Notre-Dame. Hugo traces his history: a brilliant, cold scholar who raised his younger brother Jehan after their parents di…
The Bell
This chapter belongs to Quasimodo. Hugo describes how Quasimodo came to be the bell-ringer of Notre-Dame and what the bells mean to him.
Notre-Dame
Hugo steps back from the characters and gives a long, detailed description of the cathedral itself. He traces its architecture across centuries, mourning the damage done by time,…
Paris from a Bird's-Eye View
This chapter steps back from the plot entirely to give a sweeping description of medieval Paris as seen from the top of Notre-Dame.
Gringoire Has Several Good Ideas in Succession
Gringoire, still alive thanks to his accidental marriage to Esmeralda, tries to figure out how to survive in the Court of Miracles.
The Broken Jug
Esmeralda is brought before the magistrate Florian Barbedienne on a charge related to the attack on Gringoire's life.
A Priest and a Philosopher Are Two Different Things
Gringoire visits Claude Frollo at Notre-Dame. The two men talk, and Frollo makes clear that he is obsessed with Esmeralda.
The Three Hearts Differently Constituted
This chapter lays out the emotional situation of three men in relation to Esmeralda: Frollo, who wants to possess her; Phoebus, who wants to enjoy her casually; and Gringoire, who…
Dog and Master
Quasimodo's devotion to Frollo is shown through a brief but telling scene. The bell-ringer obeys the archdeacon without question, even when Frollo's commands are cold and self-ser…
A Night Ramble
Gringoire wanders Paris at night and stumbles into the Court of Miracles, the hidden underworld where beggars, thieves, and outcasts live.
Showing the Inconvenience of Following a Pretty Woman Through the Streets at Night
Gringoire, before his capture, had been following Esmeralda through Paris, drawn by her beauty. The chapter traces his pursuit and shows how it leads him into danger.
The Result of the Dangers
Quasimodo is arrested for the abduction attempt and brought before a judge. The trial is farcical because the judge is nearly deaf and Quasimodo is completely deaf.
The Grève
Quasimodo is taken to the public square and flogged at the pillory. The crowd mocks and throws things at him.
Besos Para Golpes
Gringoire and a companion attempt to help Esmeralda escape from Notre-Dame, but the plan goes badly wrong. Gringoire ends up saving Djali the goat instead of Esmeralda.
The Recluse of the Tour-Roland
The chapter focuses on Sister Gudule, a recluse who has lived for years in a stone cell, consumed by grief over her stolen infant daughter.
The Little Shoe
This is one of the most dramatic chapters in the novel. As Esmeralda is about to be executed, Gudule grabs her and tries to hide her in the cell, suddenly desperate to protect her.
Phoebus
A short, bitter chapter. Hugo reveals what became of Phoebus de Châteaupers after all the chaos.
Quasimodo
The novel's final chapter. After Esmeralda's execution, Quasimodo disappears from Notre-Dame.
The Marriage of Phoebus
Phoebus, very much alive despite Frollo's stabbing, marries someone else entirely, not Esmeralda. He goes on to have a comfortable, respectable life while Esmeralda hangs from the…
The Retreat Certain People Make Use of
This chapter reveals what happened to Esmeralda after Quasimodo rescued her and brought her to Notre-Dame. It also tracks Frollo's deteriorating state as his obsession with her be…
Chateaupers to the Rescue
The Court of Miracles launches a full assault on Notre-Dame to rescue Esmeralda. Quasimodo, not knowing their intent, defends the cathedral alone, dropping stones and molten lead…
The Marriage of Quasimodo
Frollo brings Esmeralda to the gallows and gives her a final ultimatum: be with him or hang. She chooses death.
Lasciate Ogni Speranza
The title, taken from Dante's Inferno, means 'Abandon all hope.' This final chapter reveals what happened to everyone.
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