When I went to Paris for the first time in the summer of 2010, Notre Dame was a must-see. At that time, there were no Internet celebrity attractions. Now think about it, Notre Dame de Paris has long been one of the originators of Internet celebrity attractions. It can also be said to be a kind of luck. I saw the whole picture of Notre Dame before it burned down and entered Notre Dame. What impressed me most was that it was a Saturday afternoon and many people were worshiping. The priest said something in French (probably a word to worship the Virgin Mary and God). The whole audience, including many tourists, knelt down because they didn’t listen. Understand (you may not know what to do if you understand), I stood among those bent bodies. I was so shocked at the time that I spent 2 euros to light a small candle at Notre Dame.
Not all parts of Notre Dame are open to tourists. The first floor is the main church. Although Notre Dame is not the largest church in Europe, it is also one of the most magnificent churches. On the ground floor is the bishop's sarcophagus. I didn’t know much about it before I went down, but after walking around it felt cold, and they were all stone sculptures, so I quickly returned to the first floor. One can imagine what the history of this cathedral, which was started in 1163 and completed in 1345, has gone through.
In April 2019, a fire burned the attic of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. The spire collapsed and two-thirds of the roof was destroyed. I visited Paris again in June, and Notre Dame Cathedral was closed. It's a bit of a sigh and a pity.
In "Notre Dame de Paris", Hugo described the architectural features of Notre Dame and the beauty of the panoramic view of Paris from the high point of Notre Dame. He himself also pointed out that architecture itself is a manifestation of human civilization. The basis of this kind of human civilization is the wisdom of the general public, which is accumulated over time to form civilization. "Notre Dame de Paris" is also very exciting about the advancement of human civilization through architecture and printing. 200 years ago, Victor Hugo could see the changes that printing/printing factories represented by Gutenberg brought to world civilization in Mainz. It is not difficult to think of today, when e-books/screen media gradually replaced printing. , this medium that provides a more convenient way for bottom-up expression will bring changes to human civilization. Or, if you think further, there may be other ways to replace electronic screen media in the future. Is technology changing human life forms, or is human life form changing technology? The wheels of history are rolling, and civilizations are constantly evolving.
Hugo completed "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" in less than half a year. The great writer's main creations at that time focused on poetry and drama. This novel was created mainly to supplement his family income. But it unexpectedly became one of Hugo's most famous works. Quasimodo's feelings for Esmeralda are indeed due to the strong contrast between physical beauty and ugliness, but the same humble background but beautiful soul is shocking. But I was extremely impressed by the mission of Archdeacon Claude Frollo. I think this person is pitiful, pathetic, and hateful, but the sadness is greater than the hate. Similarly, although Esmeralda is innocent, her innocence makes me feel no zuo no die (this may also have something to do with her genes, her poor singer mother is also the second sister-in-law of Xianglin who is simple-minded).
Archdeacon Claude Frollo also came from a poor family. In fact, he once had a kind heart, abstained from sex, practiced asceticism, and relied on his own efforts to climb up and support his younger brother. Adopt Quasimodo, he is not a bad guy in the worldly sense. But his desire made him lose self-control, and he turned to the extreme hypocrisy and cruelty later. He thought that the ascetic archdeacon was drifting away from God. I don’t think this was the result of one day, and it was related to his long-term extreme self-abstinence and Control is relevant. Coupled with his failure to educate his younger brother, his frustration was exacerbated. Therefore, even if he becomes the deputy bishop, his faith may not be solid. Instead, he is in an extreme emptiness, asking alchemy to get rid of the true scriptures. Throughout history, the empty side of the Archdeacon has been a common problem among many successful people. Even Hugo himself, his relationships with many women, even created some of his own words for the fulfillment of his desires. Regardless of whether it is respect for women (many women probably would like it themselves), but more of the human desire side can be seen. Of course, in comparison, officer Fubis was even worse. He not only flirted with women, but also cheated. Throughout the ages, there have been too many scumbags, too many people whose personalities have collapsed, and when something went wrong, there were people who made ppts to apologize, or official announcements on Weibo, so I won’t give examples.
From a broader perspective, class differences are also clearly visible in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Even though Archdeacon Claude Frollo sat in the position of Archdeacon, he was still criticized as a weirdo who came from a poor family, was silent and practiced hard. Even his willingness to adopt the ugly Quasimodo is seen as abnormal. As everyone knows, it is a more superficial and ugly behavior for people to judge the inner beauty and ugliness based on their outer beauty and ugliness. Even the working people at the bottom saw that Esmeralda, who was as low-level as themselves, was going to be hanged, and the ugly king Quasimodo was whipped. There were very few sympathetic people, and most of them were watching. There is a lot of excitement and applause, but you have a deformed mentality without knowing it. This is just like the people in "The True Story of Ah Q" who went to watch the murder, going together, like a group of ducks stretching their necks and being caught by black hands. And those nobles lacked sympathy even more. When Phoebus's fiancée and her friends saw Esmeralda, they were all filled with contempt and criticism except jealousy, so when she saw Esmeralda on the gallows, they were all gloating about her misfortune.
Not to mention the ugly Quasimodo, who did nothing but was stoned and abused just because of his appearance. Who can define beauty and ugliness, justice and evil? What the eyes see, what is agreed by convention, appearance is justice, is it right? What’s even more frightening is that when we are consumed by our appearance, our appearance is also consuming us.
The insidiousness of Louis XI and the struggle for power can also be seen in the book. Hugo experienced the July Revolution in France when he was writing, which was the history reflected in the famous painting "Liberty Leading the People" by Declarois.
The people’s dissatisfaction with the autocracy of the Bourbon dynasty is also reflected in the book. Hanging and killing are a common practice. Foolish rule and governance by incompetent officials, torture and corruption, including the struggle between kings and judges, and the depravity of the church, it is too difficult for people to stay clean in this kind of society, and it is too difficult not to be deformed. On the contrary, Quasimodo, who is completely isolated from society and has the most deformed appearance, still has a beautiful heart. This also proves from another aspect that civilization and history are written by the general public. It's just that history always happens again and again.
I really like Quasimodo’s description of giving life to those bells, so when his and Esmeralda’s skeletons turned to ashes, it felt like the bells of Notre Dame also became silent.