The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1. The Hunchback of Notre Dame Pre-Reading Information Mrs. Blocher 2013-2014

2. Classical Movement • Began with Greco-Roman world, with poetry of Homer in 8th-7th century BC • Continues until Early Middle Ages (1000 AD) • Huge sampling of cultures and territories • Considered Medieval Philosophy • Renaissance begins after this, many Classical philosophies resurface • Became Neoclassicism: Age of Enlightenment • Began in Europe • Cultural movement of intellectuals in 17th-18th centuries • Promoted scientific thought, skepticism, and the scientific method • Challenged ideals held in religion or tradition

3. Romantic Movement • Artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that began in Europe • Peaked from 1800-1850 • Partial reaction to Industrial Revolution • Reaction against making nature scientific • Age of Enlightenment • Hugo was a pioneer of this movement • This movement stresses individual expression, imagination, and emotions (especially apprehension, horror, and awe) • Valued nature • Valued aesthetics

4. Notre Dame at Time of Writing • Notre Dame was falling apart; no one had cared to repair it. • During the Romantic Movement, people began feeling the chapel was symbolic of France’s Christian past • Victor Hugo especially felt an almost emotional love for the structure; he knew every detail of the building, inside and out

5. The French Revolution: 1789-1799 • Louis XVI was king. • The revolution was caused by general upset of major differences in classes: poverty, hunger, and unfair taxation. • Financial crisis caused by France’s financial obligations in Seven Years War and for the help they gave us in the American Revolution.

6. The Second French Revolution: 1830 • AKA: July Revolution, or the Revolution of 1830. • Caused by severe disdain of recently crowned Charles X. • Imposed the death penalty to anyone profaning the host of the Catholic Church • His provisions for repaying items/estate lost in the previous revolution or Napoleon’s had people paying reimbursement to anyone who was an “enemy of the revolution.” • It lasted only three days. • The result was a constitutional monarchy. Charles X left for Britain.

7. 1482 in Europe • 15th century seen as a bridge between Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the Early Modern Period. • The Roman Papacy split in two; this division in the Catholic church helped give rise to the Protestant Reformation in the next century. • Spanish Inquisition began only a few years prior. (1478)

8. General Overview • Set in 1482 in Paris, France • First published in 1831, written during the 1830 revolution • Major themes: • Social Strife: the effect of class division on a society • Revolution • Determinism vs. Free Will • Determinism is the philosophy stating that for everything that happens, the conditions are such that nothing else could have possibly happened.

9. General Overview • Motifs: • Duality • Love vs. Hate • Good vs. Evil • Life and Death • Difference vs. Tolerance • Abandonment • Outsiders • Deafness • Deceit