Quasimodo & The Carnivalesque

(The essay is a part of NYU's COREUA-400: "Making Sense of Doubles and Masks" by Prof. Judith Miller)

There is a particular detail in Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris’ first book which is both explicit and implicit in its representation of carnivalesque values: the Pope of Fools election and its connection to the bodily grotesque. The carnivalesque aspects found in the first two books are abundant: the suspension of hierarchical rank, where the Cardinal and his entourage join the crowd during the play; the carnival laughter, expressed through Clopin's presence and the ensuing chaos he inspired; and even the Feast of Fools (festa stultorum), mentioned by name. But in this commentary, I want to focus on the bodily grotesque element in the election of Pope of Fools, arguably the most prominent carnival feature in the first book, as the “candidates" are required to stick his head through a hole and make the ugliest face possible.

Qasimodo as depicted in mainstream media

Quasimodo eventually wins with his natural face, or rather, his whole body: “his whole person was a grimace", says the narrator, with the huge head, the hump, the oversized wart covering his one eye, the strangely put together thighs and legs; the other candidates, meanwhile, had to contort their faces into unnatural forms to incite laughter among the crowd. In this instance, the bodily grotesque is universal, as the election belongs to and includes all of the people. Everyone is encouraged to make these horrifically contorted faces and to inspire carnival laughter: “Ho hé! Curse it!”, “Good! Good!”, “I'm stifling", exclaimed the spectators, marveling in awe and disgust at the “pentagonal, hexagonal, and whimsical faces"; The carnival laughter here is expressed subtly, that of a laughter both gay and mocking found throughout the spectators towards the candidates’ extreme expressions. The degradation of the candidates' faces and of Quasimodo's whole body is also the degradation of the high and spiritual nature of “elections", a word usually associated with formality and order. Regarding representation, we can see that Quasimodo's body and the candidates' faces are not representative of the horrors of life, nor is it a reflection of the drab existence in Paris; rather, it is an expression of the triumphant overabundance, of fertility and growth:

Everything on Quasimodo is oversized, protruding to surface level, and cosmically strange, but they are simply a transference of Quasimodo's inner qualities to a material level, and there is proof for these inner qualities.

Grotesque as his outer body may be, Quasimodo is still capable of inner-strength, courage, self-respect and vanity, as he “stood on the threshold of the chapel, sombre and grave, and allowed [the crowd] to admire him", “contented himself with taking [Robin Poussepain] by the girdle, and hurling [Robin Poussepain] ten paces off amid the crowd” when the scholar laughed too close to Quasimodo's face, and “allowed them to array him in them without wincing, and with a sort of proud docility”.

In conclusion, the bodily grotesque of Quasimodo in the first book is celebrated in true carnival fashion: it is universal in its inclusion; it is the source for festivity; it is for the people to share amongst one another; and it is perhaps one of the small instances of happiness for Quasimodo in his winding journey ahead.

By Chi Tran.