Everything about Claude Frollo totally explained
» This article deals with a character from the novel. For the character in the 1996 Disney adaptation, see Claude Frollo (Disney).
Claude Frollo is a
fictional character from the
Victor Hugo novel
Notre-Dame de Paris (
The Hunchback of Notre Dame - 1831).
Frollo is the
Archdeacon of
Notre Dame Cathedral in
Paris. He is the antagonist of the novel.
Character
In Victor Hugo's novel, Claude Frollo is the Archdeacon of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. He is presented as an extremely complex man who is torn apart by passions. He has a deeply compassionate side. He is the one who rescues the deformed hunchback, abandoned on the cathedral's foundlings bed, cares for him and raises him like a son. He adores and coddles his wastrel, scalawag younger brother
Jehan, while at the same time chiding him for his indolence. He is an intellectual who has become infatuated with
alchemy and other sciences of the day, which brings people to claim he's a sorcerer. His dour, prematurely aged appearance and extreme dislike and fear of women make him even more of an outcast and set him further apart from society. Yet, he also has strong sexual passions, though he's a
celibate. These passions erupt in him through his contact with the beautiful gypsy girl
Esmeralda and turn all his desires to loving her or driving her away, no longer to 'punish' him. Frollo is so infatuated with her that he loses his self-control and kisses her hair, and on another occasion even stabs himself at the sight of her hurt. He also attempts to rape her when she seeks sanctuary in the cathedral. He is hurled off the heights of the cathedral to his death by
Quasimodo when the deaf hunchback sees him laughing at Esmeralda's hanging.
Adaptations
The novel has been adapted to
film on numerous occasions. The most interesting change perhaps comes from the
1923 silent film version, in which Frollo isn't the villain at all; instead, he's a good archdeacon, and the villain of the novel is actually his younger brother Jehan. This is also present in the 1939 adaptation, with the roles the same and Claude as the archdeacon and good brother. This is sometimes compared with the 1996 Disney adaptation, in which Frollo is a Judge, the Archdeacon is a separate character entirely, and the character of Jehan is omitted. Many conclude that such changes were made to avoid a negative reaction from religious organizations, although the results tend to be the opposite of the intentions. Typically, the adaptations omit Frollo's capacity for compassion, adding a selfish interpretation to his adoption of Quasimodo that isn't present in Hugo's novel.
Further Information
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