Chief Representative French romanticism had a harsh outlook on life. His works described all surrounding reality, which, unfortunately, causes not joy, but sadness.
One has only to recall the novels "Les Misérables" or "The Man Who Laughs", which had a huge impact on, and other representatives of the literary diaspora. But in his track record, Hugo also has another work that has become a classic of world literature - “Notre Dame Cathedral”. The images of the heroes from this book became recognizable, and the beautiful Esmeralda migrated to cinema, theater, ballet and animated works.
History of creation
Victor Hugo became an innovator, because "Notre Dame Cathedral" was the first historical novel on French. Its idea arose as early as 1828, and in 1831 the manuscript, which stirred up the public and literary critics, appeared in bookstores. When the creator of Esmeralda dipped his pen into the inkwell, he relied on the work of his colleague, who loved to construct works based on historical overtones.
In addition, the genius of literature was guided by political motives. According to legend, a huge building with a six-part rib vault, which was a Gothic masterpiece, was about to be demolished by the authorities, and Hugo advocated the reconstruction of cultural monuments. It is noteworthy that after the publication of a book about Notre Dame, the deserted cathedral attracted the attention of tourists. The novel helped to instill a love and respect for the old buildings, which, after the publication of Notre Dame Cathedral, began to be protected.
Biography and plot
The French novel, which has become a cult classic, is dramatic and shows social problems society, and also talks about human cruelty and the confrontation between good and evil.
Esmeralda is the central character in Victor Hugo's novel. She was born in 1466 to Paquette Chantefleury, the daughter of a minstrel from Reims. But since Paquette's father went bankrupt and soon died, the family lived extremely modestly. Esmeralda's mother blossomed early, and at the age of 14 she began to attract the attention of men.
Once she fell in love, but the relationship with married man were doomed to a fiasco, besides, the windy seigneur got another mistress. Then Paquette began to sink to the very bottom of the social ladder and "went from hand to hand": she spent her time with both aristocrats and ordinary men.
Paquette, who became a courtesan, was saved from degradation by pregnancy, which occurred at the age of 20. After the birth of Agnes (Esmeralda's birth name), Chantefleurie got prettier, so her "profession" again began to be in demand, and the young mother spent all the money she earned on outfits for her daughter.
Not to say that Agnes's childhood was cloudless. The little girl was stolen by Spanish gypsies, who instead left a humpbacked child named Quasimodo in the cradle. After this tragic event, Paquette lost her mind, thinking that the kidnappers had eaten the girl. Such a conclusion was made by Chantefleury when she saw traces of a fire and blood on the site of the camp.
Esmeralda, who grew up in a strange family, all her life wanted to find her real mother, whose biography is overgrown with rumors and legends. Some said that the woman threw herself into the water, while others allegedly saw her on the way to the capital. The dancer wore around her neck the only object left from her parent - an amulet with a child's embroidered shoe.
The character and image of Esmeralda is revealed to readers gradually. On the first pages of the work, she appears as a short, swarthy girl living in the Parisian "Palace of Miracles" - the abode of beggars, criminals, gypsies, thieves and other people who are at the very bottom of the social abyss. Despite such a depressing environment, the black-haired maiden could feel safe, as she won general love for her spiritual kindness, beauty and spontaneity.
Gypsy with early age I learned what it was like to earn a living by hard work. She received money by delighting passers-by with dances and tricks with a trained goat Jalli. The external data of a young dancing girl was amazing, she was often compared with an angel or a fairy. Therefore, it is quite natural that three heroes fell in love with her at once: the poet Pierre Gringoire, the minister of the temple Claude Frollo and the ugly ringer Quasimodo.
The archdeacon Frollo tries to steal Esmeralda with the help of the holy fool Quasimodo, but the gypsy will be saved by the officer Phoebus de Chateauper, with whom the heroine falls in love at first sight. At Esmeralda's kind heart, for example, she did not pass by Quasimodo and brought him water when he was tied to pillory and was dying of thirst. But the heroine, personifying "a ray of light in dark kingdom”, does not differ by analytical mental faculties. She is used to acting according to her heart.
Openness and naivety play with this girl bad joke. Having fallen in love, she is ready to give herself to Captain Phoebus, but the dancer is sure that with the loss of her innocence, the opportunity to meet her parents will elude her forever.
Esmeralda is haunted by misfortune: a gypsy was falsely accused and sentenced to death penalty. This happened due to the fact that a jealous priest, tormented by unrequited love, wounded his opponent Phoebus and fled. Quasimodo saved the beauty from the noose: although the ringer is sure that Esmeralda will not pay attention to him, it is a joy for him to be near and protect the dancer.
Further, Claude Frollo frees the object of his desire from the besieged monastery and gives the girl an ultimatum: either he or death on the scaffold. But the girl refuses to run away from the city with the murderer of her lover. Then the archdeacon leaves Esmeralda to the old woman Gudula and goes for the guards to betray the unfortunate woman. Gudula doesn't like gypsies because they stole her daughter. An elderly woman shows a slipper to a gypsy and it turns out that in fact Gudula is Paquette Chantefleurie.
Unfortunately, the fact that Gudula is Esmeralda's mother turns out too late. The caretaker hides the girl from the guards, but the gypsy does fatal mistake: seeing Phoebus among the soldiers, she naively calls her beloved. The heroine of the work was hanged, and Paquette soon died, unable to bear the second loss of her daughter.
Screen adaptations and actors
The heroes of Notre Dame Cathedral are a favorite theme of directors, and the image of Esmeralda in literary and cinematic works is interpreted in different ways: often the name of this girl, who is considered to be a gypsy, is associated with a fatal beauty who breaks men's hearts. There are more than ten adaptations of Victor Hugo's novel, so let's look at popular paintings.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (film, 1923)
Perhaps, the black-and-white film directed by Wallace Worsley, shot in the horror genre, was not deprived of the attention of fans of film adaptations. gothic painting not much different from the original plot, which came up with Victor Hugo. It is noteworthy that the filmmakers approached their work prudently, for example, the preparation of the filming process lasted whole year.
in brilliant cast included professional actors. Lon Chaney got the role of Quasimodo, the captain of the royal shooters was played by Norman Kerry. The role of the black-eyed beauty was tried on by actress Patsy Ruth Miller.
"Notre Dame Cathedral" (film, 1956)
The winner of the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival Jean Delannoy delighted moviegoers with a luxurious staging of the novel by Victor Hugo.
The directors did not skimp on the scenery and costumes, and the canonical image of Esmeralda was created by the famous italian beauty, which divided film set with Anthony Quinn, Alain Cuny, Jean Danet and other stars.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (cartoon, 1996)
The Disney animated film is a loose interpretation of Hugo's novel, and the plot focuses on the dancer Esmeralda.
She becomes a friend of Quasimodo and tells him that the main thing is inside, not outside: even if the bell ringer's appearance is ugly, his soul is beautiful. The heroine appears before the audience as an independent girl who is against the authorities persecuting the gypsies. The role of Esmeralda was voiced.
- The name "Esmeralda" is translated from Portuguese as "emerald", so the Disney illustrators awarded the heroine with green eyes.
- The cartoon "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" attracted not only positive reviews, but also drew a flurry of criticism. Hugo researcher Arnaud Leiter accused the studio of simplifying the original plot and characters, and the cartoon itself contributed to stereotyping.
- In the hand-drawn tape about Quasimodo and Esmeralda, you can meet others cartoon characters: Pumbaa, Donald Duck, and Jafar from "".
- On the Russian stage, the song "Belle" from the musical "Notre Dame de Paris" was performed by Alexander Marakulin and.
Quotes
“He realized that a person needs affection, that life, devoid of tenderness and love, is nothing but an inanimate screeching and creaking mechanism.”
"He felt how cruel was the transition from student dreams to everyday reality."
“And it is already known that when girls laugh a lot, it means that they are preparing streams of tears for themselves in the future. Beautiful teeth will ruin beautiful eyes.
“In this heart, the same string still sounds, the string is the most hidden, the most sensitive; but instead of an angel gently touching her, she is tugged at by a demon.”
Esmeralda - main character Notre Dame Cathedral by Victor Hugo, as well as films, plays, musicals, ballets and poems based on this work.
Name
The name Esmeralda has Greek roots and goes back to the word "smaragdos", which has passed into Latin language as "smaragdus". This word means green gem”, or rather, “emerald”. There was male name Emerald. In the future, the word underwent some phonetic changes, only female name, which began to sound like Smeralda, Smeraldina, and later on as Emerald, Esmeralda. The Slavs also had the female name Izmaragda, which came from the Greek name for the emerald stone, and the male name sounded like Izmaragd.
Esmeralda in the original novel
Esmeralda is the heroine of V. Hugo's novel "The Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris"(1831). Esmeralda was stolen from her mother, Paquette Chantefleurie, by Spanish gypsies, leaving behind the child we know as Quasimodo. They gave her that name. From birth, her name was Agnes. Raised in a gypsy camp, Esmeralda returned to Paris and began to earn money by dancing and demonstrating a trained goat, Gialli. She lived in a dysfunctional quarter, the population of which were thieves, professional beggars, gypsies and other rabble. She was completely safe there, because everyone loved her for her beauty. But not only her appearance is perfect, from her small flawless legs to her dark huge eyes and lush black hair. Hugo repeatedly emphasizes that when Esmeralda appears, everything is illuminated with some kind of magical radiance: “She was like a torch brought from light into darkness.” But the soul of the heroine is no less beautiful. It is impossible to imagine that she could deliberately harm anyone. She does not hesitate to save the writer of mysteries Gringoire from the gallows, agreeing, according to gypsy laws, to recognize him as her husband for four years; she was the only one of the huge crowd who took pity on the unfortunate Quasimodo, who was dying of thirst at the pillory, and gave him a drink from her flask.
If Esmeralda has a small flaw, then it belongs to the sphere of reason and intuition. She is completely blind and very trusting, it is not difficult to lure her into the set networks. The heroine is too passionate about her fantasies and dreams to really look at things and anticipate danger.
First and the only love the heroine, by a tediously boring irony of fate, became an empty fanfaron Phoebe de Chateauper. Before the fateful meeting with Phoebus, everything was in a state of external peace. Esmeralda lived her dreams and hopes. Quasimodo only admired her from a distance. The intimidating face of Claude Frollo appeared before her quite often, but only frightened her without causing significant harm. Jealousy forced him to take decisive action - first to Phoebus, and then to Quasimodo. Claude Frollo decided to destroy Esmeralda so that no one would get it. It is by his will recent months the life of the heroine turned into a living hell. At first, he arranged everything in such a way that Esmeralda was accused of killing Phoebus (although he did not die at all, but was only wounded by the evil archdeacon). Esmeralda ended up in prison, was subjected to horrific torture, but still preferred death to the love of Claude Frollo. Only by a miracle Quasimodo managed to save Esmeralda, literally tearing her out of the hands of the executioner. He transferred the condemned woman to the cathedral, where, according to the law, no one had the right to touch her, and asked her never to leave. But Claude Frollo again managed to deceive Esmeralda, using her friend Gringoire, he lured her out into the street. And this was the end for the unfortunate heroine. This time she was hanged.
Kuznetsov Evgeny - Esmeralda
The meaning of the image of the heroine
Pride and feeling dignity naturally inherent in Esmeralda. She is beautiful when she dances or sings, "sings like a bird, jubilant and nonchalant." But, having fallen in love with Phoebus, she forgets about what is an organic property of her free nature. She is almost pathetic when she says to her insignificant lover: "I am your slave ... Let me be dishonored, tarnished, humiliated, what can I do." Love for Phoebus, beautiful in its essence, makes her sometimes cruel to those around her and those who really love her.
But Hugo's novel is precisely built on such contrasts and oppositions: Esmeralda and Quasimodo - beauty and physical ugliness; Esmeralda and Phoebus - sincerity and deceit, selflessness and narcissism; Esmeralda and Claude Frollo - disinterested, sacrificial love and selfish, lustful death attraction.
Esmeralda in the musical "Notre Dame de Paris"
Esmeralda in the musical is not a stolen Frenchwoman, but an orphaned gypsy girl from Spain. If the novel meant that everything positive in it - from French descent, then in the musical it is her personal qualities, which are also possible for a simple gypsy. In the musical, she does not have a trained goat, she earns only by dancing. Many researchers of Hugo's work believe that the presence of Djali in the musical is fundamentally important, because there is an opinion that the goat embodies tragedy ("tragedy" in Greek - "goat song").
Esmeralda in movie
One of the most popular is the film adaptation of Notre Dame Cathedral in 1956. In which actress Gina Lollobrigida quite successfully played the main character. One of the reasons for the success, apparently, is a serious work on the external component of her image: on the one hand, he uses associations with gypsy ( bare feet, bright scarf, torn hem), on the other hand, reflects her character (both Esmeralda's dresses are pure "fiery" colors, red and yellow, their style emphasizes her youthful fragility and impetuosity of her movements). The ending is partially changed compared to the original: Esmeralda was killed by an arrow during the storming of the cathedral. Her last words: "Life is Beautiful". After many years, Lollobrigida even created a sculpture depicting Esmeralda in dance.
Esmeralda in Walt Disney cartoon, 1996
Character Creation
Two actresses became the prototype of the image of the heroine: Gina Lollobrigida and Demi Moore (the actress voiced the cartoon). Demi Moore was invited to voice acting, because the creators wanted the main protagonist to have an unconventional voice.
Initially, they wanted to portray the girl as 14-16 summer girl with a kind, naive character and not 100% gypsy. But the authors decided to make the heroine unconventional - in the cartoon Esmeralda is 18 years old, she is a purebred gypsy with a daring, independent, brave and fair character. Such changes (age) were made so that the girl does not look fragile in comparison with her "cavaliers" (Judge Claude Frollo, Quasimodo and Captain Phoebus) and in order to avoid hints.
Character
“Did you see what he did in the square? He let the crowd torture the poor guy. I thought that if at least someone stood up for him, then ... Why did those who are not like them not please people?
Esmeralda is verbally powerful, wise, cunning, and a fighting girl. She was the only person throughout Paris, openly rebelling against Frollo during his reign, and was openly opposed to his accusations, claiming that the gypsies were a gang of thieves engaged in the unholy practice of witchcraft.
Appearance description
Esmeralda is an attractive young woman with slim figure and swarthy skin. She has thick curly black hair, emerald green eyes (possibly related to the meaning of her name), and dark red lips.
She mostly wears a white blouse that exposes her shoulders, a dark green corset, a purple scarf with coins on her belt, a lilac skirt, a pink ribbon with which the girl collects her hair in a ponytail, jewelry on each arm, a bracelet on her leg, an earring on her left ear. During the dance at the Festival of Fools, she wore a wine-colored dress with purple stripes at the waist and arms (the dress also exposes the girl's shoulders), a diadem and a lilac gauze shawl (or scarf), which Claude Frollo gives. It can be seen that the dress is made of expensive fabrics, so Esmeralda could receive the dress as a reward for dancing from noble people.
During the burning, she wore the so-called "clothes of a suicide bomber" white color. In the second film, she wears the same as in the first, which is quite interesting - when they were caught, Frollo could destroy her clothes, but did not destroy, perhaps still hoping that Esmeralda would still love him. It is customary to consider Esmeralda's birthday on January 26 (sign Aquarius).
Appearances
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
At the beginning of the cartoon, Esmermalda is dancing in the streets of Paris, trying to earn money for her living. Suddenly, two guards appear and begin to pester her, but with the help of Jali and Phoebus, who is passing by, she manages to escape. Over the course of the film, Esmeralda seeks justice for her people. She falls in love with Captain Phoebus and helps Quasimodo to understand that gypsies are good people.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame 2
The action takes place 6 years after the events of the first cartoon. By then, Esmeralda and Phoebus are already married and have a son named Zephyr.
mouse house
In the animated series, Esmeralda appears as a cameo character.
Video
Sources
- https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esmeralda_(character)
France
Paris, Place Greve
Paquette Chantefleurie (mother, deceased), father unknown (possibly gypsy)
Dancer
Patsy Ruth Miller, Maureen O'Hara, Gina Lollobrigida, Demi Moore (voice actress)
Esmeralda(fr. Esmeralda) is the main character of Victor Hugo's novel Notre Dame Cathedral, as well as films, performances, musicals, ballets and poems based on this work.
Esmeralda in the original novel
In Victor Hugo's novel, Esmeralda's story is revealed gradually. For the first time, Esmeralda appears as a beautiful young girl living in the Parisian Court of Miracles (the abode of beggars and criminals), earning money by dancing and performing with a trained goat Jalli. The poet Pierre Gringoire, the priest Claude Frollo and the ugly ringer Quasimodo fall in love with her. Frollo, with the help of Quasimodo, tries to steal Esmeralda, but she is saved by the officer Phoebe de Chateauper. Esmeralda falls in love with her savior.
In the novel we see detailed description appearance of the heroine: “She was short in stature, but seemed tall - her slim figure was so slender. She was swarthy, but it was not difficult to guess that during the day her skin had a wonderful golden hue, inherent in Andalusians and Romans. The small foot was also an Andalusian foot, so lightly did she step in her narrow elegant shoe. The girl danced, fluttered, whirled on an old Persian carpet carelessly thrown under her feet, and every time her radiant face appeared before you, the look of her large black eyes blinded you like lightning. The eyes of the crowd were riveted on her, all mouths gaping. She danced to the rumble of a tambourine, which her round virgin hands raised high above her head. Thin, fragile, with bare shoulders and slender legs occasionally flashing from under her skirt, black-haired, quick as a wasp, in a golden bodice tightly fitting her waist, in a motley swollen dress, shining with her eyes, she seemed to be a truly unearthly creature ... "(" Notre Dame Cathedral, III Besos para golpes (18)
The image of Esmeralda in the novel is complex and tragic. She is the embodiment of chastity and naivety, not at all like the rest of the inhabitants of the "Court of Miracles". Even the fact that she has to make a living by dancing does not corrupt her. She has a good heart: she brings water to Quasimodo when he is tied to a pillory; in order to save Gringoire, whom she does not know, from death, she agrees to formally be called his wife. But her openness and naivete almost lead to disaster: for the first time in her life, having fallen in love, she is ready to give herself to Captain Phoebus, even though she is sure that with the loss of innocence, the opportunity to ever meet her parents will leave her.
The girl knows that the gypsies who raised her are not her parents, she passionately wants to find her real mother and wears an amulet around her neck, which contains a tiny children's embroidered slipper - the only thing that she inherited from her real mother: Esmeralda hopes for him someday find, but, according to the order given to her with a slipper, for this she must preserve her virginity. Gradually, the reader discovers the story of the origin of Esmeralda.
The girl's mother was called Paquette Chantefleury, she was the daughter of a famous minstrel from Reims. But the minstrel died, leaving his little daughter and wife penniless. They made a living by embroidery and lived extremely modestly. Paquette blossomed early and began to attract the attention of noble men. She fell in love with one of them and became his mistress, as soon as she was 14 years old. But the windy signor soon left the girl, and she "went from hand to hand", sinking lower and lower: from aristocrats to simpler men. Paketta, who had become an ordinary prostitute, was saved from complete degradation by pregnancy: at the age of 20, she gave birth to a lovely girl, whom she named Agnes. After the birth, the faded girl became very prettier, and her “services” again turned out to be in price. Everything that Paquette earned, she spent on outfits for her adored baby.
Once a gypsy camp arrived in Reims, and Paquette, like many other mothers, could not resist going with her daughter to the gypsies to find out the future of her child. beautiful girl delighted the gypsies, and a few days later they stole it, throwing Paquette into the cradle of an ugly, hunchbacked and lame boy of about four. The unfortunate Paketta turned gray in one night from grief and became mentally damaged: having found traces of fires and blood stains at the place where the camp that had disappeared in one night stood, she decided that the gypsies had eaten her child.
Soon Paquette disappeared from Reims. Some said that she drowned herself, others said that she was seen on the road to the capital. The archbishop of Reims ordered the ugly foundling to be sent to Paris and placed in a manger near the orphanage (this child was Quasimodo).
... Esmeralda is sentenced to death on a false charge: Claude Frollo, tormented by jealousy, wounds Phoebus during his meeting with Esmeralda, and hides. Quasimodo takes her out of the noose and hides her in the Cathedral. There she lives for some time, without stopping thinking about Phoebe (whose wound turned out to be light, but who had already managed to forget the gypsy). Quasimodo understands that she will never be able to reciprocate his feelings, but is already happy because he can protect her.
Claude Frollo and Gringoire rescue the girl from the besieged cathedral, thereby saving her from death. They ferry her across the Seine. Claude puts her before a choice: either she will agree to be with him, or she will be hanged. Esmeralda refuses to flee the city with the "killer" Phoebus. The archdeacon leaves her to the old woman Gudula, and goes for the guards to extradite the gypsy. Gudula is a recluse who fiercely hates the gypsies because they once stole her only daughter, keeps Esmeralda. Gudula, curses the girl and shows her her daughter's slipper, at this moment Esmeralda shows exactly the same bootie. Here it turns out that Gudula is Paquette Chantefleury, Esmeralda's mother, but it turns out too late. Paquette hides the girl from the soldiers, but, seeing Phoebe among them, Esmeralda, not thinking about the consequences, naively calls him. The girl was immediately hanged, and her mother died, unable to bear the second loss of her daughter.
In productions and film adaptations of the novel, the details of the heroine's birth are usually omitted and she is portrayed as a gypsy (only in the 1923 film adaptation with Patsy Ruth Miller in leading role the details of the birth of the heroine are preserved, the image of her character from the original source is also preserved, except that she is not afraid of her pursuer). The image of brilliant purity and innocence invented by Hugo is often omitted, instead Esmeralda appears in the image of a fatal beauty.
Esmeralda in the musical "Notre Dame de Paris"
Esmeralda in the musical is not a stolen Frenchwoman, but an orphaned gypsy girl from Spain. If in the novel it was implied that everything positive in her is from French origin, then in the musical it is her personal qualities, which are also possible for a simple gypsy. In the musical, she does not have a trained goat, she earns only by dancing. Many researchers of Hugo's work [Who?] believe that the presence of Jali in the musical is fundamentally important, because there is an opinion that the goat embodies tragedy (“tragedy” in Greek is “goat song”).
Esmeralda in film adaptations
In the film "Notre Dame Cathedral" (1956)
Gina Lollobrigida in this film is considered the most successful screen incarnation of Esmeralda. One of the reasons for success, apparently, is serious work on the external component of her image: on the one hand, he uses associations with gypsyism (bare feet, a bright scarf, torn hem), on the other hand, reflects her character (both Esmeralda's dresses are clean " fiery colors, red and yellow, their style emphasizes her youthful fragility and impetuosity of her movements). The ending is partially changed compared to the original: Esmeralda was killed by an arrow during the storming of the cathedral. Her last words: "Life is beautiful" (fr. C "est beau, la vie).
Many years later, Lollobrigida created a sculpture depicting Esmeralda in dance.
Animated by Walt Disney Studios 1996
In the cartoon, Esmeralda is a purebred gypsy. This is a beautiful girl who makes a living by dancing. It is believed that the prototype of her image was two famous actresses: Gina Lollobrigida and Demi Moore (voice actor of the heroine in the original). It is also interesting that in the first sketches (during the creation work) Esmeralda looked exactly 14-16 years old, in the final version she was depicted a little older (in fact, she is 16 years old in the book, and in the cartoon 18-19 years) perhaps because the heroine does not look more fragile in comparison with other characters (Judge Claude Frollo and Captain Phoebus). In the cartoon, she is slender, with bronze skin, blue-black long, curly hair, and green eyes; in the book version, her skin is also bronze, but lighter - this may indicate that her father could be a gypsy. She has a lively and independent personality. She is brave, smart, proud and strong, very kind and fair. If you look closely, you can see that with her hair loose, Esmeralda looks much younger than with her hair gathered in a ponytail. It is also one of the most beautiful girls living in France.
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An excerpt characterizing Esmeralda (character)
- When are you going to sleep? answered another voice.“I won’t, I can’t sleep, what should I do!” Well, the last time...
Two female voices they sang some kind of musical phrase that was the end of something.
- Oh, what a delight! Well, now sleep, and the end.
“Sleep, but I can’t,” answered the first voice, approaching the window. She apparently leaned completely out of the window, because the rustling of her dress and even breathing could be heard. Everything was quiet and petrified, like the moon and its light and shadows. Prince Andrei was also afraid to move, so as not to betray his involuntary presence.
– Sonya! Sonya! – the first voice was heard again. - Well, how can you sleep! Yes, look what a charm! Ah, what a delight! Wake up, Sonya, - she said almost with tears in her voice. “There has never been such a lovely night, never.
Sonya reluctantly answered something.
- No, look at that moon! ... Oh, what a charm! You come here. Darling, dove, come here. Well, see? So I would squat down, like this, I would grab myself under my knees - tighter, as tight as possible - you have to strain. Like this!
- All right, you're going to fall.
There was a struggle and Sonya's dissatisfied voice: "After all, the second hour."
Oh, you're just ruining everything for me. Well, go, go.
Everything fell silent again, but Prince Andrei knew that she was still sitting there, he sometimes heard a quiet stir, sometimes sighs.
- Oh my god! My God! what is it! she suddenly cried out. - Sleep like sleep! and slammed the window.
“And it doesn’t matter to my existence!” thought Prince Andrei while he listened to her conversation, for some reason waiting and fearing that she would say something about him. “And she again! And how on purpose! he thought. Such an unexpected confusion of young thoughts and hopes, which contradicted his whole life, suddenly arose in his soul, that he, feeling unable to understand his state of mind, immediately fell asleep.
The next day, having said goodbye to only one count, without waiting for the ladies to leave, Prince Andrei went home.
It was already the beginning of June, when Prince Andrei, returning home, drove again into that birch grove in which this old, gnarled oak struck him so strangely and memorable. The bells rang even more muffled in the forest than a month and a half ago; everything was full, shady and dense; and young spruce trees scattered throughout the forest did not disturb the general beauty and, imitation of the general character, tenderly turned green with fluffy young shoots.
The whole day was hot, somewhere a thunderstorm was gathering, but only a small cloud splashed on the dust of the road and on the succulent leaves. The left side of the forest was dark, in shadow; the right one, wet and glossy, shone in the sun, slightly swaying in the wind. Everything was in bloom; the nightingales chirped and rolled now close, now far away.
“Yes, here, in this forest, there was this oak, with which we agreed,” thought Prince Andrei. “Yes, where is he,” thought Prince Andrei again, looking at the left side of the road and without knowing it, not recognizing him, admired the oak he was looking for. The old oak, all transformed, spread out like a tent of juicy, dark greenery, was thrilled, slightly swaying in the rays of the evening sun. No clumsy fingers, no sores, no old distrust and grief - nothing was visible. Juicy, young leaves broke through the tough, hundred-year-old bark without knots, so that it was impossible to believe that this old man had produced them. “Yes, this is the same oak tree,” thought Prince Andrei, and a causeless, spring feeling of joy and renewal suddenly came over him. All the best moments of his life were suddenly remembered to him at the same time. And Austerlitz with a high sky, and the dead, reproachful face of his wife, and Pierre on the ferry, and the girl, agitated by the beauty of the night, and this night, and the moon, - and he suddenly remembered all this.
“No, life is not over at the age of 31, suddenly, Prince Andrei decided completely, without change. Not only do I know everything that is in me, it is necessary that everyone knows this: both Pierre and this girl who wanted to fly into the sky, it is necessary that everyone knows me, so that my life goes not for me alone so that they do not live so independently of my life, so that it is reflected on everyone and that they all live with me together!
Returning from his trip, Prince Andrei decided to go to St. Petersburg in the fall and came up with different reasons this decision. A whole series of reasonable, logical arguments why he needed to go to Petersburg and even serve, was every minute ready for his services. Even now he did not understand how he could ever doubt the need to take an active part in life, just as a month ago he did not understand how the idea of leaving the village could come to him. It seemed clear to him that all his experiences in life must have been lost in vain and be nonsense if he had not put them to work and had not again taken an active part in life. He did not even understand how, on the basis of the same poor rational arguments, it had previously been obvious that he would be humiliated if now, after his lessons in life, he would again believe in the possibility of being useful and in the possibility of happiness and love. Now my mind was telling me something else. After this trip, Prince Andrei began to get bored in the countryside, his previous activities did not interest him, and often, sitting alone in his office, he got up, went to the mirror and looked at his face for a long time. Then he turned away and looked at the portrait of the deceased Lisa, who, with curls a la grecque [in Greek] fluffed up, tenderly and cheerfully looked at him from a golden frame. She no longer spoke the former terrible words to her husband, she simply and cheerfully looked at him with curiosity. And Prince Andrei, with his hands folded back, paced the room for a long time, now frowning, now smiling, rethinking those unreasonable, inexpressible in words, secret as a crime thoughts connected with Pierre, with fame, with the girl at the window, with the oak, with female beauty and love that changed his whole life. And at those moments when someone came to him, he was especially dry, sternly resolute, and especially unpleasantly logical.
- Mon cher, [My dear,] - Princess Mary used to say entering at such a moment, - Nikolushka cannot go for a walk today: it is very cold.
- If it were warm, - at such moments, Prince Andrei answered his sister especially dryly, - then he would go in one shirt, and since it is cold, you need to put on warm clothes, which are invented for this. That’s what follows from the fact that it’s cold, and not just to stay at home when the child needs air, ”he said with special logic, as if punishing someone for all this secret, illogical thing that was happening in him, inner work. Princess Marya thought in these cases about how this mental work dries men.
Prince Andrei arrived in St. Petersburg in August 1809. It was the time of the apogee of the glory of the young Speransky and the energy of the coups he carried out. In this very August, the sovereign, riding in a carriage, was thrown out, injured his leg, and remained in Peterhof for three weeks, seeing Speransky daily and exclusively. At that time, not only two decrees, so famous and alarming to society, were being prepared on the destruction of court officials and on examinations for the ranks of collegiate assessors and state councilors, but also a whole state constitution, which was supposed to change the existing judicial, administrative and financial order of governing Russia from state council before the municipal government. Now those vague, liberal dreams with which Emperor Alexander came to the throne, and which he sought to realize with the help of his assistants Czartoryzhsky, Novosiltsev, Kochubey and Strogonov, whom he himself jokingly called comite du salut publique, were now realized and embodied. [committee of public safety.]
Now Speransky for the civilian part and Arakcheev for the military have replaced everyone together. Prince Andrei, soon after his arrival, as a chamberlain, appeared at the court and went out. The sovereign twice, having met him, did not honor him with a single word. It always seemed to Prince Andrei even before that he was antipathetic to the sovereign, that his face and his whole being were unpleasant to the sovereign. In the dry, distant look with which the sovereign looked at him, Prince Andrei found confirmation of this assumption even more than before. The courtiers explained to Prince Andrei the inattention of the sovereign to him by the fact that His Majesty was dissatisfied with the fact that Bolkonsky had not served since 1805.
“I myself know how powerless we are in our likes and dislikes,” thought Prince Andrei, and therefore there is nothing to think about personally presenting my note on the military regulations to the sovereign, but the matter will speak for itself. He passed on his note to the old field marshal, a friend of his father. The field marshal, appointing him an hour, kindly received him and promised to report to the sovereign. A few days later it was announced to Prince Andrei that he had to appear before the Minister of War, Count Arakcheev.
At nine o'clock in the morning, on the appointed day, Prince Andrei appeared in the reception room of Count Arakcheev.
Personally, Prince Andrei did not know Arakcheev and had never seen him, but everything that he knew about him inspired little respect for this man.
“He is the Minister of War, a confidant of the Sovereign Emperor; no one should care about his personal properties; he was instructed to consider my note, therefore he alone can set it in motion, ”thought Prince Andrei, waiting among many important and unimportant persons in the waiting room of Count Arakcheev.
Prince Andrei during his for the most part adjutant, the service saw a lot of adoptive important persons and various characters these receptionists were very clear to him. Count Arakcheev had a very special character in his reception room. On the unimportant faces waiting in line for an audience in the waiting room of Count Arakcheev, a feeling of shame and humility was written; on more official faces, one general feeling of awkwardness was expressed, hidden under the guise of swagger and ridicule at oneself, at one's position and at the expected person. Some walked thoughtfully back and forth, others laughed in whispers, and Prince Andrei heard the sobriquet [mocking nickname] of Sila Andreich and the words: “uncle will ask,” referring to Count Arakcheev. One general (an important person), apparently offended by the fact that he had to wait so long, sat shifting his legs and smiling contemptuously to himself.
Esmeralda- the main character of the novel by Victor Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral".
Characteristics of Esmeraldi
In Victor Hugo's novel, Esmeralda's story is revealed gradually. For the first time, Esmeralda appears as a beautiful young girl living in the Parisian Court of Miracles (the abode of beggars and criminals), earning money by dancing and performing with a trained goat Jalli. The poet Pierre Gringoire, the priest Claude Frollo and the ugly ringer Quasimodo fall in love with her. Frollo, with the help of Quasimodo, tries to steal Esmeralda, but she is saved by the officer Phoebe de Chateauper. Esmeralda falls in love with her savior.
In the novel, we see a detailed description of the appearance of the heroine: “She was not tall, but she seemed tall - her slim figure was so slender. She was swarthy, but it was not difficult to guess that during the day her skin had a wonderful golden hue, inherent in Andalusians and Romans. The small foot was also an Andalusian foot, so lightly did she step in her narrow elegant shoe. The girl danced, fluttered, whirled on an old Persian carpet carelessly thrown under her feet, and every time her radiant face appeared before you, the look of her large black eyes blinded you like lightning. The eyes of the crowd were riveted on her, all mouths gaping. She danced to the rumble of a tambourine, which her rounded virgin hands raised high above her head. Thin, fragile, with bare shoulders and slender legs occasionally flashing from under her skirt, black-haired, quick as a wasp, in a golden bodice tightly fitting her waist, in a motley swollen dress, shining with her eyes, she seemed to be a truly unearthly creature ... ".
The image of Esmeralda in the novel is complex and tragic. She is the embodiment of chastity and naivety, not at all like the rest of the inhabitants of the "Court of Miracles". Even the fact that she has to make a living by dancing does not corrupt her. She has a good heart: she brings water to Quasimodo when he is tied to a pillory; in order to save Gringoire, whom she does not know, from death, she agrees to formally be called his wife. But her openness and naivete almost lead to disaster: for the first time in her life, having fallen in love, she is ready to give herself to Captain Phoebus, even though she is sure that with the loss of innocence, the opportunity to ever meet her parents will leave her.
The girl knows that the gypsies who raised her are not her parents, she passionately wants to find her real mother and wears an amulet around her neck, which contains a tiny children's embroidered slipper - the only thing that she inherited from her real mother: Esmeralda hopes for him someday find, but, according to the order given to her with a slipper, for this she must preserve her virginity. Gradually, the reader discovers the story of the origin of Esmeralda.
The girl's mother was called Paquette Chantefleury, she was the daughter of a famous minstrel from Reims. But the minstrel died, leaving his little daughter and wife penniless. They made a living by embroidery and lived extremely modestly. Paquette blossomed early and began to attract the attention of noble men. She fell in love with one of them and became his mistress, as soon as she was 14 years old. But the windy signor soon left the girl, and she "went from hand to hand", sinking lower and lower: from aristocrats to simpler men. Paketta, who had become an ordinary prostitute, was saved from complete degradation by pregnancy: at the age of 20, she gave birth to a lovely girl, whom she named Agnes. After the birth, the faded girl became very prettier, and her "services" again turned out to be valuable. Everything that Paquette earned, she spent on outfits for her adored baby.
Once a gypsy camp arrived in Reims, and Paquette, like many other mothers, could not resist going with her daughter to the gypsies to find out the future of her child. The beautiful girl delighted the gypsies, and a few days later they stole her, throwing Paquette into the cradle of an ugly, hunchbacked and lame boy of about four. The unfortunate Paquette, from grief, turned gray in one night and was damaged by reason: having found traces of fires and bloodstains at the place where the camp that had disappeared in one night stood, she decided that the gypsies had eaten her child.
Soon Paquette disappeared from Reims. Some said that she drowned herself, others said that she was seen on the road to the capital. The archbishop of Reims ordered the ugly foundling to be sent to Paris and placed in a manger near the orphanage (this child was Quasimodo).
... Esmeralda is sentenced to death on a false charge: Claude Frollo, tormented by jealousy, wounds Phoebus during his meeting with Esmeralda, and hides. Quasimodo takes her out of the noose and hides her in the Cathedral. There she lives for some time, without stopping thinking about Phoebe (whose wound turned out to be light, but who had already managed to forget the gypsy). Quasimodo understands that she will never be able to reciprocate his feelings, but is already happy because he can protect her.
Claude Frollo and Gringoire rescue the girl from the besieged cathedral, thereby saving her from death. They ferry her across the Seine. Claude puts her before a choice: either she will agree to be with him, or she will be hanged. Esmeralda refuses to flee the city with the "killer" Phoebus. The archdeacon leaves her to the old woman Gudula, and goes for the guards to extradite the gypsy. Gudula is a recluse who fiercely hates the gypsies because they once stole her only daughter, keeps Esmeralda. Gudula, curses the girl and shows her her daughter's slipper, at this moment Esmeralda shows exactly the same bootie. Here it turns out that Gudula is Paquette Chantefleury, Esmeralda's mother, but it turns out too late. Paquette hides the girl from the soldiers, but, seeing Phoebe among them, Esmeralda, not thinking about the consequences, naively calls him. The girl was immediately hanged, and her mother died, unable to bear the second loss of her daughter.
Many people in the world know this female character- Esmeralda. This is the heroine famous novel"Notre Dame Cathedral" by Victor Hugo. Esmeralda - beautiful girl, a dancer who was stolen and raised by gypsies. Ruined her naivety and beauty, as well as who was in love with her. Let's take a closer look at what kind of character Esmeralda is.
Childhood
A little girl was stolen from her mother Paquette by Spanish gypsies. In return, they left behind a child known as Quasimodo. It was they who gave her the name Esmeralda. The character was named Agnes from birth.
Return to Paris
After the girl grew up in a gypsy camp, she returned to Paris, where she began to earn money by dancing and demonstrating her trained goat named Gialli. She had to live in a very disadvantaged area, the population of which was gypsies, thieves, professional beggars and other rabble. But she was there in absolute safety, as all the inhabitants loved her for her kindness, beauty and spontaneity.
beauty
What character is Esmeralda? This is a girl of extraordinary beauty. In the work, the author compares her with an angel or a fairy. Everyone who saw her was fascinated. Despite the fact that the girl's height was small, she still seemed tall because of the harmony of her camp. Her skin was swarthy in the evening, and during the day she shone with a wonderful golden hue, which was characteristic of the Romans or Andalusians. She had very small feet. She walked very gracefully. In motion, she seemed to be dancing, spinning and fluttering. Whenever her sweet face appeared in front of someone, everyone was blinded like lightning by the look of her large black eyes.
Love
Despite all the beauty that the character possesses, Esmeralda is a girl with a limited mind. Although she had life experience behind her, she remained very naive. Esmeralda didn't understand people at all. That is why she fell in love with Captain Phoebus, who was empty man. He, being the head of the patrol, saved her from Quasimodo. Phoebus also had feelings for the girl, but they were of a different kind and were simple lust.
Despite the fact that the beauty of the girl brought income and attracted many people to the performances, she ruined her. The priest Claude Frollo and his adopted son, a hunchback named Quasimodo, also fell in love with her very much.
The priest was very strong personality. He tried with all his might to fight the temptation that gripped him, but the passion was stronger than the desire for knowledge and faith in God. In a rage, he stabbed Phoebus, and suspicion of murder fell on Esmeralda. In addition, she was accused of witchcraft. And at that time it was worse than any other crime.
death sentence
The girl was seized, they began to torture and judge. The priest offered her his help, but on the condition that the girl would love him. Esmeralda, who loved Phoebe very much, refused him. After she was tortured, unable to bear the pain, the girl agreed with the charges and confessed to witchcraft. She was sentenced to death, but Quasimodo saved her by pulling her out of the noose. He hid her behind the walls of that same
The beggars and robbers who were Esmeralda's brothers decided to save her from the monastery, because they thought that she had been imprisoned there. Thus, a situation arose that was disastrous for Esmeralda. The brethren began to take the cathedral by storm, and Quasimodo defended himself, because he thought that they wanted to grab and hang the girl. He successfully fought back, and the king's troops later dispersed the crowd.
In the end, Esmeralda was hanged anyway. Fate before her execution brought her together with her real mother, who could not save her. At an inopportune moment, the girl saw Phoebus passing by and called him. This attracted attention to herself, and she was found.
character on screen
The film of the same name, which appeared in 1956, became the most successful on-screen incarnation of the girl. Actress Gina Lollobrigida appeared in a bright way. In the film, the girl was not hanged, but killed with an arrow.
And this is not the only screening. For example, in the 1996 cartoon, the girl was not killed - Esmeralda is such a bright character. Disney, the company that made the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, decided to keep the girl alive and make her happy with Phoebus. She later appeared in the animated series.
