On the Contrast between Ugliness and Beauty in Notre Dame of Paris

【Abstract】Notre Dame de Paris is the masterpiece of the famous French writer Hugo. This novel takes religion and feudal society as the background and shapes a series of beautiful and ugly characters.Through this novel， the ugliness and beauty of human nature are revealed at a glance.The core of this thesis is to explore the contrast of beauty and ugliness in this novel so that readers can better understand the realistic significance of the novel.

【Key words】Notre Dame de Paris; ugliness and beauty; contrast; analysis

【作者簡介】赵朗，衡水市冀州区信都学校。

Introduction

The characters and events in this novel highlight the strong contrast between beauty and ugliness， even though they originated from real life， they are also greatly exaggerated and strengthened. Under the writer’s heavy colors， they constitute a series of beautiful and strange pictures. A sharp， even incredible contrast between good and evil， beauty and ugliness.The plot of Notre Dame in Paris always revolves around three people：Good and beautiful girl Esmeralda， cruel and hypocritical archbishop Claude Frolo， and ugly， inner noble bell ringer Kasimodo.

I. The connotation of Beauty in Notre Dame of Paris

Hugo， in his Notre Dame de Paris， applies his comparison of beauty and ugliness to the extreme. “Beauty and ugliness in his works are not simple opposites， but intertwined.” The heroine Esmeralda is the embodiment of beauty.From the appearance to the heart have shown the beauty of the typical， bell toller Gasimodo strange appearance ugly and pure and kind;Esmeralda， compared with the other protagonists in the article， clearly belongs to the beauty of appearance and soul.When she first appeared， she performed and danced on the stage. At that time， she was just a beautiful appearance， but it was already a faint reflection of her pure heart.Kasimodo was bound to a pillar of shame for his abduction of Esmeralda， but when he found him， unlike the vulgar villagers who mocked him and cursed him， he was given water to drink in return for his grudges. By this time her spiritual beauty had begun to unfold.She could willingly give her everything to her beloved， even if it was her virginity， but she would not let the person she hated touch her body， which seemed to me to be an expression of a girl’s lovable character and a display of loyalty.This is also a kind of holy beauty for girls.Therefore， the beauty of Esmeralda is both intoxicating in appearance and beautiful in soul. It stands out in the novel and is not a mass of people with other characters， but as soon as it appears in the text， it gives people a kind of light and a feeling of good， so to speak， She is also the author’s pursuit and yearning for a beautiful appearance and soul of human nature.

II. The connotation of Ugliness in Notre Dame of Paris

The famous deputy guru， who had always been devoted to “holy duty，” suddenly one day enjoyed the song and dance of Bohemian girl， so he tried every possible way to keep her as his own， threatening her with all sorts of threats and even setting her up.He also tried to cheat his son Gasimodo and his student， Ganggova， by playing dirty tricks. The evil attempt to possess Esmeralda could not be realized， and the lovely girl was finally put on the gallows.Claude Floreau， from French writer Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris.He came from a middle-class French family and was well educated， but since he met Esmeralda， his behavior gradually became paranoid and cruel， leading to the tragic end of Esmeralda and himself.Claude Froro fell in love with Esmeralda， but the ruling class at the time pursued asceticism.His asceticism is pious， and it also destroys his body and mind， distorts his soul as a natural and normal person， and loses his normal humanity.When he saw Esmeralda hanged， his animosity revealed the essence of religious evil.

III. Conclusion

Good and evil and beauty and ugliness have always been a yardstick to define human things in people’s hearts.Everyone sees beauty and ugliness differently.Only with beauty as a mirror can the happiness of the world last forever.

References：

[1]V Hugo.Notre-Dame of Paris[M].Lightning Source，1904.

[2]Wang Jianli.The contrast between Beauty and ugliness：characterization of Notre Dame de Paris[J].A Review of Fiction，2013.

[3]Chen Xiaowei.A strong contrast between Beauty and ugliness On the rhetoric of Notre Dame in Paris[J].Journal of Mudanjiang Institute of Education，2005.