Foil

Character Role Analysis

Quasimodo/Esmeralda, Frollo/Phœbus

One's name means "the emerald," the other's means "partly made." Yep, Quasimodo and Esmeralda are the novel's exemplary opposites. But wait: how opposite are they? Well, they were switched at birth, which gives their fates a neat star-crossed element. They're certainly connected, and while they obviously look very different—Esmeralda is the most beautiful woman in Paris, while Quasimodo was beaten pretty hard with the ugly stick—they're also probably the nicest two characters in the novel.

Unlike most of the other characters, neither Quasimodo nor Esmeralda is motivated by self-serving desires, and both of them seem to genuinely enjoy performing good deeds. So when we see them "married" together at the end of the novel, we get the idea that these were the only two characters who were ever capable of real love in the first place. Take a look at our "What's Up with the Ending?" section to see more about, well, what's up with the ending.

But we have another set of foils in this novel: those two competitors for Esmeralda's affections, Frollo and Phœbus. Well, okay: it's really Frollo who's doing most of the competing; Phœbus doesn't seem to be aware that he has any competition.

We totally get the vibe that Frollo wants to be in Phœbus's shoes. For example, at one point, he says to Gringoire: "[Y]ou have never envied those handsome fellows in their war regalia?" (X.I.42). When Esmeralda spurns Frollo's licentious demands, she says to him: "[I]t is Phœbus who is handsome! As for you, priest, you are old, you are ugly!" (XI.I.67). That's gotta hurt, and you can bet the point isn't lost on old Frollo, who'd totally rather be a hot jock than a crusty old priest?

In terms of personality, Frollo and Phœbus are pretty different: Phœbus, while not the most genuine guy, isn't all-out evil like Frollo is. Thinking isn't really his forte, and he doesn't tend to obsess over things. More importantly, Phœbus has no internal conflicts about acting on his sexual desires, while Frollo definitely, definitely does. (We're not totally sure which is worse here, since both attitudes have negative consequences in the novel.)

These two may be different in a lot of way, but their actions definitely cause trouble for just about everyone involved in this novel.