The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Lust Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Book.Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

His eyes glowed more and more, and everything betrayed the fact that Monsieur Phœbus was obviously reaching one of those states in which Jupiter himself did so many foolish things that Homer was obliged to call in the clouds for help. (VII.VIII.49)

The Roman god Jupiter was known to go to all sorts of crazy extremes in order to get down and dirty with mortal women. Think of it as temporary one-track mindedness. Phœbus, whose namesake just so happens to be that of another Roman god, is the same way: when he wants sex, that's all he can think about. It's a little bit different from the idea of obsession, but the point is that lust will compel Phœbus to do or say anything.

Quote #5

The swarthy, broad-shouldered priest, who had previously known only the austere virginity of the cloister, quivered and boiled at the scene. The sight of the beautiful girl in a tête-à-tête with the ardent officer seemed to infuse molten lead into his veins. He was extraordinarily disturbed. His eye plunged with jealous desire beneath all the undone buttons. (VII.VIII.50)

Along with obsession, another facet of Frollo's lust is jealousy. One of the reasons Frollo hates the idea of other people having sex with Esmeralda (remember how he makes Gringoire swear that he never did?) is because he himself has never experienced sex, being a priest and all. He's basically bitter that other people can do it, and he can't. To prove the point, you'll notice that his jealousy is mainly directed at "all the undone buttons." Sounds pretty sexy to us.

Quote #6

"In prison and on a bed of straw, a priest and a witch could discover delicious pleasures and melt into each other's arms." (VIII.IV.56)

Okay, Frollo basically has convinced himself that the only way he could ever "have" (nudge nudge) Esmeralda is to get her in prison. Does this make a whole lot of sense? No. Frollo himself admits that his plan didn't make a whole lot of sense. But in the grips of his desire for Esmeralda, it didn't matter. As he says, "When one is doing evil, it is madness to stop halfway." Like Phœbus when he gets into his Jupiter-like lusty state, Frollo's objective to sleep with Esmeralda is like a goal he has to pursue no matter what. We also learn from this passage that it really is sex, and not so much love, that Frollo is after.