The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Fate and Free Will Quotes

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

Quote #7

At that moment she had a vague feeling that Fate was an irresistible power. (XI.I.36)

"That moment" just so happens to be the moment when Frollo, who has dogged Esmeralda since the beginning of the story, finally gets her and leads her to her death at the Place de Grève. The sense of fate comes from Esmeralda's apparent inability to ever get away from Frollo. But fate is also about endings, right? Fate is supposed to lead to a certain point, or moment, or outcome. Esmeralda is literally moving closer to that fate waiting for her—the gallows—at the Place de Grève.

Quote #8

"All depends on your will. Whatever you want shall be done."

He interrupted himself violently. "No! That is not what I meant to say." (XI.I.49-50)

Freudian slip there, Frollo? Here's where we start to see the cracks in Frollo's assertions about fate. He has insisted for the entire novel that fate has delivered Esmeralda into his hands, but then he accidentally shows that there are also options that he is conveniently not considering: like, for instance, letting her go. So maybe what Frollo calls "fate" is actually just his own refusal to act any other way.

Quote #9

"You are all goodness, all gentleness, all compassion, all sweetness. Alas! To me alone you are cruel. Oh! What a terrible fate." (XI.I.55)

Sometimes Frollo acts like he didn't do anything to deserve the "fate" of Esmeralda hating his guts. It is a bit ironic, however, that the two people who truly love Esmeralda—Quasimodo and Frollo—are the two people she's never going to get with: Quasimodo for his outward ugliness, Frollo for his inner ugliness.