Notre Dame, Paris, France - Matted Photo

Notre Dame, Paris, France – Matted Photo

It’s true that Notre Dame owes a lot of its cultural significance to Victor Hugo and his novel but Notre Dame didn’t just sit there and let Hugo’s imagination work with out her influence.

Anaykh craved on the wall, 1956 Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Anaykh craved on the wall, 1956 Hunchback of Notre Dame

One story goes is that as Hugo was up in the towers of Notre Dame he came across a word craved on the wall. The Word was “Ananke.” Ananke is a noun that means “force, constraint, necessity” and is the personification of destiny, necessity and fate. Seeing this word craved on the wall made Hugo think about the person who wrote it. From this word Frollo was conceived, making him the first character for the novel. Ananke is also a major theme in the novel.

Quasimodo is crowned King of Fools (Charles Laughton) 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame picture image

Quasimodo is crowned King of Fools (Charles Laughton) 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame

Also while Hugo was exploring Notre Dame, the cathedral was going though repairs. One of the stoneworkers was a Hunchback who was also British. His name was Henry Sibson This suggests that Quasimodo was inspired  by Sibson.

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