Quasimodo was a representation of the building.
Explanation:
What was Paris like in the Middle Ages, according to the book:
- Paris, which was born on the Isle de la Cité and remained an island for a long time, had already crossed the Seine and expanded to the right and left banks (rive droite and rive gauche). A large wall surrounded the city and protected it. In fact, the city had grown so large that by the 16th century the fourth wall had already been built. A deep moat with Seine waters ran along the wall.
- Paris was made up of three cities: Cité (on the island), the University (on rive gauche) and the City (on rive droite). According to Hugo, “at Cité there were plenty of churches, in the city, palaces, at the university, colleges” (there were 42!). Thus, Cité belonged to the bishop, the City, the prebost, a royal officer, and the University, the rector.
Victor Hugo's love for Gothic Paris saved the building. Two years before launching the book, the author was distressed by the structural conditions of the cathedral. Used as a gunpowder factory during the French Revolution, the building was deeply damaged and was collapsing. Faced with this situation, Victor Hugo decided to do something to save the structure. He used his skill with words to write Notre-Dame de Paris, a critically acclaimed soap opera of the time.
The success of the work meant that Notre Dame Cathedral received thousands of visitors to visit the famous and sensitive site. But when they got there, the public found only one building on the verge of collapse.
And it was precisely in this situation that the moral of the book was found: Parisians did not appreciate the inner beauty and strength of the cathedral. Quasimodo was a representation of the building. Fans of the novel saw the need to save the cathedral and organized a deafening and outright public protest that resulted in the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1844.
