Got Five Chapters Today!
Book 2, Chapter 3, Besos Para Golpes
The title of this chapter means ‘A Kiss brings Pain‘ in Spanish. Quite a lot happens in this chapter. Gringoire having reached The Place de Grève to warm himself from the bonfire sees Esmeralda for the first time and is smitten. He also sees Frollo, or the a bald man staring. Sister Gudule yells at Esmeralda and Frollo stops Quasimodo’s reign as the Pope of Fools. I really enjoy this chapter because it the first time in the book you get a sense for the personalities of characters other than Gringoire.
Book 2, Chapter 4, The Inconveniences of Following a Pretty Woman in the Street at Night
This chapter set our plot in motion. It starts with our pal Gringoire following Esmeralda home. As he’s following her, Frollo and Quasimodo try to kidnap her. Gringoire calls for help and Phoebus saves Esmeralda and arrests Quasimodo. Because of these events it’s an important chapter. However it plays out in a humorous way. Gringoire delights in stalking Esmeralda while she is a little more than annoyed. The Kidnap itself makes up a brief part of the end and it still sort of funny. I do like that Quasimodo’s weapon, ugliness, is proven useless in the dark. I don’t like him being liken to a bat, bats are awesome and a symbol of good luck, minor point. All in all I enjoyed this chapter.
Book 2, Chapter 5, The Continuation of the Inconveniences
In the previous chapter, Quasimodo throws Gringoire into the gutter and this is the aftermath of it. Gringoire tries to think about Quasimodo’s companion and he thinks of Frollo but is really certain why he thinks of him. He is then almost burned under a mattress by some punk-ass kids called gamin, which means street urchin. You know Street Urchin does not refer to the little friends from the sea which I ate once a sushi place and didn’t care but rather it comes from the old French for Hedgehog. Ok, getting back on track this chapter is ok. It severed to link the other man to Frollo. Otherwise it get us from the Kidnaping to the next event. Most movies omit this scene.
Book 2, Chapter 6, The Broken Pitcher
Whew, Long Chapter (though not the longest). This where our pal Gringoire gets into a real pickle! After running from the gamins, he gets lost and when he relieves that mattress was what he’s been looking (either sleep or warmth) he gets more lost and runs into vagrants and stumbles into the Court of Miracles, which is a bar of sorts. The Court of Miracles itself was a French term which referred to slum districts of Paris, France where the unemployed migrants from rural areas resided. Gringoire meets the ruler, Clopin and is sentence to Gringoire to hang. Gringoire is given a chance by stealing from the bellboy (a dummy with bells on him) while standing on a stool on one leg. He fails, this task was meant to be fail. Then he offered to the ladies. In the end, Esmeralda saves him and the two are married for 4 years. This chapter is very humorous since you take delight in Gringoire’s pain. You know Clopin is having a jolly time jerking this guy around and either hanging or wedding, Gringoire did provide entertainment.
Book 2, Chapter 7, A Wedding Night
Grinoire is taken to Esmeralda’s place where Gringoire learns she is not interested in him as a lover. They pretty much settle on friends. Gringoire and Esmeralda BFF! We get some minor backstory for Esmeralda like she know nothing like Jon Snow (Sorry I’ve been reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series). Though we find out she been in Paris for only a few month, she said since last August and the novel starts in January. Speaking this chapter, it ends the events of January 6th 1482. We also see her amulet for the first time. For all the gaps in Esmeralda’s backstory, Gringoire makes up for it with his long backstory about his failed vocations and how awesome Frollo is. This is a nice chapter as we finally get insights into Esmeralda’s character. I like the interplay between Gringoire and Esmeralda. It kind of a shame there is not more or it in the book.
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