“We are beggars: this is true.”
These are the last written words of the priest, hymnist, professor, author, theologian, and reformationist, Martin Luther. That bold declaration, “we are beggars”, I understand those words to be entirely apparent in this production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
In the most literal sense, this play is littered with beggars, and they, as a mob, are an important, and an unignorable aspect of the play. However, I find Luther’s words ring true that despite all other characters not being designated as ‘beggars’ in the play, they too are beggars, this is true.
“Says he - ‘No begging. No begging here.’”
All characters in the play I find are, in their own way, beggars. Esmeralda is a beggar, she herself begs for Phoebus to marry her, whether it be out of obsessive infatuation with the captain, or for the safety such a man can provide. She too begs the torturer and Frollo for mercy when brought to trial under the accusations of witchcraft.
Phœbus de Châteaupers, for all his smug arrogance, also finds himself to be a beggar. When his decadent and womanizing lifestyle finally catches up to him, he finds himself having to beg Yvonne to keep quiet on his shameful past, lest it continue to haunt him. And Frollo too, for all his authority and for all the fear he instills into the citizens of Paris, he too is a lowly beggar, as he feels captive to his own lustful feelings which he begs Esmeralda to free him from under the threat of death. I could continue to name how every character is a beggar, but I think to make my point I shall discuss the greatest beggar of them all.
“Look down on me, but not in pity. I - am - not - a - beast.”
No character, I find, is a greater beggar than that of the hunchback himself, Quasimodo. Throughout the rehearsal process, over and over, we screamed those words: “I am not a beast!” It took me some time to really understand the significance of that phrase, but opening night, it finally made sense to me. It, too, is begging, Quasimodo is a beggar.
“I am not a beast!” is not just a matter of fact statement, it was a plea for tolerance from the person of Quasimodo. Living in a world that, at best, mocks him for his existence, or at worst, scorns him as an imp of Satan, he can only prove his innocence with this one plea, this one beg for tolerance: “I am not a beast!”
“I am not a beast!” is not just a matter of fact statement, it was a plea for tolerance from the person of Quasimodo.
All in all, every character in The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a beggar, but none so much as that of hunchback, Quasimodo. And having performed this play several times now, each time I’m left with this understanding, not of just the characters themselves, but what is true to the human condition: “We are beggars: this is true.”
LOGAN INDEWEY is an Ottawa based performing artist and part of the ensemble cast for 9th Hour's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He is a twice alumni of Algonquin College, both times with honours. He has previously played the role of The Officer in 9th Hour's musical audio drama Beauty Will Save The World.
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