Teaching The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Instructions for You

Objective: Not surprisingly for an author whose other famous work literally translates as "The Miserables," Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is pretty dark. Many of the leading characters are struggling and lack any kind of support structure to help them cope.

In this eighty-minute lesson, your students are going to consider how many of the characters might be suffering from depression. We'll explore characters' struggles, the lack of support structure available, and the tragic consequences of all this. Hopefully it'll get everyone to be a little more empathetic, to themselves and to each other.

Sorry to be Debbie downers, but that's just how it's going to go today.

Materials Needed:Andrew Solomon's TED Talk "Depression, The Secret We Share," a copy of the text, and/or our Shmoop summary page

Step 1: Let's begin with a quick framing of what depression is.

First, screenwriter Andrew Solomon's TED Talk "Depression, The Secret We Share." In the talk, Solomon describes firsthand his experience with depression and how he coped with it.

Show the students the first fourteen minutes of the talk, and ask them to think about and take notes on the following:

• How does Solomon describe depression?
• What does Solomon describe as the difference between depression, grief, and sadness?
• Why does he call depression a disability?
• What does Solomon say about individuals suffering from depression and their viewpoint of truth?
• How does Solomon view depression in terms of time, energy, and silence?

Be sure to emphasize the main theme of Solomon's speech, just in case they don't get it: depression is a struggle, especially when it's endured alone.

Just as an aside, depression can be a delicate subject. You'll definitely want to tread lightly, especially in these beginning conversations. Let students know you don't expect them to get personal; you can emphasize the sensitivity of the topic.

Step 2: Now your class will make like armchair psychologists and consider the characters in the novel who could be diagnosed as suffering from depression:

• Quasimodo, who suffers a life of isolation without love
• Pierre Gringoire, who unsuccessfully searches for recognition and praise
• Claude Frollo, who like his BFF Quasi suffers from a life without human connection
• The Sack Woman, who has lost her daughter and is unable to overcome her grief

Have a class discussion about each of these characters and what "symptoms" they exhibit. Solomon spoke about how depression is exacerbated by isolation; explore this concept and consider how the depression of these characters is worsened by their disconnect from the world around them.

Step 3: Divide the students into four groups and assign each group one of the characters above.

They're going to pretend to be this character, describing their personal circumstances and emphasizing how they don't really have anyone to help them in a short 150- to 200-word monologue. For example, Quasimodo might lament how he only has one friend (Frollo), but that this person won't even reach out to him to talk about his situation.

Have one representative from the group perform their character's monologue and ask the rest of the class to guess who they are.

Step 4: Now that you've performed the monologues, let's see how all that depression impacted the characters. Discuss the outcomes for each character as a class. For example, consider:

• Quasimodo leaves his home and all he knows to presumably see out his days with Esmeralda's body.
• The Sack Woman cuts herself off from all others due to her depression, meaning she only enjoys a brief reunion with her daughter.
• Frollo is killed in retaliation for his depraved mind-set (the result of his disconnected state), as he revels in Esmeralda's hanging and is murdered by Quasimodo in retribution.

Hugo doesn't exactly go light on his characters.

But we're not just looking for consequences: we're also considering the significance of these moments in terms of how they relate to depression itself. We want the students to think about how depression can be the result of a number of things and why community is so important.

Step 5: No good lesson is complete without an essay. (Your students might find this debatable, but…) We're thinking a 300- to 400-word piece using this prompt should do the job nicely:

"Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame features a variety of characters with different lives, but all suffering from a similar affliction: depression. Discuss this statement with reference to the novel."

They should incorporate much of what was discussed in class, and can focus on just one or all of the four characters if they prefer.

Finally, to bring a little levity, they could make suggestions for how a character might be able to alleviate their troubles. It's not all doom and gloom around here.

Instructions for Your Students

If you've seen the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and think this novel's all song and dance, then you've come to the wrong place. Victor Hugo's novel may be the basis for the animated film, but the similarities stop there. There's no happy ending for Quasimodo. No happy ending for Esmeralda. No happy ending for anyone.

Wah-wah.

In this lesson, we'll look at how and why the characters, in addition to the exterior hardships in their lives, might actually be struggling from depression. We'll also think about the consequences of all this going "untreated," and whether there might have been a different outcome. The proverbial silver lining, if you will.

Step 1: You'll begin with a breakdown (hah) of what depression is.

Check out the first fourteen minutes Andrew Solomon's TED Talk "Depression, The Secret We Share."

While you watch the video, think about and take notes on these questions:

• How does Solomon describe depression?
• What does Solomon describe as the difference between depression, grief, and sadness?
• Why does he call depression a disability?
• What does Solomon say about individuals suffering from depression and their viewpoint of truth?
• Describe how Solomon views depression in terms of time, energy, and silence.

Step 2: Now you're going to make like some armchair psychologists and consider the characters in the novel who could be diagnosed as suffering from depression:

• Quasimodo, who suffers a life of isolation without love
• Pierre Gringoire, who unsuccessfully searches for recognition and praise
• Claude Frollo, who like his BFF Quasi suffers from a life without human connection
• The Sack Woman, who has lost her daughter and is unable to overcome her grief

You'll have a big ol' class discussion about each of these characters and what "symptoms" they exhibit. Solomon spoke about how depression is exacerbated by isolation; explore this concept and consider how the depression of these characters is worsened by their disconnect from the world around them.

Step 3: Head into groups; your teacher will assign you one of the four characters above.

You're going to write in this character's voice in a 150- to 200-word monologue, describing their personal circumstances and emphasizing how they don't really have anyone to help them.

When you're finished, one representative from your group will read your piece to the class, and everyone can figure out who you are.

Step 4: Now that you've performed the monologues, let's see how all that depression impacted the characters. Discuss the outcomes for each character as a class. For example, consider:

• Quasimodo leaves his home and all he knows to presumably see out his days with Esmeralda's body.
• The Sack Woman cuts herself off from all others due to her depression, meaning she only enjoys a brief reunion with her daughter.
• Frollo is killed in retaliation for his depraved mind-set (the result of his disconnected state), as he revels in Esmeralda's hanging and is murdered by Quasimodo in retribution.

But we're not just looking for consequences: we're also considering the significance of these moments in terms of how they relate to depression itself. Think about how depression can be the result of a number of things and why community is so important.

Step 5: No good lesson's complete without an essay. (You might find this debatable, but trust us). We're thinking a 300- to 400-word piece using this prompt should do the job nicely:

"Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame features a variety of characters with different lives, but all suffering from a similar affliction: depression. Discuss this statement with reference to the novel."

You should incorporate much of what was discussed in class, and can focus on just one or all of the four characters if you prefer.

Finally, to bring a little levity, you could make suggestions for how a character might be able to alleviate their troubles. It's not all doom and gloom here.