Introduction
Romanticism is a broad designation for the developments in European culture during the late 18th and the first half of the 19th century – so broad it would be hard to define it exhaustively. However, even if one does not attempt to provide such a definition, it is still possible to identify certain aspects of this phenomenon as they manifest in Romanticist texts. One such aspect – and a pillar of Romanticist literature at that – is the topic of the individual, society, and the relationship between them. With the focus on emotion and individualism, Romanticism was able to provide a new perspective on the interaction between a person and society at large. Both Frankenstein and Notre Dame de Paris depict exceptional individuals cursed by their uniqueness and rejected by the shallow-minded society due to their appearance despite their inner virtue and benevolence.
Setting the Ground: Individual Uniqueness
Before delving in detail into the depiction of the individual as related to society, it is important to explain how this theme became possible in the first place. Granted, the idea of an exceptional human being is nothing new in world literature and goes back at least as far as the first heroic epics. What was unique in the age of Romanticism, though, was the emphasis on the genuine uniqueness of an individual. Rousseau summarized this feeling best when stating: “I am like no one in the whole world” (Puichner et al. 487). For the first time in European culture, a person assumed principal importance not as a representative of or an example for the community but as an individual. The public attention shifted from the still acknowledged universality of human nature to the individual traits that could mark one as exceptional. This rise of personal uniqueness, as opposed to communal association, was the main reason why Romanticist literature focused so intently on portraying exceptional people in exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional and Rejected: Quasimodo and Frankenstein’s Creature
This exceptionality became one of the defining features of Romanticist literary characters and their interactions with society. Romanticist heroes are often unique to the point of grotesque, which is the case in both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris. Quasimodo, one of the main characters in Hugo’s novel, possesses Herculean strength and, at the same time, is a study in physical deformities. In one observer’s words, “He shows himself; he’s a hunchback. He walks; he’s bandy-legged. He looks at you; he’s one-eyed. You speak to him; he’s deaf” (Hugo). The same is true for the Creature, the fruit of Frankenstein’s daring experiments in bringing inanimate matter to life. The Creature possesses superhuman intellect, strength, and agility, which allow him to grasp complex ideas, learn languages, and perform grisly murders without ever being caught. At the same time, due to being stitched together from the remains of the dead bodies, the Creature’s appearance is so frightening that Frankenstein is “unable to endure” seeing it (Shelley 50). Romanticist heroes are exceptional, but this very exceptionality often alienates them from the society that created and shaped them.
The root of this conflict lies in the contrast between the characters’’ physical appearance and their internal feelings and intentions. As mentioned above, Quasimodo’s look is frightful, to say the least – a one-eyed, limping hunchback of great strength is bound to be threatening. However, the author is quick to note that “malevolence… [is] not innate in him,” and the later events prove that the hunchback has a gentle and loving soul (Hugo). Similarly, the Creature claims that, at the beginning of his life, his soul was benevolent and “glowed with love and humanity” (Shelley 104). It is only after multiple rejections – caused merely by his appearance rather than any hostile intent on his part – that the Creature hardens and vows revenge against humankind and his creator. Romanticist literature breaks with the tradition of portraying heroes as immaculate in mind and body alike, which was the usual practice since classical antiquity. For Romanticist heroes, the contrast between their easily perceptible unbecoming appearance and the unseen nobility of the soul becomes the driving force of the conflict between the exceptional individual and society.
Ultimately, it is the society that is responsible for the conflict, not the heroes themselves. In Quasimodo’s case, Parisians bear no love toward the malformed hunchback and, while he grows up to be a harsh man, it is only because “he had found nothing but hatred around him” (Hugo). Only wretches and outlaws of the city are willing to accept him as one of their own and even crown him ‘the Pope of Fools’ in a gesture of mockery and appreciation alike. As for the Creature, his benevolence does not last too long for the same reason society fears and rejects him. Conscious of his frightening appearance, Frankenstein’s creation tries to avoid human contact, but it does not save him from rejection. After a passer-by shoots him for saving a girl from drowning, the Creature vows “eternal hatred and vengeance to all mankind” (Shelley 155). Society, as depicted in Romanticist literature, cannot bear exceptionality and difference – and, as a result, punishes any deviation from the norm by uncompromising ostracism.
Conclusion
To summarize, Romanticist literature is mainly concerned with exceptional people finding themselves in exceptional circumstances – and, more often than not, engaging in a conflict with society as a result. Thanks to the new focus on individuality and emotion rather than community and rationality, Romanticism could explore the topic of individuals and society from a new angle. Romanticist heroes, such as Quasimodo or Frankenstein’s Creature, are exceptional in both their talents and appearance, although not for the better in this last regard. However, their frightening looks hide noble souls, and it is ultimately the society that bears the blame for punishing exceptional individuals and exiling them from the human community.
Works Cited
Hugo, Victor. “Notre-Dame de Paris.”Project Gutenberg.
Puchner, Martin, et al. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, 9th ed., vol. 2. W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.
Shelley, Mary. “Frankenstein.”Archive.org.