A review by leigh_ann_15_deaf
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

4.0

 "What matters deafness of the ears when the mind hears? The one true deafness, the incurable deafness, is that of the mind,” Victor Hugo wrote to the deaf educator, Ferdinand Berthier, 25 November 1845. This suggests that, at least after publishing Hunchback, Hugo had connections in the deaf community, which may help to explain the fairly strong representation. We can certainly appreciate that we don't have the perfectly innocently or totally evil disabled character that so often features in literature! Like most of the characters, Quasimodo is acerbic and violent. He is clearly a product of this society and isn’t special and naive/innocent on account of his disabilities. 

Quasimodo has craniofacial and bodily differences (maybe some sort of skeletal/bone condition?), and the people of Paris view him with disgust and fear, except at the beginning when they are electing the Fools’ Pope based on ugliness. He is the archdeacon’s bellringer, and is totally deaf from 14 years old due to (presumably) being too close to the huge bells when they pealed. 

He can still hear the bells, which is realistic! He speaks when he wants to, as he is late-deafened, though he loses vocal quality and articulation because he doesn’t use speech often. Also fantastic.

But he can hear a whistle and birds, which doesn’t really make sense. Hair cells in the inner parts of the cochlear spiral conduct low-frequency sounds, so if the innermost cells are okay, they can still conduct low-pitches, not high. If he can bear high pitches, it means the damage somehow skipped over the parts of the ear that would be most exposed to the damaging decibels. In other words, Hugo got it backwards—the damage to his hearing would result in low-frequency deafness, probably gradually also taking the higher frequencies because he is nearly constantly exposed to the bells’ noise. 

Frollo and Quasimodo communicate through “signs and gestures” without speech. These are home signs used and understood only by Frollo and Quasimodo. Quasimodo and his behaviors are repeatedly (rather, relentlessly) likened to a wild animal, which unfortunately reinforces the signed language as subpar, apish, etc. (Check out Douglas C. Baynton’s "Forbidden Signs" for good overview of this belief.) But it is accurate for the time. 

Another deaf character: Maître Florian Barbedienne, auditor at the Châtelet. He’s basically a judge who (appears to) listens to a complaint and then delivers an impartial decision. Barbedienne is noted to be fairly competent at his job, though he does mix up cases sometimes due to clerical error. He goes to great lengths to conceal his deafness, which tracks, but it also seems to be common knowledge at least among those who frequent the court. He questions Quasimodo, and draws a great deal of attention to his deafness because Quasimodo isn’t aware he’s being asked anything, and Barbedienne (who isn’t looking at the defendant) isn’t aware that Quasimodo isn’t answering anything. It’s a whole farce that none deems to interrupt. Eventually Quasimodo catches on that he’s being interrogated and starts supplying his name, age, and occupation through speech, though this is taken for impertinence. 

He speaks to Esmeralda and bids her respond by gestures, and he will try to speechread her (though he has a fairly hopeless track record with that). The interactions between them is mostly a self-pity galore, but I guess that makes sense. 

Towards the end of the novel, Hugo loses the thread of what Quasimodo can and cannot hear. He once refers to Quasimodo as “deaf mute,” even though it’s clear he speaks. He can also inexplicably hear Esmeralda calling for Phoebus from the top of the bell tower. The muddling of rep could be answered by the fact that Hugo was rushing to meet his publisher’s deadline. 

There's also some general ableism throughout the novel (to be expected), usually having to do with being "trapped" in a defective body and being incapable of thinking. A couple examples: 

“The mind that was lodged in that misshapen body, was necessarily itself incomplete and dull of hearing; so that what he felt at that moment was both vague and confused to him.” Hearing used to mean understanding gained through critical thinking/theory of mind. 

Quasimodo’s deafness “intercepted the sole ray of joy and light that still penetrated the soul of Quasimodo. That soul was now wrapped in profound darkness.” ... “It is certain that the spirit becomes crippled in a misshapen body.” 

Overall, though, Hugo was thoughtful and accurate in writing his deaf character. Quasimodo and his behaviors fit into the context of this world, and he has a personality and agency. 

 

Deaf reader reviewing books with deaf characters. This book is listed on my ranked list of books with deaf characters: https://slacowan.com/2023/01/14/ranked-deaf-characters-in-fiction.