The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Book 8, Chapter 2 summary
Book 8, Chapter 2 of 60 · 7 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 2, La Esmeralda enters the Question Chamber, where Jacques Charmolue orders torture after she maintains her innocence, and the first pain forces her to confess. She then accepts accusations of witchcraft and murdering Phœbus de Châteaupers, while Charmolue presents the coerced confession as proof of justice and gentle treatment.
What happens
- Police bring La Esmeralda into a chamber filled with heated tools, where Jacques Charmolue asks whether she still denies the charges.
- After she maintains her innocence, Pierrat Torterue and his assistants secure her leg in the boot and strap her to the bed.
- Pierrat tightens the boot, and her first cry of pain gives way to a promise to confess everything.
- Despite a warning that confession means death, she agrees to accusations of witchcraft and murdering Phœbus de Châteaupers.
- Charmolue orders her return to court, examines her swollen foot, and claims the officials treat her gently.
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In this chapter
What to notice
La Esmeralda’s response follows the first tightening of the boot. It shows that pain, rather than a change in her account, produces the confession.
Quick check
What makes La Esmeralda agree to confess?
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