The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Chapter 3 summary
Chapter 3 of 60 · Book 1 · 10 min to read the chapter
In Chapter 3, Pierre Gringoire’s prologue stops when Cardinal de Bourbon arrives, and the audience turns from the play to the dignitaries entering the hall. The arrival of the Flemish embassy shifts attention again, while the cardinal’s special greeting to Guillaume Rym reveals an influence the crowd does not understand.
What happens
- Pierre Gringoire enjoys the audience’s admiration, but the cardinal’s arrival interrupts his prologue and wounds his pride.
- The narrator describes the cardinal’s powerful connections, pleasures, popularity, and habit of pleasing those in authority.
- The cardinal takes his place with his church entourage while spectators identify the newcomers and students shout obscenities.
- Joannes Frollo de Molendin directs a mocking Latin song at the cardinal.
- Forty-eight Flemish ambassadors enter in pairs, and the usher announces their names and offices amid suppressed laughter.
- The cardinal bows deeply to Guillaume Rym, whose secret work with Louis XI remains unknown to the crowd.
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In this chapter
What to notice
The interruption makes Gringoire’s loss of attention concrete. Public interest in powerful visitors displaces his pride in the performance.
Quick check
Why does the cardinal’s greeting to Guillaume Rym astonish the crowd?
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