He is born with what is described as a “hunchback” (medically known as kyphosis), and he is also described as having a large wart covering most of his right eye (Mayo Clinic, 2020). Quasimodo also becomes deaf as he lives and works in the bell tower.
Quasimodo is a hunchback. He additionally suffers from other ailments brought about by his harsh life. Scientifically, being hunchbacked is known as 'kyphosis', which can be brought about by various ailments, but the novel does not specify the specific syndrome he has (likely because it was not known at the time).
Specifically, some passages in Hugo's novel suggest that a form of mucopolysaccharidosis, a deformity associated with many congenital and hereditary changes affecting the skeletal system, could explain Quasimodo's somatometric characteristics.
Although Victor Hugo never states the exact disease that burdens Quasimodo, it is clear that whatever he suffers from resulted in the improper development of his spine. Since scoliosis normally first appears in adolescence, and Quasimodo was born deformed, it's debatable as to whether or not he had scoliosis.
he watches as she is being hanged. Quasimodo then pushes Frollo from the Notre Dame Cathedral and he dies. Quasimodo goes to the cemetery where Esmeralda is and hugs her body. He allows himself to die of starvation alongside her.
Disney Disability Representation: Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame
Why was Esmeralda hanged?
Charmolue sentences her to death after she falsely confesses to witchcraft and to murdering Phoebus. (Esmeralda is unaware that Phoebus is alive.) Quasimodo attempts to shelter Esmeralda in Notre-Dame, but he is ultimately unable to save her.
The deformed Quasimodo is described as "hideous" and a "creation of the devil". He was born with a severe hunchback, a bushy eyebrow covering his left eye while the right eye "disappeared entirely" behind a giant wart.
In Hugo's novel, however, Quasimodo has superhuman strength as a result of his posture—though this doesn't stop society from disowning him based on his appearance. He's further detached from society by deafness that occurs as a result of years ringing Notre Dame's bells.
If you or your child has been diagnosed with the condition, you might be eligible to collect Social Security disability for Scheuermann's disease. Scheuermann's disease, or juvenile kyphosis, is a skeletal disorder that develops during childhood.
The inspiration for Hugo's Quasimodo is unknown, but many believe the character to be based on Monsieur Trajan, a stonemason with a hunched back who worked on Notre Dame de Paris in the 1820s.
Madellaine is the deuteragonist of the 2002 film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II. In the end of the sequel, she becomes Quasimodo's girlfriend and potential wife.
In the novel, Quasimodo is half-blind and deaf due to the loud ringing of the bells, causing Frollo to teach him sign language. Quasimodo's wart on his eyes was originally covering his right eye, causing him to be blind in that eye, but in the film, it covers his left.
Many people shun and fear Quasimodo because of his appearance, but he has a good character full of kindness, loyalty, and compassion. He is connected in the novel to the Notre Dame Cathedral and symbolizes the cathedral's spirit.
Frollo's belief in fate becomes fanatical when he falls in love with Esmeralda and becomes sexually obsessed with her. Although Esmeralda does nothing to invite his attention, Frollo believes that she has bewitched him and thinks that it is his destiny to either seduce her or kill her.
Quasimodo is tried for his attempted kidnapping of Esmerelda. He is unable to defend himself due to his deafness. The judge, who is also deaf, mistakenly believes Quasimodo has mocked him, and so sentences him to a public whipping. As the crowd throws stones, Frollo does nothing to help Quasimodo.
'Quasi modo' literally translates as 'in the manner of'. In Victor Hugo's sense the meaning of Quasimodo is 'half made' – that is a man/creature who is deformed.
While some children are born with kyphosis, most cases develop during adolescence. Some degree of front-to-back curve of the spine is normal and healthy. However, if a child's spine curves forward 50 degrees or more, they should be seen by a spine specialist. Most cases of adolescent kyphosis are mild.
According to Whittington-Walsh, “People with physical and mental disabilities have been displayed for human entertainment and profit as human oddities for hundred of years” (696). Ableism, the practice of discriminating against another based on his or her physical disabilities is meted out on Quasimodo.
She was the only human character in the film, for the first half, to ever show kindness towards the deformed and naïve Quasimodo. While Frollo and the rest of France viewed him as a monster, based on his appearance, Esmeralda felt otherwise, in spite of the initial shock in response to his appearance.
Esmeralda did not fell in love with Quasimodo, she only admires him as a devotedly loyal friend. Esmeralda's first encounter with Quasimodo, excluding the kidnapping scene, is when Quasimodo is sentenced to the pillory for his attempted kidnapping, it is Esmeralda, his victim, who pities him and serves him water.
There could be many reasons. The most widely used theory, at least for the Disney film, is the idea of the trinity used for the plot: Frollo sees her as evil, Quasimodo sees her as angelic, and Phoebus sees both the good and the bad. Out of all three, Phoebus saw her as the most human.
What caused the hump on The Hunchback of Notre Dame?
In addition to forward-sloped shoulders, kyphosis causes a definite hump in your back, which is illustrated in the book and movies: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Although that depiction of Quasimodo was extreme, it serves as a visual example of kyphosis.
Unlike many characters in the movie that were once human but later became monsters, Quasimodo (aka the Hunchback of Notre Dame) was never a monster but simply a human with a physical deformity.
In Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo has a back deformity from birth. But what it is? The proper term for his condition is kyphosis, a spinal disorder that causes a person to appear to have a hump.
