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Would that I were made of stone as thee.....

Q is for Quasi Modo.....

Quasimodo Sunday-- the Sunday following Easter. The name derives from the Introit of that day: Quasi modo geniti infantes.... As in, or in the manner of newborn babes....

As Victor Hugo's unfortunate hunchback was discovered on the steps of Notre Dame by Claude Frollo on the Sunday following Easter, the infant was christened with the name of the day he was found.

The disfigured child was forced to endure the snide of the archdeacon who rescues and raises him. Not only is Quasimodo the name of the day on which the child was discovered, but in its literal definition-- quasi (almost)... modo (the standard measure)--- as in, the child is 'almost the standard' human....

Quasimodo was feared by all who came near him. He was every inch a monster on the outside, but inside...the fragile heart of a child--- trusting of his torturous benefactor,  loving of the gypsy Esmeralda who is repulsed by him.

I take comfort in the idea of Quasimodo's name being a pun, for when he is compared to the unjust, murderous people around him, he is indeed NOT the 'standard' human and we are at once charged with determining exactly who is the monster and who is the man....
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  1. Joe RichardsonApril 20, 2011 at 6:48 PM

    The last line of your post...oh my.

    This is beautiful and haunting, and it makes me question myself. Would I have been Quasimodo's ally, or would I have removed myself from the situation--and been guilty via complicity?

    I hope not. But sometimes a person wonders just how stern a stuff they're made of.

    Hope I never need to know.

    Thanks for another great post.

    Best,
    Joe
    q: quarter 'til midnight

    ReplyDelete
  2. David MacaulayApril 20, 2011 at 9:18 PM

    your blogs are always very thought provoking - love the hunchback tale...

    ReplyDelete

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