Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The Spider and the Fly Close Reading Analysis Chart


Passage #1 From Novel (Hugo 273-274)
Analysis of Close Reading
“Dom Claude, lost in his own thoughts, was not listening. Charmolue, following the movement of his eyes, saw that his stare was fixed on a large spider's web, which hung like a tapestry in the window. Just then, a giddy fly, looking for the March sun, flew into the net and was entangled. It’s struggles aroused the huge spider, which suddenly bounded from his central cell, and with one lurch caught the fly, which he bent in two with his fore-feelers; then with his hideous sucker he attacked its head. ‘Poor fly!’ said the kin’s attorney of the ecclesiastical court, and he raised his hand to save it. The archdeacon, as though awakened from sleep, held back Jacques’ arm with convulsive violence.
‘Master Jacques,’ he cried, ‘leave the fly to fate!’ The attorney turned about quite terrified. He felt as if his arm had been seized by iron pincers. He haggard, fiery eyes of the priest remained fix on the horrible little group, the fly and the spider. 
‘Oh, yes!’ continued the priest, in a voice which seemed to proceed from the depths of his being, ‘that’s the symbol of everything. She flies, she is joyous, she is just born; she seeks the spring, the open air, liberty: oh, yes! But let her come in contact with the fatal network, and the spider issues from it, the hideous spider! ‘Poor dancer! Poor fated fly! Master Jacques, leave it alone-it’s fate! Alas, Claude, you are the spider! Claude, you are also the fly! You flew toward knowledge, toward the lights, toward the sun; you only wanted to reach the pure air, the broad light of eternal truth. But rushing toward the dazzling window which opens into another world, a world of brightness, intelligence, and knowledge-blind fly! You did not see the subtle spider’s web, spread by destiny between the light and you; you flew into it, wretched fool, and now you struggle, with crushed head and torn wings, between the iron antennae of Fate! Master Jacques! Let the spider alone! Thou went flying towards learning, light, the sun. Thou hadst no other care than to reach the open air, the full daylight of eternal truth; but in precipitating thyself towards the dazzling window which opens upon the other world, --upon the world of brightness, intelligence, and science--blind fly! Senseless, learned man! Thou hast not perceived that subtle spider's web, stretched by destiny betwixt the light and thee--thou hast flung thyself headlong into it, and now thou art struggling with head broken and mangled wings between the iron antennae of fate! Master Jacques! Master Jacques! Let the spider work its will!’
 
‘I assure you,’ said Charmolue, who was gazing at him without comprehending him, ‘that I will not touch it. But release my arm, master, for pity's sake! You have a hand like a pair of pincers.’ 

 

The archdeacon did not hear him. ‘Oh, madman!’ he went on, without removing his gaze from the window. ‘And even couldst thou have broken through that formidable web, with thy gnat's wings, thou believest that thou couldst have reached the light? Alas! That glass farther on, that transparent obstacle, that crystal wall harder than brass, which separates all philosophies from the truth, how could you have passed through it? O vanity of knowledge! How many wise men come from afar to dash their heads against you! How many systems come buzzing to rush pell-mell against that eternal window!’”
 
 
     
      This passage represents a portion of the dramatic monologue that Frollo is delivering. He is addressing Jacques during his speech, but Frollo is more speaking to himself than to his companion. He is revealing elements of his character such as his strong belief in Fate and his unwillingness to participate in free will, which would otherwise not be directly divulged to the reader without the use of a dramatic monologue. In addition, Hugo utilizes the use of a stream of consciousness. The speaker’s lack of ending punctuation in a quote such as this: “You did not see the subtle spider’s web, spread by destiny between the light and you; you flew into it, wretched fool, and now you struggle, with crushed head and torn wings, between the iron antennae of Fate!“ (273) shows his non-stop thought process. Frollo is attempting to justify his actions towards La Esmerelda while working through his though process and basing his actions on the spider and the fly.
      The use emotion and descriptive detail can cause even the smallest of occurrences to become memorable. For example, “You flew toward knowledge, toward the lights, toward the sun; you only wanted to reach the pure air, the broad light of eternal truth. But rushing toward the dazzling window which opens into another world, a world of brightness, intelligence, and knowledge-blind fly! . . . You did not see the subtle spider’s web” (272). Hugo is describing the sun and air as knowledge and truth and using formal language to describe something so miniscule as a fly becoming caught in a spider’s web. This elevated language suggests determination and is eventually what leads Frollo into using fate as an excuse to trap La Esmerelda. Eventually, he will draw her into his web of destruction because that is the way he thinks Fate intends it to be.
      Believing in fate causes a person to simply accept what has come to them therefore, saying little to change their circumstance. In the quote, “Poor dancer! Poor fated fly! Master Jacques, leave it alone-it’s fate! Alas, Claude, you are the spider! Claude, you are also the fly! . . . Master Jacques! Let the spider alone!” (273), Frollo speaks in short bursts filled with emotion to emphasize his want and his need to ensnare La Esmerelda. Hugo’s use of short fragments with copious punctuation affirms Frollo’s strong belief in fate and his future plans. Short fragments in dialogue also contribute to how a character is perceived. In this case, Frollo shows his eager determination and his inability to stay calm when contemplating his desires.
      The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is considered a piece from the Romantic era. This era is depicted as a literary, artistic and intellectual movement that was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution. The quote above not only describes Frollo’s views on fate, but it uses formal language and expressive punctuation to address Hugo’s commentary on society. The Industrial Revolution, which spurred on Romanticism were two movements that provided an escape from reality and an opportunity to take one’s future into one’s own hands. However, Hugo is explaining how “wise men come from afar to dash their heads against you” (274) and try to change their life without the effects of fate.

1 comment:

  1. Does Frollo believe that everyone's fate will lead to destruction and they are to gracefully accept it? But Frollo says that Claude is the spider and the fly. So he controls his own fate but is yet subject to it. Is he responsible for his own destruction?

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