The Spider and the Fly Close Reading Structure Chart (Hugo 273-274)

“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!’”

	Linguistic	Semantic	Structural	Cultural
E x a m p l e s	“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)	“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).	“Poor daner! Poor fared 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)	“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!’” (274)
A n a l y s i s	This quote 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 hes 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. His lack of punctuation demonstrates a stream of consciousness because he is trying to justify thoughts based on the actions reflected by the spider and the fly.	This quote depicts Frollo’s true feelings about fate and the amount of free will people have. Based on the amount of emotion and descriptive detail used to describe something as small as a spider and a fly to show that Frollo is using fate as an excuse or a play in order to trap La Esmeralda. Eventually, he will draw her into his web of destruction because that is the way he thinks fate intends it to be.	In this quote, Frollo speaks in short bursts filled with emotion to emphasize his want and his need to ensnare La Esmeralda. Frollo does not want someone meddling with the life of the spider and the fly because he does not want someone meddling in his own life, as he believes fate will gibe him what he wants. The audience can imply that Frollo will act on his desires based on his emotion in passion fro something so miniscule as he relates it to his own life.	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 Hugo’s commentary on society. The Industrial Revolution, which spurred on Romanticism, were two movement that provided an escape from reality and an opportunity for one to take the 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 lives without heeding the effects of fate.