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La Esméralda
- Ambiguously Brown: Esmeralda has dark hair and a goldish skin tone. Her mother is known to be French, same can't be said about her father.
- Better as Friends: Discussed with Gringoire; after marrying him to save him from execution, she rebuffs any attempt he makes to sleep with her on those grounds. When he asks if they can at least be friends, she pauses thoughtfully and responds with "Perhaps".
- Break the Cutie: Goes from a happy, carefree teenage girl to a despondent shell of her former self by the end of the novel through an attempted kidnapping, attempted rape, stalking, assault, being falsely accused for the murder of the man she's in love with, the subsequent torture and imprisonment, and being sentenced to death... twice, just to name a few of her misfortunes.
- But Not Too Foreign: It's revealed late into the book that she was stolen as a baby from her French birth mother.
- Chastity Dagger: She keeps a knife under her skirt, which she uses to threaten Gringoire when he tries to come onto her.
- Damsel in Distress: She is in need of rescuing several times in the story. However, nobody can save her from execution.
- Dude Magnet: Lots of guys in the story are interested in her, which causes her endless trouble.
- Fatal Flaw: Naivety. Despite growing up among thieves and beggars, Esmeralda has a naive view of the world, which leads to her being a Horrible Judge of Character. The most prominent example is her infatuation with Phoebus, believing he's a Knight in Shining Armor and that he loves her. Unfortunately, she doesn't see him for the selfish, petty womanizer he is nor that he only wants her for sex. When Phoebus recovers from Frollo's stabbing, he refuses to advocate for her innocence, which ultimately leads to her execution. She would've survived if she had seen Phoebus for the horrible person he was.
- Good Samaritan: Even though Quasimodo tried to kidnap her, she still takes pity on him when he gets whipped on the stocks, and gives him water.
- Happily Adopted: Despite her Romani mother stealing her, she raised Esmeralda lovingly, and gave Esmeralda a charm to help her find her birth mother.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Esmeralda believes Phoebus is a Knight in Shining Armor when he saves her from the hideous Quasimodo, but he's really a jerkass who only wants her for sex and whose selfishness is ultimately more responsible than even Frollo for ruining her life. She literally might have survived in the end had it not been for her misguided infatuation with Phoebus.
- Hot Gypsy Woman: Not as you would expect or even definitively of Romani ancestry, but the story essentially treats her as a very attractive Romani. She's French by birth.
- The Ingenue: Innocent, virginal, pure... definitely an ingenue. How she remained pure and naive while hanging around with a bunch of thieves and prostitutes, and doing sexy dances in public, is not clear.
- Kill the Cutie: The cute and innocent teenage girl is hanged at the end of the story.
- Love at First Sight: She falls for Phoebus the first time they meet; but she idealizes him and doesn't realize that he's a selfish jerk who only wants sex from her.
- Lust Object: She's this for many individuals, especially Frollo, whose unhealthy obsession with her turns him into a villain.
- Male Gaze: Virtually every description of her. Even as she's being dragged to the gallows, the text describes in detail her half-dressed state, her "waving locks, more lustrous than the raven's wing", her "half-naked shoulders" and "bare legs."
- Meaningful Name: Her name Esmeralda coming from her necklace, her real name (Agnès) meaning "lamb" or "pure/chaste", and Phoebus' nickname for her (Similar) being comparable to Quasimodo's name meaning something along the lines of "almost". It fits her pure and naive ingenue personality.
- Morality Pet:
- To Quasimodo. He may be angry and violent with most people, but shows his softer side toward Esmeralda and would do anything for her.
- To Clopin. Despite his murderous side, he does care for Esmeralda, viewing her as one of his subjects.
- Nice Girl: She's a genuinely kind and innocent girl who is well-liked by most people, and one of the few characters to show Quasimodo a moment of human kindness.
- Odd Friendship: With Quasimodo later on — mainly odd in that it's a very indirect friendship, since Esmeralda doesn't like looking upon Quasimodo, who accommodates her by making sure she sees as little of him as possible.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: She is known as La Esmeralda (the Emerald). Her true name is only revealed at the end of the book — she was christened Agnes.
- Orphan's Plot Trinket: Has her old shoe, which was turned into a charm that will apparently help her find her birthmother.
- Rescue Romance: She falls in love with Phoebus after he rescues her from Quasimodo and Frollo, who are trying to kidnap her.
- Silk Hiding Steel: For the time that she can, she keeps a knife under her skirt despite it being explicitly illegal and will not hesitate to use it at the slightest provocation, all while being a demure and innocent teenage girl.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: If she wasn't so beautiful, none of the bad things in the novel would've happened, because those assholes in the story wouldn't have noticed her.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In Victor Hugo's adaptation "La Esmeralda", she gets exonerated of all charges.
- Stalker with a Crush: A recipient of this from Frollo and Quasimodo. Esmeralda herself is this to Phoebus because she believes him to be her knight in shining armor.
- Switched at Birth: Was switched with an infant Quasimodo, making her French by birth, and the latter Romani.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Esmeralda is a sympathetic, kind-hearted character in the cruel world of Medieval Paris: she dies in the end, executed for a crime she did not commit.
- Virgin Power: She believes her charm to find her birth mother will only work if she's a virgin.
Quasimodo
- Anti-Hero: For a good part of the novel, Quasimodo is mischievous, mean, and socially inept. Despite this, he shows himself to be heroic by protecting Esmeralda, defending Notre Dame with his life, and giving Frollo his just deserts.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The reason for his attachment to Frollo and Esmeralda is because they are some of the only people who showed him kindness and accepted him despite his appearance — and in Esmeralda's case, despite the fact that Quasimodo tried to kidnap her.
- Beware the Nice Ones: While Quasimodo is very friendly if you get to know him, he's incredibly fearsome, and brutal when his loved ones are threatened.
- Charles Atlas Super Power: He's incredibly strong, and menacing in battle.
- Creepy Good: His hideous appearance and social ineptness are off-putting to many of the characters. However, he's a genuinely heroic character who defends Esmeralda and Notre Dame.
- Dark Is Not Evil: His appearance comes off as dark and deformed, but he is more heroic than the light-themed and handsome Phoebus.
- Demoted to Extra: Quasimodo has a much reduced role in Victor Hugo's
Self-Adaptation the opera "La Esmeralda." - Died in Your Arms Tonight: Inverted with Esmeralda. She was already dead when he found her. He spent the rest of his life cradling her corpse. The Downer Ending ends with people trying to separate the skeletons, but the skeletons disintegrated instead.
- Evil Redhead: While not evil, his red hair (of all things) marks him as an outcast due to the prejudices in Medieval Paris. Were it not for that, all of his other physical differences might have been looked on by his neighbors as tragic and sympathetic.
- Evil Cripple: Averted. Despite later adaptations being famous for the Aesop of beauty not actually having a correlation with goodness, in the original story, due to the prejudices of actual Medival Paris, it's his red hair of all things that locks him in as a social outcast (see above).
- Facial Horror: His face is so ugly and frightening that he never leaves the cathedral, because the people in the city always mock him for his apperence.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: Choleric in an ensemble of the four suitors (Quasimodo, Phoebus, Frollo, and Gringoire).
- Gentle Giant: Downplayed. Except to the people he loves (all two of them), Quasimodo is unsociable, violent, and mean, although to be fair this is only because people tend to have those attitudes toward him first.
- Go Through Me: Quasimodo's solution to his dual loyalties to Frollo and Esmeralda is to tell Frollo he'll have to go through him to get Esmeralda.
- The Grotesque: Quasimodo is very physically deformed, yet is basically good hearted.
- Handicapped Badass: Quasimodo is knock-kneed, hunchbacked, and deaf, but extremely physically formidable.
- Happily Adopted: Quasimodo loves Frollo and is devoted to him, seeing how he was the first person to ever show him any kindness and accepted him despite his appearance.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Quasimodo does all he can to make Esmeralda happy, including acting as a messenger to Phoebus, whom he knows to be a jerk. This contrasts with Frollo, who is willing to leave Esmeralda die if he can't have her, Phoebus, who just wants to use her for fun, and Gringoire, who will save himself first.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's hostile and angry, as a result of the others being hateful and hostile towards him since he was born. He shows kindness and loyalty to the few people who are nice to him.
- Meaningful Name: While the Disney movie tells us it means "half-formed", The Other Wiki tells us it means "almost the standard measure" (of a human being), but can also mean "similar to". Also named for the day he was adopted, Quasimodo Sunday.
- Misunder Stood Loner With A Heart Of Gold: He rejects and avoids society, but only because they reject him. Once you get to know him however, he's actually extremely kind and loyal.
- Morality Pet: To Frollo. While known as a dour, reclusive loner, he was actually a loving Parental Substitute to Quasimodo.
- Mr. Vice Guy: Despite his reclusiveness, and social shortcomings, he's one of the most selfless characters in the novel, doing all he can for Esmeralda, and wanting nothing more than her happiness.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He single-handedly holds off the Siege attacking the cathedral...to rescue Esmeralda from being hanged.
- Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: At first he appears to be The Igor to Frollo, but we later find out he's one of the nicest characters in the novel.
- One-Man Army: Is able to hold off the Siege of truands on his own.
- Poor Communication Kills: Due to being deaf, he is unable to hear Clopin's yelling they're here to rescue Esmeralda, and thus assumes they're trying to harm her. This helps lead to Esmeralda's death in the end.
- Secondary Character Title: Only in the English title (the original title is Notre Dame de Paris), since the protagonist of the novel is Esmeralda.
- Significant Green-Eyed Redhead: He has green eyes, red hair, and is the title character of the novel.
- Together in Death: The ending scene has two diggers try to separate his skeleton from Esmeralda only for it to crumble apart, implying this.
- Too Good for This Sinful Earth: He's one of the kindest characters in the novel, and he dies due to the injustices of Medieval France.
Claude Frollo
- Age Lift: Most adaptations portray him as an old man. A few portray him around his real age (mid-thirties). The book lampshades it by noting that his ascetic lifestyle aged him prematurely.
- Affably Evil: For most of the novel, he's a startlingly decent guy, in contrast to his movie counterparts, because the "arch deacon" is part of his character. He loses all affability, however, after his attempted rape of Esmeralda followed by his final descent into madness.
- Anti-Villain: He's much more likable than the majority of his film counterparts, to say the very least, because the benevolent "Arch Deacon" from the Disney version is part of his original characterization.
- Attempted Rape: Frollo tries to rape Esmeralda one night in the bell tower, and is only stopped by Quasimodo's timely arrival.
- Break the Haughty: Begins as arrogant and pompous and ends pathetic and self-hating through the course of the novel, which is not particularly kind to him.
- Byronic Hero: A compassionate, fatherly person for most of his life, by the time the novel begins, he, while still brilliant, is isolated by his alchemical studies and ultimately doomed by his lust for Esmeralda.
- Composite Character: In Victor Hugo's Self-Adaptation the opera "La Esmeralda" Jehan is Adapted Out and Claude had some of his aspects incorporated into his character.
- Dark and Troubled Past. Frollo lost both his parents to the plague when he was younger, and was left to raise his unruly brother by himself.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He wasn't always evil, but he did genuinely care about his younger brother, Jehan, whom he unsuccessfully attempts to reform towards a better life. Quasimodo is also an easy second.
- Fatal Flaw: His inability to deal with his emotions, specifically his lust. Frollo was a kind and compassionate man, but wasn't taught how to properly deal with his emotions due to living in isolation. When he sees Esmeralda, he's unable to healthily deal with his forbidden desire for her and it ultimately starts to drive him insane. This ultimately leads to his demise.
- Freudian Excuse: Years of relative isolation as an Archdeacon and alchemist, his vow of celibacy, and separation from the opposite sex was not good for Frollo, as it leaves him unable to deal with his unrequited and forbidden lust for Esmeralda in a healthy way.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The serious and studious Responsible to Jehan's Foolish troublemaker.
- If I Can't Have You…: Decides to let Esmeralda hang when she refuses him. He even laughed at the sight of her execution in the end.
- Laughing Mad: He completely loses it at the end, laughing "like a demon" at Esmerlda's execution.
- Love at First Sight: Falls for Esmeralda as soon as he sees her.
- Love Makes You Evil: Frollo's unhealthy obsession with Esmeralda drives the plot.
- Lust: A major defining trait of Frollo's character is his lust for Esmeralda, which brings out the darker side of his otherwise good personality. Unable to let go of his obsessive desire for Esmeralda, Frollo descends deeper and deeper into madness in his relentless attempts to have her for himself.
- Meaningful Name: His full name means something similar to "crippled and weak". Make of that what you will.
- Morality Pet: Before meeting Esmeralda, he was this to Quasimodo, who was angry and violent with most people, but absolutely loyal and devoted to his adoptive father Frollo.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: He attempted to kill Phoebus in a jealous rage. Depending on which film you watch, he either succeeds or fails.
- Omniglot: Speaks Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and French.
- Parental Substitute: He started out as such, having adopted Quasimodo as an infant when nobody else would, raising him as his own, and even teaching him how to read and write. He does indeed care about his adopted son, but his obsession with Esmeralda is what ends their relationship in tragedy.
- Promotion to Parent: Frollo's parents died while he was a young man, leaving him to raise his baby brother, and then Quasimodo, whom he adopted later.
- Pure Is Not Good: Frollo has no idea how to deal with sexual frustration since he's lived all his life away from the opposite sex.
- Sanity Slippage: Frollo is slowly losing his mind due to his unrequited and forbidden lust for Esmeralda.
- Sinister Minister: Is self-centered, manipulative, and entitled despite being an archdeacon, though was originally a good man before his lust for Esmeralda sent him over the edge.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In Victor Hugo's Self-Adaptation, the opera "La Esmeralda", Frollo is still alive by the end, receiving no punishment for having stabbed Phoebus and the whole situation Esmeralda was in.
- Tragic Villain: Frollo used to be a deeply compassionate and caring man. When baby Quasimodo was abandoned on the cathedral's foundlings bed, nobody would take him because of his ugliness, except Frollo, who raised him like a son. He also raised his younger brother, Jehan when their parents died, and supported him later, even though he disapproved of Jehan's lifestyle. He did evil things only because of his obsessive and unrequited love for Esmeralda, and it's described how much he's suffering (being aware that you're slowly going insane is NOT a pleasant process.)
- Wicked Cultured: Although he wasn't evil before he met Esmeralda, he fits very much the "cultured villain" trope: Frollo is a respected scholar and studies several languages, law, medicine, science and theology.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: A man who tried so hard to be genuinely good that his perverse lust drives him tragically insane.
- Yandere: For Esmeralda. He develops an unhealthy obsession for her the moment he sees her and tries to have her for himself. He spends part of his time following her around town, observing her from afar. At one point, he recruits Quasimodo to help abduct her, but Phoebus stops them before they get too far. When she expresses interest in Phoebus, Frollo attempts to kill him and tries to proclaim his love for Esmeralda in the dungeons. However, once she rejects his feelings, he decides that if he can't have her, then she's better off dead. The ending completes this trope by having him laugh madly during her execution.
- Younger Than They Look: Only in his mid-thirties, but looks much older and is nearly bald.
Jehan Frollo
- Big Brother Worship: He loved his older brother dearly.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Even by the standard of the other deaths in the novel, his demise is described very gruesomely: Quasimodo picks him up and swings him into the wall of the bell tower so hard it breaks open his skull.
- Defiant to the End: When he knows that Quasimodo is about to kill him, he laughs in the hunchback's face and starts singing a song before getting killed.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish troublemaker to Claude's serious and studious Responsible Sibling.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: At the climax he decides to help the Romani storm Notre Dame to rescue Esmeralda, and in the process betray his brother- less out of any serious conviction and more out of a vague annoyance his brother isn't giving him any more money.
- The Hedonist: Jehan Frollo is the 15th century equivalent of a frat boy. Supposedly a student, he spends all of his freetime and (his brother's) money on hedonistic pursuits: expensive clothes, parties, and courting loose women.
- Ironic Name: Jehan is an old French form of Iohannes or John. Iohannes is Latin form of the Greek name Ioannes. Ioannese is derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan which means Yahweh is gracious. Despite this, Jehan is a good-for-nothing mooch, and never changes in the novel.
- Jerkass: He's an unapologetic leech to Frollo, and is this to Quasimodo in every scene with him.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: At the climax he shows that despite all his hedonistic ways, he's truly nothing like his elder brother: he dies bravely assaulting Notre Dame to save Esmerelda.
- Morality Pet: To his brother Claude, who genuinely tried to be a supportive older brother.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Allegedly a student, but he never seems to do any actual work.
- Plucky Comic Relief: He's a secondary comic character in the novel.
- Poor Communication Kills: Assumes Quasimodo is holding Esmeralda captive, and shoots him with a crossbow during The Siege, only making their pointless conflict worse.
- The Prankster: Claude mentions that he hears complaints from Jehan's university everyday of this. Two examples are mentioned 1) He got in a fistfight which bruised another student, 2) He tore a girl's gown to expose her sexually.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: After his death, things turn really dark for everyone.
Phoebus de Châteaupers
- Adaptational Heroism: In Victor Hugo's Self-Adaptation the opera "La Esmeralda", Phoebus is genuinely in love with Esmeralda and appears at the end to testify her innocence. He dies not long after her exoneration.
- The Alcoholic: Phoebus is described as a hardcore drinker and able to maintain his self-possession when he's tanked. This is directly compared to his drunkard friend, Jehan, who passes out from alcohol outside of a tavern, despite both of them drinking relatively the same amount.
- Asshole Victim: Given how much of a Hate Sink Phoebus is, you won't feel too bad for him when Frollo murders him over Esmeralda. Averted when it’s revealed he made a full recovery from his injuries.
- Awful Wedded Life: At the end of the novel, though he survives, he ends up in an horrid marriage to Fleur-De-Lys, which the novel treats as something of A Fate Worse Than Death.
- Beauty Is Bad: He is the most attractive man in the novel, and he's mostly interested in enjoying himself at the expense of others.
- The Casanova: Spends much of his time courting other women, despite being engaged to Fleur-De-Lys.
- Death by Adaptation: In Victor Hugo's Self-Adaptation the opera "La Esmeralda", Phoebus dies after he testifies Esmeralda's innocence and she is exonerated.
- Hate Sink: While in-universe his actions are handwaved because Beauty Equals Goodness, to audiences he's unquestionably the only character in the novel with no redeeming qualities whatsoever and is ultimately just a petty, selfish, womanizing scumbag.
- Informed Attractiveness: He’s described as very handsome multiple times, with a swaggering and arrogant mein that attracts many woman and a Burgundian trimmed mustache, but his exact appearance is not described.
- Ironic Name: His name comes from Greek god of the sun, Phoebus. Esmeralda, who's head over heels for him, loves when she learns he is named after sun god and holds him to a level of nobility for it. However he is one of the antagonists of the novel, and co-signs her death warrant by staying silent during her false prosecution.
- Jerkass: He didn't care one bit about Esmeralda being in danger or dead.
- Karma Houdini: He has no problem taking advantage of Esmeralda's innocence, or letting her die on trumped up charges including charges of his own murder. However, he suffers a tragic fate at the end: he gets married.
- Knight in Shining Armor: Subverted. Phoebus is this in Esmeralda's eyes because he saved her from a hideous cripple, and also has the appearance. The subversion comes in when he does not fit the heroic aspect. Rather than being chivalrous and noble, he's actually a drunk, a womanizer, and a bully, with virtually no idealistic qualities, behaving more like... well, like a medieval soldier.
- Light Is Not Good: He is a stereotypical knight and has a solar deity name. He's also a petty, selfish womanizer.
- Pet the Dog: When Jehan passes out from intoxication, Phoebus arranges his friend's head on a plane of cabbage-stalks to act as a pillow, before leaving to meet up with Esmerelda.
- Prince Charmless: He is of noble birth and looks charming on the outside, but his true nature is much more ugly and not as charming as he looks.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful!: His status as a handsome man is what lets him get away with his assholery.
Pierre Gringoire
- Action Survivor: Despite being kind of a loser and a nobody, he's the only major character who leaves the story unscathed.
- Better as Friends: Discussed with Esmeralda; after marrying him to save him from execution, she rebuffs any attempt he makes to sleep with her on those grounds. When he asks if they can at least be friends, she pauses thoughtfully and responds with "Perhaps".
- Butt-Monkey: He's a bad poet who repeatedly has bad things happen to him, although amazingly enough, he doesn't die at the end.
- Deadpan Snarker: This is his usual reaction when things go badly for him (which means "always" in the first half of the story).
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Despite being the cast's Butt-Monkey, he and by extension Djali are the only ones who get an unambiguously happy ending.
- Historical Domain Character: He's a fictionalized vision of French poet Pierre Gringoire.
- Lovable Coward: While he's not a bad person by any means, if it all begins to endanger his well-being he'd really rather not.
- Mr. Vice Guy: He's a very nice guy especially compared to most of the others but is deemed a coward by the other characters and is known for being a horrible writer.
- No-Respect Guy: Few characters respect him, Clopin tried to hang him, Esmeralda views him in a patronizing light, and Frollo views him as a fool.
- Sexless Marriage: Esmeralda only marries him to save him from being hanged, but she doesn't let him get near her. Gringoire accepts this pretty easily.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He has a very high opinion of himself and his plays, despite their bad quality and being considered a loser by the others.
- Starting a New Life: He is forced to go into hiding from angry sponsors after his play bombs, and joins the Gypsies as a street performer.
- Writers Suck: His morality plays are pretty crappy and boring, to say the least.
Fleur-De-Lys
- Alpha Bitch: She and her friends embodied this trope long before it was ever popularized. She's a noblewoman who looks down on Esmeralda and treats her with contempt and spite along with her friends.
- Karma Houdini: Suffers no consequences for starting the witchcraft accusations against Esmeralda.
- The Rival: Considers herself this to Esmeralda, which is why she brands her as a witch. Phoebus and her are engaged, and she can see his eyes roving over that gipsy girl. She felt both outraged and threatened.
- Yandere: To a lesser extant than Frollo but quite a bit. She will at first appear to Phoebus as sweet. Also, when she heard of the execution of a young girl, she first acts with pity and asks Phobus to close the window. When she learns it's Esmeralda, she relishes in it.
Clopin Trouillefou
- Adaptational Villainy: In Victor Hugo's Self-Adaptation the opera "La Esmeralda", Clopin is in on Frollo's second abduction plot to get Esmeralda.
- Anti-Hero: He's a violent thief who nevertheless fights to save Esmeralda.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Threatens to hang Gringoire because: he intruded in the Court of Miracles, someone hung one of his subjects for being from the Court of Miracles, and Gringoire's last play was bad.
- Berserk Button: Hurting his subjects makes him angry.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: May be literally crazy, yet is a surprisingly competent and powerful leader who rallies the Court of Miracles to rescue Esmeralda.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Dies singing a song while cutting down many soldiers during The Siege until he is finally felled by Muskets.
- A Father to His Men: He cares about his subjects, and creates a rescue mission to save Esmeralda. Several of his comrades though, are more interested in stealing from the cathedral however.
- Foil: To King Louis. Clopin is a bad guy who embraces and even revels in it, yet when push comes to shove he cares about his subjects and will fight to the death to bring them justice. King Louis is seen as good and respectable, but is truly a Machiavellian jerk who doesn't really care about his subjects or believe in any kind of real justice.
- King of the Homeless: He is a beggar, conman, and pickpocket, whose skill has earned him the leadership position among the Romani, and other lower class citizens of Paris.
- Like Brother and Sister: One of the few characters close to Esmeralda not to be attracted to her, outright comparing her to a sister.
- Obfuscating Disability: He pretends to be a fool with a crippled leg which alternates between right and left when begging. When leading his subjects, Clopin walks tall, and proud. He's even capable of acting as a One-Man Army in The Siege. This is Truth in Television as beggars would feign physical disabilities to earn more money and mental disabilities to appear harmless.
- One-Man Army: Takes down many soldiers on horseback with a simple farming scythe, it takes multiple gunmen to bring him down.
- Pet the Dog: Despite his murderous side, he does care for Esmeralda, viewing her as one of his subjects.
- Poor Communication Kills: He's unable to communicate with Quasimodo due to the latter being deaf, leading to a pointless conflict between them.
- Sinister Scythe: Uses a scythe to mow down many soldiers, and is a Anti-Hero.
King Louis XI
- Greater-Scope Villain: It's under his authority that Esmeralda is charged, hunted, and executed.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Gets away scott-free following the execution of Esmerelda, but dies off-screen before the epilogue, which has his son in power. His line won't make it any further, since his son will die childless some twenty years later from hitting his head on a doorframe.
- Manipulative Bastard: A case of Truth in Television, as his personality is very sly and manipulative, and the real King Louis XI was well known for his Machiavellian cunning and penchant for plots and intrigue.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He allows Pierre to go free simply because he thinks it would be too expensive to detain him.
Djali
- Interspecies Friendship: Esmeralda's pet goat, her human owner who dances with her and does magic tricks. Later also with Gringoire, who becomes fond of the goat during the marriage.
- Non-Human Sidekick: A goat who follows Esmeralda. Later becomes this for Gringoire, after being saved and adopted by him.
Soeur Gudule
- All of the Other Reindeer: In her youth, she was ostricized as an unemployed prostitute and a single mother. As an older woman, she lives as a recluse in a hole, and is frequently mocked for her irrational hatred of gypsies, her insane behavior and overall creepiness.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Gudule died defending her daughter. She bit the executioner, causing him to thrash in pain, throwing poor Gudule on the groud. As she was already old and fragile, it marked her end.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: When she was still Paquette la Chantefleurie, Gudule was a very lonely, very ostracized woman surviving on prostitution, who gave her love to an unknown thief.
- Jump Scare: Gives Esmeralda one when she danced on the Parvis, to chase her.
- Mama Bear: Her vile hatred of gypsies come from the fact her daughter was stolen from her. She also believes that they had eaten her. When she learns Esmeralda is her daughter, she dies to defend her, fighting teeth and nails.
- Missing Child: Having her baby girl stolen from her, believing her to be eaten. When she finally get's to meet her as a teenager, she is searched for a murder she didn't commit.
Pierrat Torterue
- Anachronism Stew: The profession of "Tourmenteur-juré" didn't start appearing until the mid 16th century.
- Covert Pervert: His only line to Esmeralda (while staring at her legs that he's about to crush): "What a shame". It is implied that his interest is more sexual than compassionate.
- Torture Technician: His role in the story.
- Sadist: He almost openly relishes in executions.
