Women in Literature

Analytical Essay # 52994

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Women in Literature

An analysis of the women characters in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", "The Secret Agent", and "Comrade/ Lover".

1,654 words () | 0 sources | 2003 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the characters of Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Agent", and Rosa Luxembourg's personal novella, "Comrade and Lover". These three novels each present a female character that shares similar characteristics with the other female characters. Esmerelda (the gypsy), Winnie Verloc (a revolutionary's wife), and Rosa Luxembourg (a revolutionary), while they provide contrasting circumstances, have striking similarities.

From the Paper:

"A gypsy in 19th century Paris who spends her days as an independent performer, entertaining spectators with her dazzling dance moves, Esmerelda earns a meager income that condemns her to a life of poverty. While she is dependent upon herself for survival, her yearning to be in the arms of the dashing Phoebus reveals her dependence on man to complete her "emotional sense of self." Since his rescue of her from the beastly arms of Quasimodo, Esmerelda has shown an infatuation with Phoebes, due in most to his handsomeness. She reveals her love for the shallow Phoebus when she says to Frollo, "I belong to my Phoebus. It is Phoebus whom I love. It is Phoebus who is handsome!" (Hugo, 471). The passion Esmerelda feels for Phoebus is exquisite, however, her choice of object makes it ridiculous. Her inability to look beyond his dashing appearance reveals her naivety and her desire to have a man whom she can depend on."