March 16, 1831. Constitutional published in clearly visible characters, page four of the journal: ” A new novel by Victor Hugo. Notre Dame de Paris. 1482 “. Upon its publication, the novel was a great success. At least among her Parisian readers…
The opinions of the great contemporary authors and historians of Hugo frankly differ. Sainte-Beuve accuses him of ” he was not Catholic enough “, Balzac regrets ” a flood of bad taste », Goethe goes so far as to describe it as “The most disgusting book ever written “.
On the contraryMichelet marvels at “ the cathedral of poetry, firm as the other’s foundations, high as its towers » and Lamartine admires » Shakespeare from the novel, (…) epic of the middle ages, (AND) I don’t know what, but big, strong, deep, immense, dark like the building you made a symbol of “.
However, the work, now world famous, came close to never being published. It was originally an editorial board. The year is 1828, Victor Hugo is only 26 years old. His publisher, Gosselin, who publishes Walter Scott, hopes that this little writer he has noticed will be able to write a novel similar to his own: historical with a touch of action.
The contract is signed: the work must be delivered in April 1829. But Hugo gets involved in his other projects, namely several poems from Autumn leaves AND Hernaniforgetting Our lady. Gosselin is upset: ” A whole year has passed and I have not heard from you; It even seems to me that you would give up on completing this work “. Only after several harsh exchanges with the latter, Victor Hugo gave up and locked himself in his office on July 25, 1830. Only for a short time. In the summer of 1830, the streets of Paris burned, the July Revolution broke out. Hugo stops again.
Hugo accepts the monastic rhythm of life
Victor Hugo, until then unenthusiastic, suddenly adopted the monastic pace of life. The man locks himself in his book, locks his clothes so that he is not tempted to go outside, wraps himself in a sweater and writes non-stop with all the windows open. He uses the events to turn his book, which takes on aspects of a social and political manifesto, but is primarily driven by a project: saving Notre-Dame.
While the recent riots reduce the colorful stained glass windows to a handful of sharp rubble, the precious furniture to a pile of ashes, and the towers to tottering wrecks, the novel restores the old cathedral to all its splendor. A noble lady, the main character of the work, is enthroned on the throne. Hugo tries to breathe new life into stones disfigured by time, revolutions and fashion, which has ” they cut, carved, disorganized, killed the building, in form and symbol, in its logic and in its beauty “.
Thanks to his efforts and his pen, he eventually won his case. The writer supported the petition in 1842, and the Civil Works Board eventually undertook the restoration of the monument. The young architect Viollet-le-Duc began work in 1845. Twenty years later, the reconstruction was completed. Hugo can rejoice that he contributed greatly to the preservation of Notre-Dame.
Until the drama begins again, in 2019. A terrible fire consumes the roof of the cathedral, Paris mourns the disappearance of its heritage in smoke. This time, however, there can be no question of abandoning the one that France has learned to value for centuries. And this time the craftsmen set to work again, carried by Hugo’s words: “Let us inspire in the nation, as far as possible, a love for national architecture. This, as the author states, is one of the main aims of this book; this is one of the main goals of his life. »