The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

by

Victor Hugo

“Truants,” or “truands,” in the novel, are thieves, beggars, or street performers who live in the “Court of Miracles” and exist outside the usual city laws. Instead, the truants live by their own social code known as the “truant’s law.” Esmeralda lives among the truants because she is a gypsy and a street performer, and the truants almost hang Gringoire when he wanders into the “Court of Miracles” by mistake.

Truants Quotes in The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The The Hunchback of Notre Dame quotes below are all either spoken by Truants or refer to Truants. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art Theme Icon
).
Book 2, Chapter 6 Quotes

As you use our kind among you, so we use your kind among us. The law you apply to the truants, the truants apply to you. If it’s a vicious one, that’s your fault. We need now and again to see a respectable face above a hempen collar; it makes the whole thing honorable.

Related Characters: Clopin Trouillefou (speaker), Pierre Gringoire
Page Number: 105
Explanation and Analysis:
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Truants Term Timeline in The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The timeline below shows where the term Truants appears in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 2, Chapter 6
Fate and Predestination Theme Icon
...fly trapped by a spider—when Clopin suddenly remembers that, according to the law of the “truants,” they must see if any of the women want to marry Gringoire before they kill... (full context)
Book 10, Chapter 3
Lust, Sin, and Misogyny Theme Icon
Fate and Predestination Theme Icon
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
...rich man, he has squandered it all for the sake of pleasure. He salutes the truants’ plan to raid Notre Dame and calls to the barmaid for more wine. (full context)
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art Theme Icon
Lust, Sin, and Misogyny Theme Icon
Appearances, Alienation, and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
While some of the truants talk of Esmeralda, whom they plan to rescue, others discuss the many precious objects Notre... (full context)
Book 10, Chapter 4
Fate and Predestination Theme Icon
...in a booming voice. He demands that Esmeralda be released and given back to the truants. Up in the tower, Quasimodo cannot hear Clopin’s words. Clopin sounds the attack and the... (full context)
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art Theme Icon
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
A huge crash disturbs the truants. A beam of wood has been hurled from the top of Notre Dame and crushed... (full context)
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art Theme Icon
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
Up in the tower, Quasimodo tips rock after rock over the balustrade and onto the truants’ heads. He has made his way to part of the tower where building work is... (full context)
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art Theme Icon
Fate and Predestination Theme Icon
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
Suddenly, a scream goes up from the truants and they glance up, alarmed. Molten lead pours from the mouths of the gargoyles on... (full context)
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
...propped up against the wall and Jehan begins to climb, followed by a hoard of truants. At the top, Jehan clambers over the balustrade and waves to the onlookers below. Quasimodo... (full context)
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art Theme Icon
The Supernatural, Rationalism, and Knowledge Theme Icon
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
The truants below cry out for revenge. They find more ladders and ropes and begin to scale... (full context)
Book 10, Chapter 7
Gothic Architecture, History, and Art Theme Icon
Fate and Predestination Theme Icon
The Supernatural, Rationalism, and Knowledge Theme Icon
Justice, Punishment, and Freedom Theme Icon
On the battlements of Notre Dame, Quasimodo loses hope of fending off the truants, who continue to besiege the cathedral. Suddenly a cry sounds below and the king’s guard,... (full context)
Book 11, Chapter 2
Appearances, Alienation, and Hypocrisy Theme Icon
Fate and Predestination Theme Icon
...led him all over the church to try to find her. Quasimodo thinks that the truants are the ones who want to harm Esmeralda and he believes that the guards want... (full context)