Captain Phoebus
Encyclopedia
Captain Phoebus de Chateaupers is a fictional character and one of the main antagonists in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. He is the Captain of the King's Archers. His name comes from Phoebus, the Greek god of the sun (also called Apollo
), with whom he shares handsome looks and skill at archery.
. Despite being of noble birth and very handsome, he is also vain, untrustworthy, and a womanizer. He saves Esmeralda from Quasimodo
and she falls in love with him. Phoebus makes a convincing show of returning her affections, but merely wants a night of passion. Esmeralda arranges to meet Phoebus and tells him of her love for him, and he convinces her that he feels the same way about her. He is in fact engaged to another woman, the spiteful socialite Fleur-De-Lys. Not only that, he has agreed to let Claude Frollo spy on his meeting with Esmeralda. This decision proves his undoing, since as the couple prepare to have sex, the jealous Claude Frollo attacks Phoebus by stabbing him in the back. Frollo makes a quick get-away and Phoebus is presumed dead by homicide. Esmeralda, being the only one present, is presumed to be the killer. Phoebus, however, is not dead and soon recovers from his injury. But this does not stop Esmeralda from being tried and sentenced to death for his murder. Phoebus could have proved her innocence, but he remained silent. In the end of the novel, he is engaged to marry Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier, and watches Esmeralda's execution with apparently little or no remorse. Whilst being one of the few characters to survive the novel, Hugo hints that Phoebus' marriage will not be happy.
, Phoebus's character is considerably different. One of the most notable changes is that he is now a supporting protagonist. He was also combined with the character of Pierre Gringoire. He is voiced by Kevin Kline
in both the film and its sequel.
In the movie, Phoebus is a soldier who returns to Paris to be Captain of the Guard under Judge Claude Frollo
because his predecessor was a "bit of a disappointment" to Frollo. His feelings for Esmeralda are genuine. He first meets Esmeralda when he sees
her dancing in the streets for money. He also watches her dance at the Festival of Fools. Both times, he shows a marked interest in her with an approving grin. But both events entail for Phoebus a greater vested interest in Esmeralda's well-being, and not only in her dancing and her beauty, in that he assists her escape from city authorities both times, unbidden by her. Specifically, after witnessing two soldiers harassing Esmeralda over her (honestly acquired) earnings when he first arrives in the city, Phoebus blocks their way with his horse, Achilles, when they pursue her, and stall them long enough for her to get away. The second time, he follows her to the cathedral after Frollo issues an order to arrest her for her defiant acts against him at the Feast of Fools and, when Frollo and a handful of soldiers arrive to arrest Esmeralda, Phoebus takes the initiative and claims sanctuary for her. Notably, his first real encounter with Esmeralda in the cathedral involved an impromptu sword vs. candle-holder fight when she believes he intends to arrest her--he flirts the entire time, if awkwardly, and they eventually reach a place of discourse before being interrupted by Frollo.
Additionally, Phoebus in the film is shown to be a man of principle and integrity, as well as a man with a sense of humor. Throughout the movie, Phoebus expresses disdain and disapproval for Frollo's increasingly unjust acts against the gypsies of Paris. In fact, when first faced with Frollo's intentions for summoning him to Paris, Phoebus openly displays skepticism over being called on "to capture fortune tellers and palm readers." At the beginning of the film, he is disgusted with the treatment of Quasimodo at the Festival of Fools and asks permission to stop it, but Frollo orders him to wait a while because "a lesson needs to be learned here" for Quasimodo's disobedience. It is Frollo's order to burn the home of an innocent miller and his family suspected of harboring gypsies, with the family still inside, which finally prompts Phoebus to rebel against Frollo, cementing Phoebus's "hero" role in opposition of the film's villain. After he is wounded by Frollo's thugs for saving the miller's family and defying Frollo, Esmeralda (who had been watching the events the entire time in hiding) saves Phoebus from drowning when, as a result of his wounds, he falls from his escape horse into the Seine river. She seeks Quasimodo for help and hides him in Notre Dame. He is later arrested by Frollo after he found the Court of Miracles, but manages to escape and rallies the citizens of Paris against Frollo's tyranny. After they defeat Frollo and his thugs (when Quasimodo poured molten lead into the city to protect the church), Quasimodo gives the two his blessing as a couple.
In The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
, Phoebus has a son named Zephyr with Esmeralda as the mother. He still serves as the Captain of the Guard under the new (but unseen) Minister of Justice, and is the first to suspect Sarousch and his circus troupe of thievery after several people complain to him about being robbed during Sarousch's performance. His belief leads to a temporary rift between himself, Esmeralda, Quasimodo and Zephyr, but when Sarousch's guilt is proven, all is forgiven. In the climax, Phoebus almost allows Sarousch to escape when the thief presents Zephyr as a hostage, but after Quasimodo and Madellaine rescue Zephyr, Phoebus finally takes the chance to order the guards to arrest Sarousch for good.
Aesthetically, Phoebus of the movie differs significantly from most of the animated Disney feature films' leading men. Not a fresh faced youth, as he mentions offhand in the film that he'd not been in town for "a couple decades", though it is possible that he hadn't been in town since early childhood.
Phoebus is confirmed to appear in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, along with a world based on the Disney movie called "Le Cite des Cloches".
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
), with whom he shares handsome looks and skill at archery.
In the novel
In the original novel, Phoebus is an antagonistAntagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
. Despite being of noble birth and very handsome, he is also vain, untrustworthy, and a womanizer. He saves Esmeralda from Quasimodo
Quasimodo
Quasimodo is a fictional character in the novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared by the townspeople as a sort of monster but he finds sanctuary in an unlikely love that is fulfilled only in death. The role of Quasimodo has been played by...
and she falls in love with him. Phoebus makes a convincing show of returning her affections, but merely wants a night of passion. Esmeralda arranges to meet Phoebus and tells him of her love for him, and he convinces her that he feels the same way about her. He is in fact engaged to another woman, the spiteful socialite Fleur-De-Lys. Not only that, he has agreed to let Claude Frollo spy on his meeting with Esmeralda. This decision proves his undoing, since as the couple prepare to have sex, the jealous Claude Frollo attacks Phoebus by stabbing him in the back. Frollo makes a quick get-away and Phoebus is presumed dead by homicide. Esmeralda, being the only one present, is presumed to be the killer. Phoebus, however, is not dead and soon recovers from his injury. But this does not stop Esmeralda from being tried and sentenced to death for his murder. Phoebus could have proved her innocence, but he remained silent. In the end of the novel, he is engaged to marry Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier, and watches Esmeralda's execution with apparently little or no remorse. Whilst being one of the few characters to survive the novel, Hugo hints that Phoebus' marriage will not be happy.
In the Disney film
In the 1996 Disney film, The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of...
, Phoebus's character is considerably different. One of the most notable changes is that he is now a supporting protagonist. He was also combined with the character of Pierre Gringoire. He is voiced by Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
in both the film and its sequel.
In the movie, Phoebus is a soldier who returns to Paris to be Captain of the Guard under Judge Claude Frollo
Judge Claude Frollo
Archdeacon Claude Frollo is a fictional character and the anti-hero from Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.-In the novel:In his youth, Claude Frollo was a highly knowledgeable but morose young man who was orphaned along with his infant brother Jehan when their parents died of the plague...
because his predecessor was a "bit of a disappointment" to Frollo. His feelings for Esmeralda are genuine. He first meets Esmeralda when he sees
Love at first sight
Love at first sight is a common trope in Western literature, in which a person, character, or speaker feels romantic attraction for a stranger on the first sight of them...
her dancing in the streets for money. He also watches her dance at the Festival of Fools. Both times, he shows a marked interest in her with an approving grin. But both events entail for Phoebus a greater vested interest in Esmeralda's well-being, and not only in her dancing and her beauty, in that he assists her escape from city authorities both times, unbidden by her. Specifically, after witnessing two soldiers harassing Esmeralda over her (honestly acquired) earnings when he first arrives in the city, Phoebus blocks their way with his horse, Achilles, when they pursue her, and stall them long enough for her to get away. The second time, he follows her to the cathedral after Frollo issues an order to arrest her for her defiant acts against him at the Feast of Fools and, when Frollo and a handful of soldiers arrive to arrest Esmeralda, Phoebus takes the initiative and claims sanctuary for her. Notably, his first real encounter with Esmeralda in the cathedral involved an impromptu sword vs. candle-holder fight when she believes he intends to arrest her--he flirts the entire time, if awkwardly, and they eventually reach a place of discourse before being interrupted by Frollo.
Additionally, Phoebus in the film is shown to be a man of principle and integrity, as well as a man with a sense of humor. Throughout the movie, Phoebus expresses disdain and disapproval for Frollo's increasingly unjust acts against the gypsies of Paris. In fact, when first faced with Frollo's intentions for summoning him to Paris, Phoebus openly displays skepticism over being called on "to capture fortune tellers and palm readers." At the beginning of the film, he is disgusted with the treatment of Quasimodo at the Festival of Fools and asks permission to stop it, but Frollo orders him to wait a while because "a lesson needs to be learned here" for Quasimodo's disobedience. It is Frollo's order to burn the home of an innocent miller and his family suspected of harboring gypsies, with the family still inside, which finally prompts Phoebus to rebel against Frollo, cementing Phoebus's "hero" role in opposition of the film's villain. After he is wounded by Frollo's thugs for saving the miller's family and defying Frollo, Esmeralda (who had been watching the events the entire time in hiding) saves Phoebus from drowning when, as a result of his wounds, he falls from his escape horse into the Seine river. She seeks Quasimodo for help and hides him in Notre Dame. He is later arrested by Frollo after he found the Court of Miracles, but manages to escape and rallies the citizens of Paris against Frollo's tyranny. After they defeat Frollo and his thugs (when Quasimodo poured molten lead into the city to protect the church), Quasimodo gives the two his blessing as a couple.
In The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II
The Hunchback of Notre Dame II is a 2002 direct-to-video sequel to the 1996 Disney animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was produced by Walt Disney Animation Japan...
, Phoebus has a son named Zephyr with Esmeralda as the mother. He still serves as the Captain of the Guard under the new (but unseen) Minister of Justice, and is the first to suspect Sarousch and his circus troupe of thievery after several people complain to him about being robbed during Sarousch's performance. His belief leads to a temporary rift between himself, Esmeralda, Quasimodo and Zephyr, but when Sarousch's guilt is proven, all is forgiven. In the climax, Phoebus almost allows Sarousch to escape when the thief presents Zephyr as a hostage, but after Quasimodo and Madellaine rescue Zephyr, Phoebus finally takes the chance to order the guards to arrest Sarousch for good.
Aesthetically, Phoebus of the movie differs significantly from most of the animated Disney feature films' leading men. Not a fresh faced youth, as he mentions offhand in the film that he'd not been in town for "a couple decades", though it is possible that he hadn't been in town since early childhood.
Phoebus is confirmed to appear in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, along with a world based on the Disney movie called "Le Cite des Cloches".
Adaptations
| Actor | Version |
|---|---|
| Herbert Heyes Herbert Heyes Herbert Heyes was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1956.He was born in Vader, Washington and died in North Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:... |
1917 Adaptation The Darling of Paris The Darling of Paris is a 1917 silent film directed by J. Gordon Edwards and starring Theda Bara and Glen White. This is a very loose film adaptation of the novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo... |
| Arthur Kingsley | 1922 Adaptation Esmeralda (1922 film) Esmeralda is a 1922 silent film and an adaptation of a novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. It was directed by Edwin J. Collins and starred Sybil Thorndike and Booth Conway.-Cast:* Sybil Thorndike as Esmeralda* Booth Conway as Quasimodo... |
| Norman Kerry Norman Kerry Norman Kerry was an American actor whose career spanned over twenty-five years in the motion picture industry beginning in the silent era at the end of World War I.-Biography:... |
1923 Adaptation The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film) The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,... |
| Alan Marshal Alan Marshal (actor) ----Alan Marshal was an Australian-born actor who co-starred with Marlene Dietrich, Irene Dunne, Greta Garbo, Ginger Rogers, and Mae West.... |
1939 Adaptation The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939 film) The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1939 American monochrome film starring Charles Laughton as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by Pandro S. Berman... |
| Jean Danet Jean Danet Jean Danet , was a French actor, activist, and gay theorist. He appeared in 27 films between 1942 and 1983.... |
1956 Adaptation The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1956 film) The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1956 French film version of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name, directed by Jean Delannoy and produced by Raymond Hakim and Robert Hakim. The film is the first version of the novel to be made in color.It stars Mexican actor Anthony Quinn as Quasimodo and Gina... |
| Alexander Davion (voice) | 1966 Adaptation The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1966) The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1966 television series and an adaptation of the novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.-Cast:* Peter Woodthorpe as Quasimodo* Gay Hamilton as Esmeralda* James Maxwell as Claude Frollo... |
| Richard Morant Richard Morant Richard Morant was an English actor.Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. He was a nephew of actors Bill and Linden Travers, and a cousin of actress Penelope Wilton... |
1977 Adaptation The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1977) The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1977 television series and an adaptation of the novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.-Cast:* Kenneth Haigh as Claude Frollo* Warren Clarke as Quasimodo* Michelle Newell as Esmeralda... |
| Robert Powell Robert Powell Robert Powell is an English television and film actor, probably most famous for his title role in Jesus of Nazareth and as the fictional secret agent Richard Hannay... |
1982 Adaptation The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982 film) The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1982 British-American TV movie, based on the Victor Hugo novel. It was directed by Michael Tuchner and Alan Hume, and produced by Norman Rosemont and Malcolm J. Christopher. It starred Anthony Hopkins, Derek Jacobi, Lesley-Anne Down and Sir John Gielgud... |
| Kevin Kline Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :... (voice) |
1996 Disney Adaptation The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film) The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1996 American animated drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released to theaters on June 21, 1996 by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirty-fourth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon, the film is inspired by Victor Hugo's novel of... and its direct-to-video sequel The Hunchback of Notre Dame II The Hunchback of Notre Dame II is a 2002 direct-to-video sequel to the 1996 Disney animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was produced by Walt Disney Animation Japan... |
| Benedick Blythe | The Hunchback (1997 film) The Hunchback (1997 film) The Hunchback is a 1997 film based on Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame, directed by Peter Medak and produced by Stephane Reichel. It stars Salma Hayek as Esmeralda and Mandy Patinkin as Quasimodo, the hunchback of Notre Dame. The film was released a year after Disney's animated... |
| Patrick Fiori Patrick Fiori Patrick Fiori is a French singer.-Biography:Fiori was born to an Armenian father and a Corsican mother in Marseille, France. When he was only 12 years old, he was offered his first role in the musical La légende des santonniers... |
1997-2002, musical Notre Dame de Paris (musical) Notre-Dame de Paris is a sung-through French-Canadian musical which debuted on 16 September 1998 in Paris. It is based upon the novel Notre-Dame de Paris by the French novelist Victor Hugo... |
| Vincent Elbaz Vincent Elbaz Vincent Elbaz is a French actor. He has appeared in many French television shows and movies.His first major role was in the 1994 movie Le péril jeune.Elbaz received the 1998 Jean Gabin Prize.-Filmography:... |
1999 Parody Quasimodo d'El Paris Quasimodo d'El Paris is a 1999 French film that is a comedic adaptation of the novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.-Plot:... |