The construction of social space through sound. An analysis of a passage from Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris is a novel marked by the people’s clamor, the bells’ music and the sounds of battle. In an effort to understand how sounds play a crucial part in the creative process of Hugo’s work, we will analyze chapters of Notre-Dame de Paris relating to “la grand’salle”. During the play and the election of the Pope of Fools (taking place in “la grand’salle”), people originating from all social spheres are gathered in the same space, which is favorable for verbal exchanges that underline the struggles between them – established by the particulars of their speech. In this space, different sounds (rumors, shouts, noises) destroy and reinforce social distances at the same time, creating an evershifting space of boundaries, both physical and social.