from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Quasimodo \Quas`i*mo"do\ (kw[.a]z`[-e]*m[=o]"d[-o]), prop. n.
(Fiction)
The main character in Victor Hugo's novel "The Hunchback of
Notre Dame". The novel was first published in French under
the title [ldqo]Notre Dame de Paris". Quasimodo is a deformed
and ugly hunchback who is bellringer at the cathedral of
Notre Dame during the reign of Louis XI. He rescues a gypsy
girl Esmeralda, falsely convicted of a crime and about to be
excuted, and carries her to sanctuary in the cathedral. Near
the end of the book he dies while again rescuing her from an
abductor. In a movie made in 1923 Quasimodo was portrayed by
the actor Lon Chaney, whose impressive makeup and superb
acting drew many plaudits. His shout of "Sanctuary!
Sanctuary!" when rescuing Esmeralda is still sometimes
imitated for humorous or dramatic effect.
[PJC]