Captain Phoebus

Captain Phœbus de Châteaupers is a fictional character from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", an 1831 novel by Victor Hugo. 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.

In the novel

In the original novel, Phoebus is an antagonist. Despite being of noble birth and apparently very handsome, he is also vain, untrustworthy, and a womanizer. He saves La Esmerelda from Quasimodo and she falls in love with him. Although Phoebus does not love her, he seduces her. One night when they are together, 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 be married 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 mentions that he suffers an awful fate of being married.

In the Disney films

In the 1996 Disney film, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", Phoebus's character is considerably different. One of the most notable changes is that he becomes one of the main heroes of the story.

In the movie, Phoebus' feelings for Esmeralda are genuine. Phoebus 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 the 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/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." It is Frollo's order to burn the home of an innocent family suspected of harboring gypsies--with the family still inside--which finally prompts Phoebus to rebel against Frollo, cementing Phoebus' "hero" role in opposition of the film's villain. After he is wounded by Frollo's soldiers 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. After they defeat Frollo and his men (when Quasimodo poured molten lead into the city to protect the church), Quasimodo gives the two his blessing as a couple.

In the second film, he has a son named Zephyr, who closely resembles him--so much so that he appears not to have inherited any of his mother's physical traits, having Phoebus' light skin, dark eyes, and same shaggy blond hairstyle.

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". Interesting to note, Phoebus was the first Disney hero to have facial hair. He is voiced by Kevin Kline in both films.

Adaptations

References

* [http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/hunchback/characters.html The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Characters] at SparkNotes.com
* Rebello, Stephen. "The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1996) ISBN 0786862084