'' Capitaine'' Phœbus de Châteaupers is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's 1831 novel, ''

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

''. He is the Captain of the King

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...

's Archers. His name comes from

Phoebus Apollo is one of the Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, ...

, the

Greek god In ancient Greece, deities were regarded as immortal, anthropomorphic, and powerful. They were conceived of as individual persons, rather than abstract concepts or notions, and were described as being similar to humans in appearance, albeit larg ...

of the sun (also called

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

In the novel

In the original novel, Phoebus is an

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.womanizer Womanizer may refer to: * "Womanizer" (term), a promiscuous heterosexual man * "Womanizer" (song), a 2008 song by Britney Spears * "Womanizer", a 1977 song by Blood, Sweat & Tears from '' Brand New Day'' * ''Womanizer'', a 2004 album by Absolut ...

. He saves Esmeralda from

Quasimodo Quasimodo (from Quasimodo Sunday) is the titular protagonist of the French novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) by Victor Hugo. Born with numerous deformities, most notably a hunched back, Quasimodo serves as the bell-ringer for Notre ...

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 his cousin, Fleur-de-Lys de Gondelaurier, a spiteful socialite who is jealous of Esmeralda's beauty. Not only that, he has agreed to let Archdeacon

Claude Frollo Claude Frollo () is a fictional Christian clergyman and the main antagonist of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel '' The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (original French title: ''Notre-Dame de Paris''). He is also an alchemist, Renaissance humanist, and intell ...

spy on his meeting with Esmeralda. This decision proves his undoing, since as the couple prepare to have sex, Frollo attacks Phoebus and stabs him in the back. Frollo makes a quick get-away and Phoebus is presumed dead, with Esmeralda, being the only one present, 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 attempted murder and

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

. Phoebus has the power to prove her innocence, but he remains silent for fear of having his adultery exposed. In the end of the novel, he marries Fleur-de-Lys, and watches Esmeralda's execution with apparently little or no remorse. While Phoebus is one of the few characters to survive in the novel, he does not escape punishment entirely, as Hugo implies that his marriage will not be a happy or romantic one.

Adaptations

Most adaptations change Phoebus into a more positive character, sometimes even the primary love interest of Esmeralda. Among the actors who have played Phoebus over the years in each adaptation of the novel are:

Disney version

* Phoebus appears in ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), voiced by

Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. In a career spanning over five decades, he has become a prominent leading man across both Kevin Kline on screen and stage, stage and screen. List of awards and nominations recei ...

. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. This version is the captain of Frollo's guard. He becomes fond of Esmeralda, such as complimenting her for fighting as well as a man, and the two fall in love. In the sequel, ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame II ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame II'' is a 2002 American animated musical film directed by Bradley Raymond. It is a direct-to-video sequel to Disney's 1996 animated feature film '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame''. The film was produced by the Japanese ...

'' (2002), Phoebus and Esmeralda have a young son, Zephyr. * Phoebus appears in '' Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance'', voiced by

Phil LaMarr Phil LaMarr is an American actor and comedian. He was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV'', where he stayed for five seasons. His voice acting roles in animated series include the Sam B of ' ...

in English and Souma Suzuki in Japanese. * Phoebus makes a cameo appearance in ''

Once Upon a Studio ''Once Upon a Studio'' is a 2023 American live-action/animated crossover fantasy comedy short film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios in celebration of the Walt Disney Company's centennial. Written and directed by Dan Abraham and Trent C ...

''.

References

External links

The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Characters
at

SparkNotes SparkNotes, originally part of a website called The Spark, is a company started by Harvard students Sam Yagan, Max Krohn, Chris Coyne, and Eli Bolotin in 1999 that originally provided study guides for literature, poetry, history, film, and phil ...

* Rebello, Stephen. ''The Art of The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996) {{DEFAULTSORT:Phoebus, Captain The Hunchback of Notre-Dame characters Fictional French people Fictional French people in literature Fictional military captains Fictional nobility Fictional police officers Literary characters introduced in 1831 Male characters in literature