Esmeralda is a fearless and streetwise Romani with a heart of gold and is very capable of defending herself. She's also able to look beyond physical appearances and is one of the first—and only—people in both films to befriend the deformed yet lovable hunchback Quasimodo. Esmeralda is a wonderful heroine whose greatest wish is to see outcasts like Quasimodo and her fellow gypsies be accepted into society and be treated as people, not as property. She also seems to be quite witty, as when Phoebus first confronts her in the church, she verbally challenges him. She is quite passionate and demands justice, and she displays this at the Festival of Fools, when she stands up for Quasimodo while the crowd jeers at him.
Though she seems to be a sultry and free-spirited person, the song "God Help the Outcasts" shows that Esmeralda cares about God and religion as she turns to God asking for a better life for her people. However, Esmeralda is not a fanatic as Frollo is - on the one hand she does not get into a personal crisis by her falling in love with Phoebus, on the other she uses the phrase "I don't know if You can hear me or if You're even there" in her song speaking to God, showing she's not totally convinced of his existence but still hopes to be heared. |