Photo credit below: YouTube.com screenshot of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
“Why was I not made of stone like thee?”
In the 1939 remake of the classic film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (based on the 1831 novel by Victor Hugo), the gypsy girl, Esmeralda, enters the public square on a wagon with her hands bound. She has been unjustly accused of murder and now nears her sentence of public hanging.
Quasimodo, the Cathedral’s hunchbacked bell-ringer, observes from high atop the Gothic church. As the events unfold, his love for Esmeralda moves him to action. He jumps from his perch and swings across one of the many gargoyles that dot the ornate face of the Cathedral. He then scoots along a narrow ledge, quickly moving across the front of the church. Finally, he makes his way to a wooden scaffolding where he unwinds a rope above him.
Esmeralda leans listlessly against the pole from which she will soon hang. The hangman sings a mournful lament. Quasimodo, holding tightly to the rope, takes to the air like an acrobat, swinging across the town square. He lands on the gallows, pushes the hangman aside, grabs Esmeralda, and swings back to the scaffolding.
Looking down at the screaming crowd, he holds Esmeralda tight, shouting victoriously, “Saanctuaary. . . saanctuaary!” Quasimodo has saved her from death! He claims “sanctuary” for her within the confines of the Cathedral where she can be safe from the corrupt practices of the time.
In our time, daily life has changed much from the 15th century in which this story is set. Human sentiment, however, has not. It continues to display the same tension and conflict as the generations that have come and gone attest. The need for respite from such human struggles remains. Consequently, a safe place to rest, to think, and to feel, even for a short time, may be more important than ever, considering the fast pace of modern society and its contributions to increasing tension.
John Muir, the great wilderness advocate, recognized over 100 years ago that such a need exists in people, saying, “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”
Muir considered Yosemite itself to be like a cathedral, where people could “play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.”
Truly, Yosemite National Park (YNP) continues to stand out as a sanctuary, possessing far more exquisite details than the architecture of Notre Dame itself. Here, thousands of “overcivilized people” seek out its safety and security to calm their nerves. At least, they do so when the Park is open and accessible.
Occasionally, the Park closes due to unforeseen circumstances (e.g., the 1997 flood, the 2018 Ferguson Fire, etc.). This creates a significant loss for those who have sought out the Park’s comforting embrace. This was particularly true for those impacted by the recent shuttering of the Park due to the viral pandemic impacting much of the world.
On March 20, 2020, the Yosemite “cathedral” locked its gates to the public due to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The Superintendent of YNP announced “modifications to operations at the request of the local health department. As of 3:00 pm today, Friday, March 20, 2020, Yosemite National Park is closed to all park visitors until further notice. This closure will be enforced 24-hours a day/7-days a week and there will be no access permitted to Yosemite National Park.”
The Park would also instruct its vendor, Yosemite Hospitality, to send out cancellation notices to all those sanctuary seekers with lodging reservations in March and April. I received such a notice. It came by email, dated April 1, 2020. Initially, I suspected foul play. Perhaps this email resulted from some cruel computer hacker seeking laughs by springing an April Fool’s joke upon expectant Park visitors. I never thought the Park would stay closed through the end of April.
But it has. The cancellation notice was no joke. The cozy wooden cabin I had hope to enjoy for the first time in Curry Village during the fourth week of April, would go vacant. The hard-earned reservations I possessed, a year in the making, would be lost in the quiet of Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite, although closed, remains a sanctuary. Reports by National Park Service employees inside the Park indicate that many animals roam about with newfound freedom, reclaiming the Park now that the “thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people” have disappeared. A bear happily climbs a tree, a coyote restfully hunkers down in the Yosemite Lodge’s parking lot to enjoy a view of Yosemite Falls, and deer frolic in the meadows (see photos below). I wish I was there . . . but I am not.
The loss brings my thoughts back to Quasimodo and the final scene of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. High atop the Cathedral, he forlornly peers down at the town square where Esmeralda, proclaimed innocent and granted her freedom, rides away with Gringoire, the facilitator of her freedom. Quasimodo, completely spent and helpless to prevent this loss of love, looks upon the face of the gargoyle that he leans against. With desperation, he mournfully asks the unmoving creature, “Why was I not made of stone like thee?”
I now picture myself resting upon one of Yosemite’s own granite heights. I allow thoughts similar to Quasimodo’s to occupy my mind and to pacify my feelings of loss. Despite the Park's closing, Yosemite's cathedral-like stone spires remain present there, looking down upon the wildlife that has reclaimed the Valley, gazing upon the swollen rivers and creeks from the spring snowmelt, and peering across the floral displays of the meadow’s new colors. Today, to be present in that sanctuary, in any form, be it stone or otherwise, seems better than being absent.
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Posts below are from the Yosemite National Park Instagram page. The picture on the left shows a bear in Yosemite Valley enjoying a tree climb. The picture on the right shows a relaxing coyote enjoying Yosemite Fall. Posts dated April 13 and April 20, 2020, respectively.
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