Esmeralda's Mind

what's behind those big green eyes?

Esmeralda is a compelling character. She's a wit, a spotlight grabber, a generous counselor, and a heroine (not to mention, something of a bombshell confused about her own appeal). Finding out what makes her tick isn't an easy task, just for those reasons...but we did our best.

Promoter Pattern
Emotions: willing to accept others
Goal: approval, popularity
Judges others by: verbalization skills
Influences others by: praise, opportunities, favors
Value to the organization: relieves tension; promotes projects and people, including themselves
Overuses: praise, optimism
Under Pressure: becomes careless and sentimental; disorganized in getting things done
Fears: loss of social acceptance and self-worth
Would increase effectiveness with more: control of time; objectivity; sense of urgency; emotional control; follow-though on promises, tasks
Other info: Promoters are articulate communicators with strong interpersonal skills. They are eager and select in promoting people and projects.

Esmeralda's profile might not seem as convincing as those of Clopin and Frollo. I believe that this is primarily because she's generally shown in her righteous element. However, if you read this profile a few times, things begin to click. Esmeralda was foolish to tease Frollo, and then to taunt the guards. If she'd been a little more controlled and less careless, Frollo might not have been so enraged, or had quite as much evidence against her witchcraft. It would have robbed us of a great scene, certainly: and probably the entire movie, too.
The fear of losing recognition doesn't jst extend to herself. She wants her people to be recognised, and she wants herself to be seen not just as a piece of meat (ala Frollo) but a human being. She's certainly an optimistic person, as well...we only see her being negative when she is fenced in, away from her family and popularity.
She certainly also promotes Quasimodo and tries to sell him to himself. She also shows a distinct lack of planning or forethought: who would take Phoebus to a place where Frollo visits every day? Who would let her people be terrorized while she hides out? If she again had been less careless, she would have turned herself in and given in to Frollo for the good of the whole. However, this goes against her desire not to lose recognition or individuality. She's a difficult character to pin, as well, simply because she's the heroine, and the heroine has to be nearly flawless. Think of this profile as Esmeralda off-camera...look for reflections of it on the screen.


All above materials (c) 1995, Carlson Learning Company. Used without permission and will be removed upon formal request. But Esme can handle them...a few frisbee-helmet tosses here, a little pole-vaulting there, and they'll be eating out of our hands.

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