Esméralda's birth-name was Agnes. She is the illegitimate daughter of Paquette Guybertaut, nicknamed 'la Chantefleurie', an orphaned minstrel's daughter who lives in Rheims. Paquette has become a prostitute after being seduced by a young nobleman, and lives a miserable life in poverty and loneliness. Agnes's birth makes Paquette happy once more, and she lavishes attention and care upon her adored child: even the neighbours begin to forgive Paquette for her past behaviour when they watch the pair. Tragedy strikes, however, when Gypsies kidnap the young baby, leaving a hideously deformed child (the infant Quasimodo) in her place. The townsfolk come to the conclusion that the Gypsies have cannibalised baby Agnes; the mother flees Reims in despair, and the Gypsy child is exorcised and sent to