Online fans of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame:
"Until the end, Quasimodo only thinks of Esmeralda in terms of how she benefits him, unlike Phoebus who focuses on helping her. This reinforces that Phoebus is the one Esmeralda belongs with."
Me:
"First of all, have you forgotten how Quasimodo helps her escape from the cathedral? If he were only thinking of how she benefits him, he would have let her stay trapped there with him. Or how he hides the injured Phoebus from Frollo despite his heartbreak and jealousy? If he were really so selfish, he would have let Frollo capture his rival! Secondly, this isn't a fair comparison, because Phoebus doesn't get a song about his love for Esmeralda, while Quasimodo does! I'm sure if Phoebus did sing about his feelings, we'd hear more about how Esmeralda "benefits him" too. It seems as if a man can't even express his feelings to himself, in a song he sings when he's alone, or else people label him "self-focused"! Honestly, I ship Esmeralda with Phoebus, but with the way people try to paint Quasimodo as a "bad choice" to build up Phoebus as the "good choice" for her, I almost want to start shipping her with Quasimodo just to spite them!
