Frollo's dreams

Few times in the book we find out something about his dreams, or, at least, their content. In Lasciate, Frollo mentions them two times. First time, while he is explaining to Esmeralda the way his body behaved in the past:
eng. "As long as the demon sent to attack me only vague shadows of women who passed occasionally before my eyes in church, in the streets, in the fields, and who hardly recurred to my dreams, I easily vanquished him."
The second time "Unable to rid myself of it, since I heard your song humming ever in my head, beheld your feet dancing always on my breviary, felt even at night, in my dreams"
I've always liked these parts from this chapter. Those woman he met before, he was seeing rarely in his dreams but he couldn't stop with Esmeralda, to dream of her, to long for her even in his dreams. In the first case, he never really felt anything as he did for Esmeralda. Do you think it has something to do with them being "vague shadows of women" only? Isn't he, when he is confessing to Esmeralda, saying that she was a display who "It was no simple girl made with a little of our earth, and dimly lighted within by the vacillating ray of a woman's soul".
So, this idealisation of Esmeralda, who takes top when he is comparing her to Virgin Mary in same chapter, how much you think is connected with his dreams, his longing for her, his passion, his opsession, his love for her - how big part was of his complex feelings for her?

Ah, Frollo's dreams...probably we could know more about the character, if they were more described, and even completely shown.  Unfortunately, Hugo didn't, but after all it's Frollo we know the more about in the book.
For me his idealization of Esmeralda has everything to see with his obsessional love for her. We know only how he consider women in general - insignifiant or just symbol of sin, through his vision of religion ; moreover he was always so busy to studying he didn't really take care of women, contrary to Jehan. He didn't have someone to love, never ; too dreamy, too serious, and too doomed by his chastity vow too. By comparing Esmeralda to the Virgin Mary, yep, he put her above every other woman, giving her a grace, an innocence and a beauty he never saw before, though the comparison even is a blasphemy. By making her so ideal, he couldn't stand the fact that she correspond to his dreams, actually, and it explains also the obsession part. He could see at a lot of moments that Esmeralda was just childish, but he never gave up. Maybe hoping that she will grow up and then show she'll be better. And in same time it's this innocence of a child that is part of this too - innocence and purity, what Frollo knows, or has never known, at choice. Well, in all cases his love is composed of the idealisation, explaining why he follows her and spies her. That's why also the feelings are so complex. If she's "perfect", why she rejects him ? It's a contradiction, like Frollo has numerous ones, it's a part of his personnality even. He saw in Esmeralda something he didn't see in other women - innocence, a child state, what he has never known, him, maybe it's a part of his attraction. And it's like for Jehan - all the dreams he projects on her, happiness, other life, absolute love, are completely derived of his imaginary, frustating things he didn't have. She's redemption and fall in the same time, and this only because he adores her...

"He saw in Esmeralda something he didn't see in other women - innocence, a child state, what he has never known, him, maybe it's a part of his attraction."
True Hermie. Also, he saw in Esmeralda everything that wasn't like him. He seems to be a type of a person, who loves answers, no matter are they ugly or not, he has to investigate every dark or light corner within himself, he is not afraid of looking str8 to the abyss. I think he saw in her everything that wasn't like he, himself and yet was reminded by her to his own "fly" days, who sadly, ended, paths of life, fate, events and most of all, longing for more, who often make the fly a spider. Who knows, maybe he was longing for, being with her, discovering the fly within himself again. The fly as purity, light, satisfaction and a feeling that he is complete, that he can stop (I am not sure am I clear what I mean ), rest and be happy.

Don't worry, I see what you mean. With Esmeralda he could have been complete and find answers about himself, and all the questions he had about life, I think. After all, he was searching for every knowlege, as soon it was unknown for him. And in many ways Esme is in same time future and past : a future he could imagine with her, experimentating anything he didn't know, but also the past of everything he has never done. Esme is the innocence he lost very young, the child he never had been. Who knows...though it's hard to say that Esmeralda could have bring him all that. She's sometimes just like a spoiled child. I'm not sure she would have been happy with him - because he knew too much and was too dark for her.

I actually find it ironic. One of the reasons Frollo's attracted to Esmeralda is her childlike state, yet that is probably the reason she refuses him. Her naivety doesn't allow her to see the complexity of his feelings or the reasoning behind his actions. Esmeralda understands it intellectually but not emotionally, which often doesn't equate the same reaction. I don't condone Frollo's actions (I'm sure most people wouldn't) but at the same time I don't feel that the situation is black and white, where Esmeralda probably equates certain actions with evil and her opinion is inflexible. Most likely the area where her naivety comes into play here is her "relationship" with Phoebus. She knows he is still alive, she believes he loves her and she believes he will rescue her. While most of the characters around her, even Quasimodo, realizes what Phoebus actually is. Esmeralda clings to that naive hope and believes that is the way out of this situation.