Claude Frollo is a rather complex person. A religious extremist and a dogmatist, Frollo is convinced that all his actions are justified because they are God's will, though he is a cruel and corrupt government official who uses his place in power to meet his own extreme ends, even employing common thugs to enforce his interpretation of God's will while posing as "soldiers". This makes him feared and reviled throughout the city. Although Paris' anti-Romani sentiment policies appear to be systemic, the persecution of the Roma appears to be advocated by Frollo, who is determined to eliminate the Roma scattered throughout Paris, as their indulgence in what Frollo calls "witchcraft and sorcery" is infectious to those around them, according to him. Frollo has also shown a mild sadistic streak, as he briefly smiles while his ex-captain of the guard is tortured and takes pleasure in burning Esmeralda at the stake. Surprisingly, Frollo has been shown to be a somewhat forgiving person. This is evidenced by how he forgave Quasimodo for attempting to deceive him in order to attend the Festival of Fools, and how he equated the letter "F" with "forgiveness" when teaching Quasimodo the alphabet. Another example is how the gargoyles seemed to be aware of Frollo's merciful side, as they suggested Frollo was more likely to forgive Quasimodo for his defiance than to permit him to attend the Festival of Fools. This turned out to be true, as he did in fact forgive him for his disobedience. He also ultimately forgave Quasimodo for helping Esmeralda escape Notre Dame, believing the hunchback was under a spell of Esmeralda's making. Interestingly, while most Disney villains know that what they do is wrong (and they either do not care or take pride in it), Frollo actually believes that he is a good person or at the very least believes his actions are for the greater good, making him a very three-dimensional character as well. He repeatedly refuses to find fault within himself and is quite self-righteous, declaring himself much purer than "the common vulgar, weak, licentious crowd" and to be above the biblical doctrine that all men are equally sinful, confirming him as a narcissist. He believes that everything he does is in the name of God, even as he attacks the cathedral of Notre Dame for the sake of catching, arresting, and executing one Romani woman. However, at the end of "Hellfire", he does beg God for mercy on Esmeralda for what he plans to do with her and mercy on him for his plans, and part of his sparing Quasimodo was as penance for his killing his mother, so he is capable of some form of guilt in his own twisted way. On a similar note, the "mea culpa" chorus of Hellfire implies that he does to some level recognize that he was at fault, and implies a more self-loathing aspect to his nature. Apparently, Frollo used to be celibate. However, he comes to lust for the beautiful Esmeralda, but after a moment of indecision ends up blaming his own lust for her on witchcraft and the devil rather than accept that he himself is prone to sin as everyone else. His lust drives him murderously insane, which ultimately proves to be his downfall when he pushes Quasimodo too far by almost killing Esmeralda. When he believes his lust for Esmeralda to be turning him to sin, he is partially right because it's this that makes him murderous and unfair towards the other people, arresting two families and attempting to kill one just because they wouldn't give him Esmeralda. Frollo is also very cruel and manipulative to Quasimodo. He refuses to allow the hunchback to experience freedom, forces the young man to call him "master", and allows him to be humiliated in public without even bothering to help him, as punishment for disobeying him. Additionally, during Frollo's outbursts, Quasimodo tries to move away from him, implying that Frollo has physically abused Quasimodo in the past. Despite all that, Frollo has traces of humanity in his relationship with Quasimodo, as he spends his free time eating lunch and dinner with his adoptive son, as well as his willingness to educate him, employ him as Notre Dame's bell ringer, provide for him, and even give him the means to spend time on his hobbies. He also seems to eschew imagination, believing that stone cannot talk and attempt to get Quasimodo to believe this as well: