"Because She Gave Me Water"

Good luck finding a straight answer to this question on the Internet.

Most search engines yeild circuitous misinformation about this subject, and bullshit.

When the crowd laughed and jeered and asked Quasimodo "Why are you crying Quasimodo?", after he had been whipped and pilloried, and he answered "because she gave me water"; why was that line edited out of the 1939 version of the film The Hunchback Of Notre Dame?

Time after time after time, I find instances of someone meddling with information any way that they can in an attempt to control people's minds.

I don't cotton to that.

AI Overview

Based on the 1939 film adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the specific line where Quasimodo explicitly tells the crowd, "Because she gave me water," in response to why he is crying is not present in the final, dramatic pillory scene. 

While the film follows the general emotional beat of the book, several production, narrative, and artistic choices likely led to the editing or absence of this specific dialogue:

• Emphasis on Silent Acting: The 1939 scene is heavily focused on the visual and emotional, rather than dialogue-driven, performance of Charles Laughton. Laughton's portrayal emphasizes Quasimodo's overwhelming gratitude and shame through tearful facial expressions and physical gestures rather than verbal explanation, focusing on the poignant, quiet moment of mercy.
• Focus on Different Climax: While the water scene is depicted, the 1939 film makes various changes from the novel, including making the crowd's mockery more intense and focusing on the overall spectacle of the pillorying, rather than a verbal exchange between the crowd and Quasimodo.
• Narrative Focus on the Endline: The 1939 film places far more emphasis on Quasimodo's final, heart-wrenching line, "Why was I not made of stone - like thee?", spoken to a gargoyle after he watches Esmeralda depart, which serves as the emotional summation of his loneliness and unrequited love in that version.
• Production Choices: The film was produced during a tense time, and director William Dieterle prioritized the visual impact of the crowd and the emotional depth of Laughton’s acting over verbatim adherence to every line of dialogue from the source material. 

While Esmeralda indeed gives him water in the 1939 film, awakening his love for her, the verbalization of "Because she gave me water" in that specific scene was likely deemed unnecessary for the visual, emotional impact the film sought to create. 

When I was growing up Quasimodo's answer "Because she gave me water" was in the movie.

Who has a vested intrest in editing history this way, and why?

Sorry children, you've been had.