--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In fact, when the scaffold is there, all…" description: "\"“In fact, when the scaffold is there, all erected and prepared, it has something about it which produces hallucination. One may feel a certain indiffer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/victor-hugo-32_death_in-fact-when-the-scaffold-is-there-all-e_2668594.jpg" --- # In fact, when the scaffold is there, all erected and… ![“In fact, when the scaffold is there, all erected and prepared, it has something about it which produces hallucination. One may feel a certain indifference to the death penalty, one may refrain from pronouncing upon it, from saying yes or no, so long as one has not seen a guillotine with one's own…” quote by Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/victor-hugo-32_death_in-fact-when-the-scaffold-is-there-all-e_2668594.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/victor-hugo-32_death_in-fact-when-the-scaffold-is-there-all-e_2668594.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d43/victor-hugo-32_death_in-fact-when-the-scaffold-is-there-all-e_2668594.jpg) > ““In fact, when the scaffold is there, all erected and prepared, it has something about it which produces hallucination. One may feel a certain indifference to the death penalty, one may refrain from pronouncing upon it, from saying yes or no, so long as one has not seen a guillotine with one's own eyes: but if one encounters one of them, the shock is violent; one is forced to decide, and to take part for or against. Some admire it, like de Maistre; others execrate it, like Beccaria. The guillotine is the concretion of the law; it is called vindicte; it is not neutral, and it does not permit you to remain neutral. He who sees it shivers with the most mysterious of shivers. All social problems erect their interrogation point around this chopping-knife. The scaffold is a vision. The scaffold is not a piece of carpentry; the scaffold is not a machine; the scaffold is not an inert bit of mechanism constructed of wood, iron and cords. It”” [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The guillotine’s physical presence forces people to confront death, breaking neutrality and provoking visceral reactions, making it a societal focal point. **In simple terms:** Seeing the guillotine makes people feel forced to choose sides on capital punishment. Key Takeaway Acknowledge how symbols can compel moral decisions. Themes moral conflict symbolic violence public conscience Mood reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - philosophical essay - political commentary - historical analysis Key Concepts death penalty neutrality psychological impact Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting death affect public opinion? - Can society remain neutral on capital punishment? A Different Perspective Symbolic power may be overstated. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death penalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-penalty/) [Saying yes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-yes/) [Social problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-problems/) ## Related quotes > [“We may remain more or less open-minded on the subject of the death penalty, indisposed to commit ourselves, so long as we have not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-may-remain-more-or-less-open-minded-on-the-subject-of-the-death/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“We may be indifferent to the death penalty and not declare ourselves either way so long as we have not seen a guillotine with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/we-may-be-indifferent-to-the-death-penalty-and-not-declare-ourselves/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“The guillotine is the ultimate expression of Law, and its name is vengeance; it is not neutral, nor does it allow us to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-guillotine-is-the-ultimate-expression-of-law-and-its-name-is-2/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“The scaffold is the accomplice of the executioner; it devours, it eats flesh, it drinks blood; the scaffold is a sort of monster fabricated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/the-scaffold-is-the-accomplice-of-the-executioner-it-devours-it-eats/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The crime and not the scaffold makes the shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/the-crime-and-not-the-scaffold-makes-the-shame/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [“so many that had died on the scaffold and many more to die including, though she did not know it then, her own son.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-o-brien/so-many-that-had-died-on-the-scaffold-and-many-more-to-die-including/) [Edna O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-o-brien/) > [“I will admit that I wanted to shout for standing on the top of a scaffold in front of a good new wall always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-cary/i-will-admit-that-i-wanted-to-shout-for-standing-on-the-top-of-a/) [Joyce Cary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-cary/) > [Every step of progress the world has made has been from scaffold to scaffold, and from stake to stake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/every-step-of-progress-the-world-has-made-has-been-from-scaffold-to/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [It is the crime not the scaffold which is the disgrace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-corneille/it-is-the-crime-not-the-scaffold-which-is-the-disgrace/) [Pierre Corneille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-corneille/) > [“Many a man has borne himself proudly on the scaffold; surely the same pride should teach us to think truly about man's place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/many-a-man-has-borne-himself-proudly-on-the-scaffold-surely-the-same/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [Pop culture is the scaffold we all carry around with us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/pop-culture-is-the-scaffold-we-all-carry-around-with-us/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Assasination on the scaffold is the worst form of assasination, because there it is invested with the approval of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/assasination-on-the-scaffold-is-the-worst-form-of-assasination/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The scaffold has never yet and never will destroy an idea or a movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-james-ettor/the-scaffold-has-never-yet-and-never-will-destroy-an-idea-or-a/) Joseph James Ettor > [Women have the right to mount the scaffold; they should likewise have the right to mount the rostrum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olympe-de-gouges/women-have-the-right-to-mount-the-scaffold-they-should-likewise-have/) [Olympe de Gouges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olympe-de-gouges/) > [“There was a Princess Somebody of Denmark sitting at a table with a number of people around her, and I saw an empty chair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/there-was-a-princess-somebody-of-denmark-sitting-at-a-table-with-a/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) ## More by Victor Hugo > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“There is still a certain grace in a dead festival. It has been happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/there-is-still-a-certain-grace-in-a-dead-festival-it-has-been-happy/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“First I loved women, then animals, and now I love stones. They're just as amusing as women and animals and they're much less trecherous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/first-i-loved-women-then-animals-and-now-i-love-stones-they-re-just/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Nature is pitiless; she never withdraws her flowers, her music, her fragrance, and her sunlight from before human cruelty or suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/nature-is-pitiless-she-never-withdraws-her-flowers-her-music-her/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Have courage for the great sorrows of life, and patience for the small ones. 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The perfect smile belongs to God alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/our-joys-have-shadows-the-perfect-smile-belongs-to-god-alone/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“When those we love are in question, our prudence invents every sort of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/when-those-we-love-are-in-question-our-prudence-invents-every-sort-of/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Love is a fault; so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/love-is-a-fault-so-be-it/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) [Explore all 2,181 Victor Hugo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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