All 4 Uses of
motive
in
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- "Monsieur," returned the archdeacon, "if that be your motive, you would have done as well not to put yourself out of breath climbing my staircase.†
Chpt 1.5.1
- Some serious motive, no doubt, prevented his biting it (the cake), for he contented himself with gazing tenderly at it.†
Chpt 1.6.3 *
- Stay, dear Brother Claude, I should not come to you, with any evil motive.†
Chpt 2.7.4
- He asked himself what motive could have impelled Quasimodo to save her.†
Chpt 2.9.5
Definitions:
-
(1)
(motive as in: What is her motive?) a reason for doing something
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Less commonly, motive can refer to something that causes motion in an inanimate object. Even less commonly, it can refer to a distinctive feature in music, art, or literature.