Phantom of The Opera

ICOY, Abegail B.
ENG100 08-28-19
BEED 1 Dr. Gemma S. Calo-oy
The Phantom of the Opera was first published in 1910. Since then it has been made
into several well-known films, including the 2004 remake that stars Gerard Butler, Emmy
Rossum and Minnie Driver. The work is perhaps best known as one of the most successful
musicals of all time with music by Andrew Lloyd Weber. The essentials remain the same,
despite the retelling: a love triangle between the brooding Phantom, known as Erik, the innocent
and talented Christine Daaé, and the handsome viscount, Raoul de Chegny.
The book begins with a prologue, where the narrator explains his research for bringing this
astounding legend of the phantom together some thirty odd years after the events took place. His
research includes firsthand accounts, diary entries and research from the Paris Opera House’s
own library. There is also an epilogue that explains some of the phantom’s history, such as how
he came to work in the opera house.
The narrative itself picks up on the night of a retirement party. The old opera directors
are turning over the venue to the new leadership of Armand Moncharmin and Firmin Richard. As
the men talk and the dancers prepare for the evening’s entertainment, several dancers make
mention of having seen the phantom. Before long, the chief stagehand, Joseph Buquet, is found
hanged in the basement. The night proves a success, however, for fledgling star Christine Daaé,
who was only an understudy before this time. As it turns out, Raoul de Chegny is watching
Christine’s performance with his brother, and immediately falls in love with her. When she
faints, he rushes to her dressing room and it is revealed that the two share a past.
Raoul reminds Christine that he chased her scarf into the sea once when they were
children. It is later revealed by way of backstory that Christine’s father was a famous violinist,
and that Christine accompanied him on his travels. They settled in a seaside town where she met
Raoul. She left when her father died, and the two have not seen each other since that time.
When Raoul leaves her dressing room, he hears a male’s voice as he listens just
outside the door. The voice says that it has made Christine a star. Later, the old directors inform
Moncharmin and Richard about the supposed phantom and his demands. Box Five is to be
reserved only for him, and twenty thousand francs are to paid to him monthly. Though the new
directors scoff at the demands and consider the phantom a joke, they soon receive a letter from
the phantom highlighting his anger.
Later, Christine reaches out to Raoul and meets him in the seaside town where they
first met. There in Perros, she reveals that the voice he heard in her dressing room is the Angel of
Music, a creature her father said would watch over her. When Raoul follows Christine to the
cemetery, he hears violin music. He is then found unconscious the next day, attacked by a
cloaked figure with a face like a “skull.”
The new directors are still certain the phantom is a hoax, but again receive a letter.
This time, the phantom demands that Christine be given the lead in Faust, among other things,
and reminds them about Box Five. Again the directors scoff at the idea. Instead, they cast
Carlotta in the role, reserve Box Five for themselves and hire someone against the phantom’s
wishes. When the night’s performance commences, Carlotta’s voice croaks like a frog’s, to their
horror. Moreover, the house chandelier drops onto the unsuspecting audience, thus injuring
people and killing the person they hired against the phantom’s wishes.
Raoul searches for Christine and, upon finding her, is told to meet her at a masked ball. He
attends, but also in attendance is a shady figure with a skull mask, the so-called phantom. Seeing
the phantom’s boldness, Christine informs Raoul that she can no longer see him. She flees to her
dressing room and when Raoul follows, witnesses her disappear into her mirror.
When Raoul again seeks Christine out the next day and finds her with her guardian,
Mme. Valerius, he reveals that he will be leaving within a month. Christine agrees to a secret
engagement and reveals all. She explains that the phantom, Erik, is jealous and dangerous. She
then takes Raoul to the rooftop, hoping that the phantom cannot hear them. She tells Raoul that
she thought Erik was the Angel of Music, but he is a grotesque individual with a scarred face.
Both Christine and Raoul pause, feeling they are being watched. The next night, the lights go out
in the middle of the performance and when they are turned back on, Christine is gone.
Raoul is on the verge of telling the police about Erik, but is stopped by the Persian,
an odd figure often in the opera house. The Persian then takes Raoul to Christine’s dressing room
and shows him how she “disappeared” through her mirror. They both go through, and the Persian
leads Raoul down into the underground cellars. They intend to drop through a panel into Erik’s
house, but end up in a torture chamber. Erik, who demands that Christine marry him, turns the
torture chamber on. The Persian manages to find a release switch and the two men escape, only
to find that Erik’s wine cellar is filled with a massive amount of gun powder.
Still demanding that Christine marry him, Erik gives her a choice between turning
two knobs. One will mean she accepts his marriage proposal, and the other means she rejects
him. Unbeknownst to Christine, the rejection knob will trigger a gun powder explosion. In the
end, however, she chooses Erik, and when she turns the knob, the wine cellar begins filling with
water. Erik finally changes his mind, though, and saves the two men from drowning. He later
visits the Persian and informs him that he has allowed Raoul and Christine to be together, and
that he is dying of heartbreak.
Leroux’s work has withstood the test of time and has helped to introduce the
tortured image of the antihero into literature. The phantom is indeed dangerous, but also
cultivated and accomplished. He loves passionately, is poetic and even an accomplished
composer. His character balances equal parts horror and likeability, and as such, symbolizes the
different and often conflicting character traits within mankind. There are good and bad traits
which define the individual. Like Erik, a true hero is defined by how he or she reacts to others,
even when faced with heartbreak and rejection.

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