Whoās Ready for a Controversial Opinion?
Erik was a victim to Christine, more so than she was of him.Ā
My last post focused on the novel, this post will focus primarily on the musical with some of both Lerouxās novel and Kayās novel tossed in for good measure.
Now, I will begin this post by saying I do not hate Christine for choosing Raoul. But I hate the way she chose him.
Ready. Set. Here we goā¦
Yes. Christine did love Erik in some way (letās get that out of the way, because I am not saying she did not), but not enough or in the way it would take to make her choose him over Raoul. And thatās fine. However, whatās not alright is that the immediate basis for her choosing Raoul over Erik (as stated in āWhy Have You Brought Me Here/Raoul Iāve Been Thereā) was because of Erikās face.Ā
"Can I ever escape from that face? So distorted, deformed, it was hardly a face"Ā
So even though his āvoice fill her spirit with a strange sweet sound.ā, her immediate rejection of him was based off of a purely superficial and shallow reasoning. If she hadnāt been an impatient little brat, eventually he may have revealed what was under the mask after preparing her for it. But no. She just had to rip it off, like little Luciana. She only begins to fear him and hate him AFTER she sees his face. Before that, all the things he did in the threatre for the past three years she had very little issue with. Yes, she and all the other performers got frightened with scenes or props dropped or disappeared or people were mysteriously injured (in Lerouxās novel the Fireman broke his own leg falling down the stairs after being spooked by the rat catcherās lamp. So Erik was not even part of that mishap to begin with). But she continued to have pleasant dealings with the Phantom, which I will explain momentarily.Ā
Though, murder had not been on the list until later. In the novel Buquetās death was an accidental suicide. And in the musical it can be interpreted as self defence. Buquet is chasing him through the rafters. Later on Erik mentionsĀ
āThere are worse things than a shattered chandelierā
but never mentions Buquet. So it can be assumed he intended to drop the chandelier but did not intend to kill Buquet.Ā
And Christine canāt claim innocence because in āPhantom of the Operaā Erik singsĀ
āIn all your fantasies/you always knewāĀ
and she specifically sings in replyĀ
āthat man and mystery/were both in youāĀ
so you KNOW she knew who her Angel of Music was. Yet still she took her singing lessons from him and actively sought out his company, enthralled by the mystery of this spectre who haunted the Opera Populair.Ā
Love isnāt the media representation of fluffy butterflies when you look at them. Itās a verb, an action, a choice. A sacrifice to put them above yourself.Ā
Erik really did love Christine when he sacrificed himself to give her what she wanted in The Final Lair. The only affection he ever knew, he gave away to make her happy. He understood love far more than Christine ever did, though he had never experienced it himself. It was something he craved and never received. In āAll I Ask of Youā Raoul singsĀ
āSay youāll need me with you here beside youā,Ā
whereas after Christine reveals Erik at the end of āPoint of No Returnā he singsĀ
āsay youāll want me with you there beside youā.Ā
Raoul wants her to NEED him, to be dependant on him, so he can be her hero. But Erik just needs someone to WANT him, to save HIM, because heās never had that.Ā
āHounded out by everyone/Met with hatred everywhere/No kind word from anyone/No compassion anywhere.āĀ
Christine grew up with friends and family who loved her and doted on her, but when it came down to it she was spoiled.
Then immediately afterwards inĀ āAll I Ask of You (Reprise)ā Erik sings;
āI gave you my music, made your song take wing. And now, how youāve repaid me. Denied me and betrayed me.ā
Erik gave her the most important things to him in his attempt to show her his love and affection. His music. It was the only and most intimate way he could connect with her. In teaching her and singing with her he bared his very soul and became entirely vulnerable to her. And it was all she needed until Raoul came into the picture and made her have to chose. And she chose to abandon the man who had never known a single kindness. She plotted in secret to abandon him and would haveĀ
āā¦let me wait here all alone tomorrow night, walking up and down, up and down,staring at the clock? You were going to let me drag up all those hundreds of stairs to your dressing room to find you goneāno word of regret, no letter, nothingāand you didnāt mean to hurt me?ā
Erik trusted her. He gave her everything he knew how to give. He loved to the point of destruction. And in the very end he allowed himself to shatter completely for her. He tore himself away from the violent persona of the Opera Ghost and was able to bring himself to his senses to give her what she wanted even though it was not him. Neither choice she would have made would have been him. He knew it. As you can see in the hope he has when she comes back (if only to return his ring), hoping against hope that maybe she had changed her mind? But the story ends with Christine and Raoul returning to share the light of the sun. And Erik remains behind, his music, and his life now finished.Ā
āItās over now the music of the night.ā
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