Why Raoul de Chagny is Awesome
So this is my first long post– my first non-shitpost, tbh– and it's about Raoul because I just think he's neat. That being said, I understand that not everyone does. If you don't like Raoul, that's okay. You don't even need me to validate that for you. Everybody has different opinions and my goal isn't to force anybody to share my point of view or change their mind. Just hear me out if you want to, and don't if you don't want to. Simple as that. I just want to vent about why I think the Raoul hate is undeserved because it's really disproportionate–
- It makes Phantom out to be a poor little victim and Raoul the big, bad, possessive Vicomte. But I don't think that's the story at all. Let's start at the beginning. Yes, Raoul comes into Christine’s dressing room without her consent after Think of Me, and it's wrong. But Phantom gets so much slack for being emotionally stunted because of his isolation. This is an explanation for his behavior, not an excuse. Raoul doesn't get any slack because he's conventionally attractive and rich, but he can't help being conventionally attractive any more than Phantom can help not being conventionally attractive. And they're both loaded. Phantom’s getting 20,000 francs a month. And let's be honest…Raoul has at most one braincell (I say this with love). Plus, Phantom is literally already in the dressing room when Raoul shows up after Think of Me. Raoul's mistake is a mistake on its own merits and saying it's not as bad as what Phantom does doesn't make it not bad, but I personally think it's ridiculous when pro-Phantom people specifically bring this up. Phantom does not respect Christine’s privacy at all, which is kind of the plot of the musical.
- I’d also like to point out how Raoul is patient with Christine. When she wanted to keep their engagement a secret and wore the ring on her neck to Masquerade, Raoul put on a happy face and had a great time anyway. At least until Phantom showed up. When they have their conversation about the secret engagement in Masquerade, Raoul doesn't yell or growl or anything like that– he just asks her why she's doing this. He's understandably annoyed and confused, but he’s still comforting. He asks Christine what she’s afraid of. He wants to know what's making her behave this way, because he cares about Christine and her well-being.
- Now, on to one of the weirdest arguments I've seen in opposition to Raoul: the accusation that he infantilizes Christine while Phantom sees her as a woman and respects her sexuality? While Raoul ignores it? This makes no sense to me at all. I think it stems from Raoul and Christine having been childhood friends, and from Raoul bonding with her again by bringing up Little Lotte…like he refuses to acknowledge that she's grown up. But I don't think the fact that Raoul and Christine knew each other as children means that he still sees her as a child. In fact, I think part of the draw for their relationship is that they're getting to know each other all over again and discover how they've both changed. They just already feel comfortable around one another because they have a baseline knowledge of each other to build off of. Not once in the musical does Raoul actually call Christine a child. “Little Lotte” is a pet name that draws on their preexisting mutual relationship. It makes Christine smile and think of the fond times they shared when they were younger. It's not the same as calling her a child to belittle her or subdue her (and using the “wide-eyed fears” line in All I Ask of You as an example of this is a stretch, IMO). On the other hand, Phantom does this flat-out multiple times; “Flattering child you shall know me, see why in shadow I hide…” and in Wandering Child. I mean, the song is literally called Wandering Child. And I don't know how Phantom respects Christine’s sexuality and womanhood considering he does this. This argument usually comes with a side of, “Raoul is unsexy and Phantom is so hot”...which…is entirely personal preference. I don't get why this is treated as a legitimate argument. Then all of a sudden Raoul is uncool because he's allegedly not sexy. He becomes chaste and Phantom is sex on legs apparently (yes, that is a Behind the Mask documentary reference). But Raoul probably has a much healthier perception of his sexuality than Phantom given that Phantom has said himself he’s celibate (“that fate which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh”). Phantom’s…everything, from his candles and his caressing himself to his many, many costumes are attempts to overcompensate. It's all an act to make himself seem alluring. Raoul is all-natural. Well, except for the eyeliner. But it's gorgeous so it can stay.
- I also think it's worth mentioning that character development is a thing. Of course it's most obvious in Phantom’s case because by the end of the show he realizes that killing people in the name of love for Christine is actually not what she wants so he should probably stop and leave her alone…but Raoul undergoes a change too. His arc is about realizing that Christine can fend for herself and that he was trying so hard to protect her he ended up putting her in danger. Time and time again I’ve heard about how Raoul is awful because he didn't immediately believe Christine when she told him about Phantom. Like I said, he has at most one braincell. Give him a break! But on a more serious note, he realizes how wrong he was when Madame Giry talks to him post-Masquerade. He even says, “my God” as it dawns on him that Christine was trying to get through to him the whole time, and he didn't understand. It's a misunderstanding, because conflict is what makes a story interesting. It does not mean they're/he's toxic. He then tries to protect Christine from Phantom, not to assert his dominance or whatever, but because he loves her and I think it's normal for him to not want to see her get stalked by a murderer. Which is where we get to the terrible Don Juan plan. And it is terrible. Christine didn't want to go onstage and he basically told her to take one for the team and just do it anyway. It’s his lowest character moment in the show, I think. But it's necessary because it makes Final Lair especially poignant. Raoul goes to rescue her not just because he loves her and wants to protect her from the stalker, but because he's the one who got her into this mess. He is willing to die for her. He spends what he very well expects to be his last minutes begging for Christine’s forgiveness for what he did. He knows he was wrong. He learns. And then Christine is just super badass and proves that she can save herself and her fiancé. In my opinion she proves it not only to Raoul and Phantom but also to herself, but that's a topic for another post. What I'm trying to say is that Raoul changes to better support Christine, and if that's not being a good boyfriend I don't know what is.
Okay, I'm just gonna end by knocking a very stupid argument out of the way…Phantom is not a better love interest for Christine because he is willing to kill for her and Raoul is not. Wtf. I can't believe I've actually seen this take. Christine doesn't want people to kill for her. Again, that's kind of the plot of the musical. So I don't know why that's an appropriate meter to measure how much Raoul loves her. And that’s beside the fact that some Raouls are totally ready to throw down after being released during Final Lair (Hadley Fraser in the 25th, for example). Anyway Raoul is amazing, a work of art, a national treasure and I will protect him and sing his praises until the end of time. But you don't have to, and that's fine. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
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