#leroux fun

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1) Christine is stupid for not picking the Phantom, and 2) Christine is a weak girl. ((have fun!))

SEND ME A MISCONCEPTION YOU THINK PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT MY CHARACTER AND I’LL EXPLAIN IF IT’S TRUE OR NOT

—— I answered the weak assumption right here! 

No. No. Christine is a. not stupid and b. not stupid for not picking the Phantom. 

    Some people romanticize Erik so so much. Here, let’s look at a few quotes regarding Erik bringing Christine to his lair (not entirely so Music of the Night-y). 

 On page 127, Christine is describing when she was crumpled on the ground in fear, begging for mercy when Erik has his little breakdown. “When I turned my head and begged for mercy, he drew it to him brutally, twisting his dead fingers into my hair.” Okay, this does not sound very cute. Furthermore, he TEARS HIS FLESH WITH HER NAILS, still talking about the mask. This is no romantic situation, children.

And, of course, there are hints at Christine being afraid, making noises, etc during the final lair situation, but I’m not going to go into the scorpion and grasshopper situation.

SO MUCH OF THIS GOES BACK TO CHRISTINE’S COMPASSION. Let us keep this quote in mind. “It was not his frightful threads when setting me free that helped me to keep my word, but the harrowing sob he gave..” (pg129)  

      Christine tries to lessen Erik’s pain enough as possible — she will not go through with plans deemed “too cruel” (pg113) or that would cause him “infinite pain” (pg122). This is true. But it all goes back to Christine’s compassion, not some twisted form of her deep love ???? like. k.

Raoul asks what feeling Erik inspires in her. Does she say love? No. Granted, she is talking to Raoul, but she answers honestly; “He fills me with horror and I do not hate him.” Horror. And still Christine protects the key of which Raoul asks for ( “…that would be treacherous!” pg134 ) out of loyalty — it’s a complicated relationship, but it is not that Christine is in dire love with him this whole time… 

AND CHRISTINE DAAE HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE HER OWN CHOICE. HER OWN CHOICE.REGARDLESS OF WHAT RAOUL OR ERIK WANT, Christine is her own person, and her choices are made on her own account. Calling her stupid because she does not wish to stay with Erik assumes she does not have the right to have wants or to make her own decision. Furthermore, keep in mind she did turn the scorpion. She was ready to make an agreement—! Erik allowed her leave.

THE MORAL OF THIS STORY IS THAT CHRISTINE HAS THE RIGHT TO HER OWN DECISIONS OK BYE 

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People think she's weak and useless and I just. No.

SEND ME A MISCONCEPTION YOU THINK PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT MY CHARACTER AND I’LL EXPLAIN IF IT’S TRUE OR NOT

[pulls up chair] [puts on glasses] Let’s talk about Christine Daaé.

First, we shall examine components of the word WEAK and what they entail. Via dictionary.com, one can lack many things going along with the definition of weak; physical strength, authority, resolve/effectiveness. 

LACK OF PHYSICAL STRENGTH: now, perhaps this seems simple, in a way, and some people tend to jump to the conclusion of Christine being a frail little pushover (and Leroux quotes hint her small stature, so it’s a natural assumption. 

Please note the multiple instances (three, to be exact) where Christine PHYSICALLY drags Raoul away (refer to this post for evidence). Furthermore, Christine physically blocks Raoul multiple times during the Masked Ball chapter:

          “Raoul tried to overcome the girl’s strength by force, but she repelled him with a strength of which he would not have suspected in her.” “She flung out her arms which fixed a barrier of white flesh against the door, ‘In the name of our love, Raoul, you shall not pass!”  (pg92) 

LACK OF AUTHORITY: You guys just get a flat-out quote for this one. During the Masked Ball chapter, Christine gestures Raoul not follow her as such:

“…with such authority that he dared not move a step.” (pg94) 

Now, EMOTIONAL STRENGTH.My favorite. Christine is not a weak pushover — this is what I see most often as far as characterizations go. First of all, note the strength it takes to lose a parent, an only parent, one Christine is described to have a great relationship with all through her childhood. Now, let’s look at some interactions between her and Erik, her and Raoul, or even her and Carlotta.

Going back to the Red Death incident, after Christine and Raoul have quite a fight and a scare, Christine utters a poor Erik and Raoul observes her writing — he is described as “…painfully impressed" (pg95) with how she keeps her cool after such a scare. Mental strength right there.

Perhaps we shall look back at some other Raoul/Christine conversations; often, she is the one denying him information & standing up for herself, not the one shying back and begging for protection.

Raoul asks for a promise on page 100 — Christine replies with, “That is an undertaking which I have not asked of you and a promise I refuse to make you!” She follows this with an extremely important quote — one of my favorites. It’s going in big text because reasons. “I am a mistress of my own actions, M. De Changy: you have no right to control them.” Read that. Reread that. Thank you.

Later, Raoul goes on to claim the Phantom unworthy of Christine, and she is quick to say “It is me to be the judge of that, Monsieur!” (pg102) Raoul goes on to say she has been enticed,and another important quote arises. “The man must either be a villain or the girl a fool— is that it?” 

Now, I love Raoul, but these are a few important instances to examine when looking at Christine. She is not pushed around and does not allow anyone to tell her how to feel. 

Now, we can even look at her interactions with Erik. Even when Erik has kidnapped her, threatened her, etc, Christine still affirms "I don’t want to marry anybody, you know I don’t." (pg222) She even goes on to question if he has gone mad,chides him for being so upset— Christine will not even take some of Erik’s shit, a murderer and one who has her kidnapped.

And that’s barely scratching the surface of Christine’s emotional strength when it comes to COMPASSION. I could go on and on about how she stayed with him, cried with him, kept saying “Poor Erik!” after everything he had done— SIGHS. Such tremendous emotional maturity, empathy, and compassion are shown in these scenes. More emotional maturity and courage can be seen in her efforts to keep Raoul safe. Keep in mind she wrote that note (pg76) “You must have the courage not to see me again… your life depends on it.” YEAH CHRISTINE YOU GO. 

FURTHER EVIDENCE — Remember the time Christine was feeling ill before performing, and then she saw Carlotta’s sneer and “…forgot everything to triumph again." (pg140) ? Dang, girl. YOU DO. You go. On page 240, the Persian remarks: “Erik could not really expect Christine ever to consent to become his voluntary prey.” 

LEROUX CHRISTINE DAAÉ DEFENSE SQUAD YEAH YEAH

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I am a mistress of my own actions, M. de Changy: you have no right to control them.

I love Christine Daaé (Leroux, p100)

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can we talk about this interaction between the Persian and Erik:

"I raised my voice, 'Erik! It is I! Do you know me?" With extraordinary calmness, he at once replied: "So you are not dead in there? Well, then see that you keep quiet. I tried to speak, but he said coldly: "Not a word, daroga, or I shall blow everything up."

damMIT ERIK--

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    my favorite thing is in leroux when christine laughs in raoul's face after he makes the red scarf comment--

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reasons why I love christine daaé

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let us take a moment to appreciate that, in Leroux, Christine tries to block Raoul from a door and says “In the name of our love, Raoul, you shall not pass!…” literally stOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE

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"Oh, I hate him!" cried Raoul. "And you, Christine, tell me, do you hate him too?"

"No," Christine said simply.

                                p122, Leroux