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
