The Phantom of the Opera: Literary Analysis

Characters

Christine Daaé

The protagonist of the story. She is a Swedish singer. Christine develops her skills as a singer from an early age. Her mom dies while she was young. Her father dies a couple of years later, however, he helps her develop in music and tells her tales of an angel of music. Erik deceives Christine that he is the angel of music and is so ready to obtain her trust. Christine has a love interest of each Erik and Raoul. Erik envies her compassion for Raoul and he is ready to destroy their relationship.

Erik (The Phantom of the Opera)

The antagonist of the story. He is a childish, violent, tragic and certainly mysterious character. He is physically disfigured. Erik falls in love with Christine however expresses his feelings in harmful and sometimes fatal ways, such as wrecking performances. As Joseph Buquet description: ‘He is so thin, his dress-coat seems like it is hanging from a skeleton. His eyes are too deep to see any pupils. You can only see two black holes instead of eyes on a skull. He had dirty yellow skin. His nose is so little and his hair is only three or four long dark locks.’

Viscount Raoul de Chagny

Christine’s childhood friend and Erik’s rival. A member of one of France’s most noble families, Raoul is a young man who is impatient, surprisingly innocent and passionate, willing to prioritize his emotions over his social duties.

After Raoul watches the performance of Christine at the Opera, when they meet years later, he falls in love with her again. Then, they get engaged. Nevertheless, Erik, who also loves Christine, interferes their relationship and tries to obtain her.

Philippe de Chagny

The older brother of Raoul. He is 41 years old. He is a good-looking man, a great aristocrat with attractive features. He has an excellent heart. Philippe owns wealth of the family and is responsible for Raoul. He opposes the relationship and marriage between Raoul and Christine.

Madame Giry

The box keeper of the Opera. She is faithful to Erik and is even fond of him, leaving her gifts and helps her daughter.

Meg Giry

Madame Giry’s daughter and Christine’s friend. She has got hair and black eyes, and she is thin.

The Persian

Erik’s old friend who helped him escape from the Persian Shah’s capital punishment.

M. Armand Moncharmin & M. Firmin Richard

The new managers of the Opera House.

M. Debienne and M. Poligny

The old managers of the Opera House.

Narrators and Point of View

Anonymous limited omniscient narrator (Third-person)

The Persian (Third-person)

Setting

The story centers primarily on the Paris Opera House, at a time when the Opera was attended by the Parisian high class as a social duty and emphasizing their social status. It focuses on the class system during a time when its member of the upper class took advantage of poor and uneducated people and discarded them.

Time

It was published in 1911 and told as if just before the author’s lifetime these events occurred.

Summary

Antecedent Action

There are rumors that the opera house is haunted by a phantom who makes himself known by sending letters to the managers and by causing disturbances.

Christine Daaé is a talented opera singer who lost his mother when she was young and has developed her ability owing to her father. He has told tales her about ‘The Angel of the Music’.

Rising Action

On the retirement gala for the old opera managers, the diva Carlotta gets ill. Christine Daaé replaces her who is her colleague. Christine sings so wonderfully that the audience remains astonished, wondering why her talent has been hidden for so long. Christine impresses her childhood lover, Raoul, too.

One night, Carlotta receives an anonymous letter ordering her not to perform tonight, yet she decides to sing anyway. As an outcome, the phantom punishes her in the middle of the performance by causing her voice to croak and the chandelier to fall into the audience.

Climax

The Phantom kidnaps Christine; tells her that his name is Erik and reveals how much he loves her. She realized that this is the angel her father told Christine. She unmasks the phantom with curiously and scares from his ugliness. He intends to keep Christine in prison for the rest of her life, but then he allows her to leave after she promises to wear his ring and remain loyal to him. Raoul decides after hearing this story that they must leave immediately together, however, Erik has been listening to them.

Falling Action

Erik makes an offer to Christine that she marries him or he will blow up the entire opera house. She learns he has kidnapped Raoul and the Persian. She agrees to marry him to save their life.

Resolution

Erik changes his mind after Christine kisses him. He lets her marry Raoul because he realizes she loves Raoul more. Erik makes her promise to put the ring he gave her on his finger when he dies.

Literary Devices

• Metaphor: ‘I held that innocent little soul in my naive hands and naively offered it to the man’s voice.’ Christine says she held her soul in her hands, which she did not literally hold it, but with the ‘man’s voice’ she trusted her heart.
• Simile: ‘Then Giry-the girl with eyes black as sloes, hair black as ink- got into the conversation.’
  • ‘He was always described as a man in black dress as if hung from a skeleton.’
  • ‘I saw yellow eyes shining like candles…’
  • ‘I felt as if I were face to face with Satan…’
  • ‘No sooner had she started to sing, when she croaked like a toad.’
  • ‘If you loved me, I’d be gentle as a lamb.’
• Symbolism: ‘It seemed to me that I had just entered a funeral room, the walls were hung with black … and there was an open coffin under the canopy.’ When Christine sees Erik’s room for the first time, she’s shocked as it looks like a funeral. His bed as a coffin symbolizes death, and he has been described as ‘living dead.’
• Foreshadowing: ‘You will hear him one day, my child! When I am in heaven, I will send him to you.’ says her father to Christine and it truly happens.
• Flashback: ‘As he got closer to her he remembered the story of the little Swedish girl.’
  • Raoul remembers the event in childhood which Christine tries to catch her scarf at sea and Raoul brings it back.
• Irony: ”I will never forget you!’ And he went away regretting his words because he knew that Christine could never be his wife.’