![]() At the end, Leroux does not indicate how Raoul reacted or felt when he heard about his brother's death - there is a strong degree of brattiness, apathy, and selfishness ingrained in Raoul's character. Whereas Christine is devastated when her father dies, almost giving up singing and performing, Raoul is quite content with arguing and publicly defying (via newspaper) his older brother, who has cared for him in the absence of their parents. The importance and weight that Christine and Raoul give to their respective families could, arguably, not be more different. And, then, of course, there is the novel’s most iconic image of obsession, as portrayed on screen and stage: Christine’s obsessive need to view what lies beneath the Phantom’s mask. While his obsession clearly gets away from him, consider the scene where the managers act obsessively to deny Erik his rightful payment. Erik is not the only exemplar of this theme. #THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA THEME SONG SERIAL#When directed in a negative way, the result is serial killers and billionaires like Donald Trump. When directed in a positive way, obsession results in the art of Van Gogh and the music of Beethoven. Obsession is not inherently good or evil. ![]() Given this reality, who wouldn’t go mad in the sewers? The Duality of Obsesssion Even today, this story is played out on a daily basis for every Erik forced to become a Phantom because his talent goes unappreciated, there are a dozen, a hundred, or even thousand Kardashians. Erik is unquestionably a great talent, but his dreams of fame and stardom are forever doomed by his disfigured face. One theme found in the novel that seems to have never gone out of style is the propensity for those who look good to excel in competitions against more talented, but less aesthetically pleasing, rivals. In a sense, Moncharmin represents a far more monstrous figure of evil than the Phantom. Fortunately, Moncharmin possessed something deemed far more worthy: wealth and connections within the social elite of Paris. The centerpiece of this theme is Moncharmin, who manages to become a director of the opera house despite having no musical training. Like many other stories, The Phantom of the Opera engages the conventions of horror as a metaphor for the unfair results of social class and its rigid distinctions. ![]() The plot focuses on seemingly impossible feats, overwhelming drama, and misdirection in this sense, the entire novel becomes an exercise in arguing that most of what is experienced in life is an illusion to one degree or another. Life is a MasqueradeĪ writer does not set his tale of gothic horror within the milieu of an opera house without taking on themes associated with reality, illusion, and perception. ![]() Whether the Phantom is actually justified in feeling outrage at his ostracism is a key open question of the story. Like so many who become unwilling outcasts, he internalizes that rejection by rejecting his own identity and putting on the persona of the Phantom in the belief that without the masquerade, society would take no notice of him. ![]() His obsession with revenge is spurred by righteous anger borne from the conviction that society has rejected him. The Phantom is in rebellion against society. Buy Study Guide Rebellion Against Society ![]()
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