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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Phantom of the Opera, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Natural vs. the Supernatural
Love vs. Jealousy
Violence, Revenge, and Redemption
Beauty vs. Ugliness
Summary
Analysis
After frantically running upstairs, Christine and Raoul finally reach the roof without noticing that a shadow is following them. On the roof overlooking the city, they admire the sunset together. Christine calls Raoul by her side and tells him that they will soon escape together. She warns him that if she ever refuses, Raoul should force her to go with him. Christine is then overwhelmed with emotion as she explains that she does not know what this “demon” is capable of and that horrible things could happen if she does not visit him (Erik). She explains that she has only one day left to return to him, otherwise he will take her with him. She expresses horror at the tears that fall from his empty eyes, noting that she cannot stand them anymore. Moved by her words, Raoul encourages her to leave at once, but she says it would be too cruel.
As Christine later explains, she does not mention Erik’s name outright because he is capable of hearing her and thus discovering that she is with Raoul. Her description of Erik as a demon contrasts sharply with her previous notion of him as the heavenly Angel of Music. In either case, it highlights her understanding that Erik is not fully human, but is moved by supernatural powers. Her unwillingness to leave him, though, is the result of both fear and pity. Raoul, who only sees Erik as a threat, does not understand Christine’s attachment to her oppressor. Christine herself seems at a loss to explain it, noting that she needs external guidance to make the final decision to leave.
Themes
Christine suddenly turns around, believing she might have heard a noise. She says that she and Raoul belong here, in the sunlight, and that the first time she saw him (Erik) she thought she would die, because the sight was so unbearable. Both Raoul and Christine then turn around, hearing a howl of pain, although they can see no one.
Christine does not realize that she is failing in her attempt to hide from Erik, since he is actually hiding nearby, listening to her recollections about his face with pain and sadness. Her enigmatic mention of his face suggests that it is horrible beyond human limits.
Themes
Christine then recalls her experience with him. After hearing the beautiful Voice for three months, she asked him if he was the Angel of Music her father had promised to send. When he confirmed that he was, she trusted him entirely, and allowed him to give her music lessons in the morning, when no one was yet at the Opera. During this period, the quality of her singing increased considerably, to the point of reaching the same quality as the Voice.
Christine’s early relationship with the Phantom relies on her naïveté, the result of the deeply impactful fairytales she heard as a child. It remains ambiguous whether her musical improvement is the result of Erik’s seemingly extra-human singing abilities, which he somehow communicates to her, or of a more mundane explanation, such as hard work and intense private lessons.
Themes
Literary Devices
When Christine saw Raoul in the audience one evening, though, she told the Voice about her feelings for her childhood friend. Overcome with jealousy, the Voice left. Though fearful that he might never come back, Christine also realized that she loved Raoul. On the roof, when Christine says this, she leans against Raoul. Immersed in their feelings of love, neither of them notices dark, black wings looming over them, threatening to crush them. Christine then describes the noticeable despair in the Voice the next day. Her trust in her father-sent Angel of Music and her ignorance of Raoul’s feelings led her to swear to the voice that she did not love Raoul.
It remains ambiguous whether the black wings oppressing Raoul and Christine are a bird of prey, a metaphor for the intense atmosphere of the night, or one of Erik’s transformations—which would confirm that he is indeed superhuman, capable of taking on different shapes. The Phantom’s efforts to make Christine deny her love for Raoul implies that the Phantom probably is human, and not an immaterial being focused exclusively on her musical improvement.
Themes
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Christine then describes her triumphant gala performance, and explains that she pretended not to see Raoul so that the Voice would not be jealous. Days later, when the chandelier fell, Christine felt afraid both for Raoul and for the Voice. That night, however, she was transported to the other side of the mirror, without knowing how. She found herself in a dark, musty passageway that terrified her. A cold, skeletal hand then led her through the tunnel, lifting her off the ground. Christine saw that the man wore a mask on his face, and, as she was about to scream, he put his hand on her mouth. Christine noticed that he smelled of death and fainted.
Christine’s fear for both Raoul and the Voice suggests that, in her idealization of the Angel of Music, she did not yet understand that the Phantom was responsible for the fall of the chandelier—and would therefore not be one of its victims. Her description of the feeling and smell of Erik’s hands once again suggests that he is not fully human, as he is more easily comparable to a living corpse. The Phantom’s appearance, then, is probably not the result of a mere facial deformation.
Themes
Literary Devices
When Christine woke up, the man was taking tender care of her, which revolted her even more than his earlier violence. She demanded an explanation for this situation and noticed that César, the stolen horse, was by her side. The man lifted her up on the horse and, after rejecting for so long the idea of the ghost while accepting that of the Voice, Christine began to wonder if they might not be the same person. Reflecting, she realized that she must be beneath the Opera House. The man then led her past demonic figures in front of fires, and more secret passageways. When they reached an underground lake, they entered a boat and pushed out onto the silent, dark waters.
Christine’s horror at the Phantom’s mix of tenderness and violence highlights Christine’s sense of personal violation, as she is helpless to fight against the Phantom’s actions, which seek to restrain her body and her mind. It confirms that, in kidnapping Christine and revealing his love for her, Erik does not pause to take Christine’s feelings into account but—as he did when forcing her to deny her love for Raoul—prefers to put her in a situation in which she has no other choice but to obey his own wishes.
Themes
The man, who spoke in the Voice that Christine knew so well, assured her that no harm would come to her as long as she did not touch his mask. Realizing that the Voice was nothing but a man, Christine began to sob, while the man knelt in front of her. He told her that he is neither an Angel nor a ghost, but a man named Erik. Back in the present, before Christine can resume her story, Raoul encourages her to leave with him right away, so that they might escape from Erik, but Christine refuses, saying that Erik might die of sorrow. At the same time, she knows that he is capable of killing them both, because he loves her too much.
Raoul’s frequent repetition of his desire to run away immediately with Christine suggests that he understands the gravity of their plight more than Christine herself does. Although Christine acknowledges Erik’s violent impulses, she seems resigned to suffer from them. Her indecision, the result of fear and compassion for Erik, keeps her from running away before Erik kidnaps her a second time. Her notion that Erik loves her so much that he might kill her once again shows that Erik’s conception of love is based on possession and control.
Themes
Overwhelmed by this story, Raoul asks Christine if she hates Erik but is astounded when she says she does not. Raoul accuses her of loving Erik, but Christine replies that Erik merely inspires horror in her. She says she cannot hate him because he confessed his love to her and offered to release her immediately. However, hearing his singing, Christine decided to stay, entranced by the intense emotions that Erik was able to evoke.
Christine and, later, the Persian, both claim not to hate Erik, revealing that they are able to separate the Phantom’s evil deeds from the nobler aspects of his personality. This suggests that they do not conceive of Erik’s harmful deeds as personal affronts but as an expression of victimhood, which they are willing to forgive.
Themes
The next day, when Erik told Christine that he would purchase everything she might need to live down there with him, Christine concluded that he must be mad. At the same time, she resolved to hide her feelings from him, so that he might free her. Erik then informed her that he would release her in five days, but that she must later return to visit him out of her own free will. Erik showed her around his home, where he has a tomb as a bed, and told her that he has spent years composing an original work, Don Juan Triumphant, which will be infinitely deeper and more transformative than what he contemptuously calls “opera music.”
Christine’s attitude toward Erik is ambiguous. She is moved both by deep admiration for his music and compassion for feelings and his difficult situation, but also finds him horrible and cannot stand the idea of staying with him. Her inability to leave him, which she knows will cause him pain, and her lack of desire to stay leads her to confusion and indecision. More than anger at the Phantom’s manipulative attitude, her only constant reliable, constant feeling is the horror she feels for his appearance.
Themes
The two of them then sang Othello, and Christine was amazed by how well she was able to sing. Fascinated by Erik’s talent, she began to find him appealing and, moved by a spontaneous desire to see his face, removed his mask. In that moment, she felt intense, unparalleled horror. Shaking, Christine interrupts her narrative, and she and Raoul hear her expressions of horror echoed across the roof, repeated by a third listener.
This moment epitomizes the struggle for people to separate the beauty of Erik’s voice from his ghastly appearance. It also serves as an ambiguous illustration of Christine’s relationship with Erik, since just before she removes his mask she seems intensely drawn to him, in a musical and, perhaps, romantic way.
Themes
Christine then resumes her story, saying that Erik has a “thing” instead of a face. She describes Erik’s hollow nose, eyes, and mouth, noting that his eyes only shine at the heart of darkness. The sight filled her with horror and Erik lashed out at her while laughing hysterically at the same time. Forcefully grabbing her by the hair, he told her to look at him, and ironically compared himself to Don Juan, making comments about his irresistible beauty. He then forced Christine to touch him and made her nails dig into the dead flesh on his face. He explained that he is “entirely made of death” and is a corpse. Then, he began to cry, explaining that Christine will never want to return to him now that she has seen his face. Still sobbing, he left and locked himself in his bedroom.
Erik’s uncontrollable alternation of anger and anguish reveals that he is unable to express his pain in a nonviolent way. His brutal attitude toward Christine and his ironic laughter reveals his own helplessness, as he knows that he is horrible to look at, yet can do nothing about it. His attitude, though indicative of the grief and self-loathing he feels, once again highlights his self-centeredness, as he chooses to brutalize Christine instead of trying to reason with her or reassure her, thus proving unable to take her own feelings into account.
Themes
Literary Devices
Christine explains to Raoul that, despite being a monster, Erik nevertheless reasons logically. She realizes, too, that Erik might have been an Angel of Music if he were not so hideous to look at. She then continues her narrative. After a while, she heard the sound of an organ and immediately understood why Erik looks down on “opera music.” Erik played a heart-wrenching lament, which, after seeing the manuscript, Christine wondered if Erik had written in blood. She concluded that the piece was so phenomenally captivating and forceful that it represented the effort of “Hideousness” to confront “Beauty” through “the wings of Love.”
Instead of condemning Erik for his violent behavior toward her, Christine puts her feelings aside and focuses on his grief and his sublime qualities. She describes Erik as a rebel attempting to overturn social and musical conventions: to present ugliness as beauty’s equal in the eyes of love. This highlights Erik’s wish to be loved, despite his horrible appearance—instead of inspiring admiration only while he wears a mask that hides his ugliness.
Themes
Entering Erik’s room, Christine then called him “the most unhappy and sublime of men” and said that the only thing she would feel when looking at him is fascination for his genius. Believing Christine’s words, which she now tells Raoul were nothing but lies, Erik proved submissive toward her. He took her around his home and, through a secret entrance on the Rue Scribe, drove her around in a carriage. After two weeks, he finally let Christine go, and Christine was so touched by his despair that she agreed to return to him.
Christine’s lies to Erik are not necessarily a form of manipulation, as they are her effort to soothe him so that he might let her escape. Although this might indeed be part of her plan, she also shows a constant concern for Erik’s feelings, which she does not want to hurt. Her inability to feel resentment toward him for the way he has treated her is compassionate and generous, but also suggests that she is not capable of protecting herself from Erik’s manipulation.
Themes
After this long narrative, Raoul cannot keep himself from questioning Christine’s true feelings. He argues that she returned to Erik right after their meeting at the masked ball, but Christine replies that seeing Raoul put both of their lives at risk. Insistent, Raoul asks her if she would love Erik if he were not so ugly, and Christine simply says that such a hypothesis cannot be imagined. Finally, she tells him that she will prove her love by letting Raoul kiss her. When Raoul kisses her, they suddenly hear a dark, thundering sound, and flee from a dark bird of prey with flames in his eyes.
Although Raoul has occasionally proven extreme in his reactions of jealousy toward Christine, his current interrogation does highlight certain contradictions in her attitude—such as her claim that she wants to leave Erik but is unable to do so. Similarly, her unwillingness to reflect on what she would feel for Erik if he were beautiful does not invalidate her love for Raoul, but does suggest that she might not have an answer to that question herself.
Themes
