Previous
Chapter 15
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
Convinced that Erik must have kidnapped Christine, Raoul calls her everywhere in the Opera, hoping she might hear him. He fears that Christine might be lost forever and despairs at not forcing her to leave earlier. Running everywhere, he wonders if he might be able to find the secret passage in Rue Scribe that Christine had mentioned, when he suddenly comes face to face with Inspector Mifroid. The inspector asks Raoul to follow him and searches for the directors. When they finally succeed in making Moncharmin and Richard open the door, Raoul hears someone whisper in his ear that Erik’s secrets belong only to him, he turns around and sees the Persian, who silently tells him to keep quiet before disappearing.
The ambiguity of Christine’s previous statements, enjoining Raoul to force her to escape with him if ever she showed hesitation or weakness, makes it difficult for Raoul to determine what is best for her, since he does not know if he should actually have listened to her or followed what he believed was best—to take her with him the previous night, before the Phantom could kidnap her himself. The Persian’s mysterious attitude makes him appear as one of Erik’s allies, thus creating tension and suspense.
Themes
Literary Devices
