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Chapter 5
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
For various reasons, which the narrator promises to disclose later, Christine Daaé takes a break from the stage before performing beautifully again at a Duchess’s soirée. Later, though, she cancels all her scheduled performances, making it seem as though she were afraid to be too successful. Some said that Christine was too modest or, on the contrary, too proud, but the narrator asserts that Christine’s behavior can be explained by sheer terror, which a letter from the Persian’s collection confirms.
The narrator’s frequent mention of mysteries that he plans to explain later builds suspense, allowing the reader to follow the action like other characters—without quite understanding the reasons and motives for which certain events take place. Christine’s fear at singing again can be seen as her realization that she depends too much on the Phantom—and that this could lead to terrible consequences.
Themes
The Viscount de Raoul Chagny sends Christine many letters, and finally receives an answer from her, in which she explains that she does remember the child who caught her scarf in the sea. She tells him that she will be in Perros-Guirec, in Brittany, the next day, to honor the anniversary of her father’s death. Without a moment of doubt, Raoul hurries to take the train to Perros. Overwhelmed by his love for Christine, he is excited by the prospect of speaking to her alone.
Christine’s letter shows that Christine is behaving in contradictory ways, first pretending not to know Raoul, then admitting that she does. Instead of revealing dishonesty or an effort at deception—which Raoul sometimes believes—this behavior reflects the Phantom’s influence over her, as he forces her to hide her love for Raoul out of jealousy.
Themes
During his journey on the night train, Raoul recalls Christine’s life story. Christine’s father was a Swedish peasant farmer who was passionate about music. His talent as a musician made him famous as the best fiddler in Scandinavia. After his wife died, he played in many fairs, where a professor, Professor Valerius, noticed him and took the father and his daughter with him to Gothenburg then to Paris. There, Christine pursued her musical education, and Mme Valerius treated her as a daughter. Christine’s father, however, was so homesick that he barely left his room, where he played the violin softly. The man only showed enthusiasm and energy during their trips to Perros-Guirec, a fishing village in Brittany, where the ocean reminded him of home. During the religious festivals, Christine and her father would take part in celebrations, sleeping in barns yet asking for no money for their performances.
Christine’s father’s success as a violinist serves as a counterpoint to the Phantom’s tragic story of rejection. While Christine’s father was immediately accepted, not only because he played beautifully but because people enjoyed his presence, the Phantom was forced to hide his talent because people found him repulsive. The contrast between these two stories highlights the injustice of which the Phantom is victim. It also suggests that music and success alone do not necessarily bring happiness, but that the feeling of home is crucial in one’s life, as Christine’s father’s sadness at leaving Sweden suggests.
Themes
A young boy, Raoul found himself fascinated by Christine’s voice. Once, when a gust of wind scarf threw Christine’s scarf toward the sea, he ran into the water to fetch it. Christine’s father agreed to give an insistent Raoul violin lessons, and the two children grew up together. They loved asking locals to share Breton legends with them.
This episode highlights the depth of Raoul’s love, as it becomes apparent that he has felt it since childhood. Raoul’s lack of hesitation in seeking Christine’s scarf mirrors his later willingness to sacrifice himself for her and to protect her as best as he can.
Themes
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One story in particular, in which a little girl, Lotte, is visited by the Angel of Music every night before falling asleep, remained impressed in their minds. The Angel of Music appeared in various stories, and gave characters striking musical talent in the most unexpected times, like when characters were sad and depressed. From that moment on, such people became genius musicians, making every melody divine. Although Christine’s father told the children he had never heard the Angel of Music himself, he promised his daughter to send it to her after his death.
The legend of the Angel of Music crosses the boundary between the natural and the supernatural. Although the Angel of Music could be seen as a metaphor for musical inspiration and talent, Christine interprets her father’s promise to send it to her after his death in a literal way, believing that an actual figure—which she initially believes to be the Phantom—is going to visit her from the heavens. This highlights Christine’s innocence and naïveté, as she fails to separate fairytales from reality.
Themes
Three years later, Raoul met Christine again at Perros. Christine’s father welcomed him graciously, saying that Christine talked about him all the time, but Christine behaved in a shy, cautious way. On his way out, Raoul told Christine that he would never forget her, although he regretted this action later, as he knew that a Viscount could never marry a mere singer. Christine, on her part, tried to forget Raoul. When her father died, she seemed to lose all of her musical passion and talent. She still entered the Paris Conservatoire, but did not prove to be a particularly talented student.
Raoul’s willingness to put his feelings before his status as a nobleman highlights his spontaneity, as well as his capacity to disregard societal rules in favor of courage and honesty. This attitude will later cause Raoul trouble, as members of high society, including his own brother, will disapprove of his plans with Christine. On another note, Christine’s musical decline is unexplained, although it seems tied to the disappearance of strong bonds of love, of the kind she shared with her father.
Themes
When Raoul first heard Christine sing at the Opera, he was mesmerized by her beauty but slightly disappointed by her singing, which seemed emotionless and detached. He often followed her to her dressing-room, but she always seemed indifferent and never recognized him. Now, Raoul wonders why she pretended not to know who he was and why she has suddenly written to him.
The reasons for Christine’s aloof behavior will later become apparent, when she explains that she was trying to protect Raoul from the danger of the Phantom’s jealousy. In this light, Christine’s decision to write to Raoul can be seen as a brave act, overcoming her fear of the Phantom in order to communicate her true feelings to Raoul.
Themes
When Raoul finally reaches Perros, he goes to the only inn in the village. There, he sees Christine and is overwhelmed by her beauty. The two of them look at each other for a long time, and Christine says that her father told her he would come. Raoul then confesses his love to her, adding that he cannot live without her. However, Christine tells him he is crazy and says that she does not know why she wanted him to come.
Although Christine never mentions speaking to her father again, this episode suggests that she has deep faith in the supernatural—believing that she can communicate with the dead and that her father has sent her the Angel of Music. Christine’s negation of her feelings reflects the alternation of fear and love she is exposed to, under the influence of the Phantom.
Themes
Raoul is dismayed by Christine’s behavior, which he describes as both tender and full of pain. Christine admits that she had noticed Raoul previously at the Opera, but does not explain why she never addressed him. Furious, Raoul then tells her that he knows she was talking to a man in her dressing-room. When he tells her everything he heard, Christine is overcome with emotion and begins to cry. Although Raoul tries to comfort her, Christine suddenly leaves the room, visibly distressed.
Christine’s inability to explain her situation to Raoul derives from her fear of disclosing her connection with the Phantom—which Raoul might not believe and which might bring both of them trouble. Raoul’s inability to listen to Christine without bursting out in jealousy highlights the alternation of trust and mistrust that characterizes his attitude toward Christine in these difficult situations.
Themes
Raoul feels jealous and confused by Christine’s attitude. However, he still feels convinced of Christine’s purity and virtue, and doesn’t understand why she ran away from him. In the afternoon, he walks around the graveyard, where he sees fresh flowers on Christine’s father’s grave. He also notices a corner of the graveyard where skulls are piled up, which he finds gloomy and disturbing. He goes to sit on top of a hill, looking out at the scene, and Christine walks up to him. Shaking, she tells him she has something important to say. She tells Raoul that her father has sent her the Angel of Music, who has been visiting her. Raoul does not understand what she means, but Christine insists that this is the Voice that Raoul heard in her dressing-room, where the Angel of Music gives her music lessons.
Raoul’s attitude is highly contradictory. Although he knows that Christine is a good person—and that her “purity” indicates that she has not been with another man—he cannot control his jealousy, which leads him to attack Christine instead of the Phantom pursuing her. Although Christine decides that she trusts Raoul enough to tell him the truth about her interactions with the Voice, her understanding of the Angel of Music as an actual being contrasts with Raoul’s understanding of it as a metaphor, a symbol of the inspiration that musicians can experience.
Themes
When Raoul laughs at such an idea, Christine becomes furious. She accuses him of forgetting who she is—a woman who would never be alone in her dressing-room with a man—and tells him he must have changed. However, Raoul, still unconvinced, simply says that someone must be playing a joke on her. Unnerved, Christine cries out and runs away again, telling him to stay away from her.
Raoul’s belief in a prank mirrors the directors Moncharmin and Richard’s protracted denial of the Phantom’s existence. Although this reaction is natural, given that it is difficult to believe in the existence of supernatural beings, they both lead to dangerous situations—such as, in this case, Christine’s isolation and powerlessness before the Phantom.
Themes
Back at the inn, Raoul learns that Christine has locked herself in her room. Confused, he wonders what she might be thinking and doing. Late at night, he suddenly hears Christine’s footsteps and hears her exit the room silently. He listens to the landlady give Christine a key and then hears nothing but silence. Raoul then decides to leave the inn through his own window, so as not to attract the landlady’s attention.
Christine’s nighttime escape is eerie, building an atmosphere of danger and suspense, suggesting that there are still many mysteries that Raoul must uncover. Unaware of any danger, Raoul single-mindedly decides to follow her—revealing his fearless determination, which remains his personal trademark throughout the novel.
Themes
Literary Devices
The narrator then transcribes Raoul’s interview with Inspector Monfroid, who investigated the mysterious events taking place at the Paris Opera. Raoul explains that he followed Christine through the snow into the churchyard, though she was so concentrated on her task that she did not notice him. In the cemetery, despite being surprised by Christine’s behavior, Raoul feels confident and unafraid. When the church bells strike twelve, however, Christine ecstatically raises her arms toward the sky and Raoul hears music emerge from nowhere—Lazarus, the same music that Christine’s father used to play on his violin when they were children. Remembering Christine’s story about the Angel of Music, he becomes fascinated, entranced, as though he were entering another world and Christine’s father might suddenly revive.
The transcription of Raoul’s interview with the police inspector serves as a reminder that this is not a mere adventure story, but the retelling of a tragic narrative that had serious consequences. This serves to build suspense in this particular episode. The events in the cemetery highlight the extraordinary quality of the Phantom’s singing, as he is capable to evoke not only emotions, but a particular time and place: the past period of Raoul and Christine’s childhood. Raoul’s inability to resist the Phantom’s music underlines its hypnotic power, capable of manipulating people’s imagination.
Themes
When the music stops, Raoul heads toward the collection of skulls, where he believes to have heard a sound. At the same moment as Christine is leaving the cemetery, all the skulls start tumbling down, rolling toward Raoul and terrifying him. He suddenly sees a shadow emerge from the skulls and rushes after him, grabbing hold of the man’s dark cloak after they enter the church. When the man turns around, Raoul sees a skull face with burning eyes, which he compares to Hell and Satan. Raoul then faints and is found the unconscious the next morning by the church altar.
The fall of the skulls serves as a gloomy foreshadowing of danger and death, which the Phantom’s actions will cause. Raoul’s fearlessness and determination once again come to light, as he overcomes his fear to pursue the mysterious man, despite the possibility of danger. It remains ambiguous whether Raoul’s horror at seeing the man’s face is the direct cause of his fainting, but this moment certainly highlights the inhumanness of the Phantom’s appearance, capable of convincing a brave young man like Raoul that he has seen Satan himself.
Themes
