The Phantom of the Opera

by

Gaston Leroux

The protagonist of the novel, Swedish soprano Christine Daaé is a talented, compassionate woman capable of sacrificing herself for others. While growing up in Brittany in the company of her father, her friend Viscount Raoul de Chagny (whom she has loved since they were children) and Mme Valerius, Christine develops her talents as a singer from an early age. However, her literary childhood leaves her with a distorted view of reality as a magical place. As a result, she proves overly naïve in trusting that her father’s promise to send her the Angel of Music after his death has proven true when the “Phantom” Erik comes to visit her. If her innocence can thus allow others to deceive her, it also constitutes one of her greatest strengths, as she is an honest, straightforward person. Indeed, despite her fiancé Raoul’s accusations of dishonesty, she proves unusually candid and kind in her statements, often taking great care not to hurt other people’s feelings. Her moral virtue gives her strength in difficult moments, as she proves courageous enough to sacrifice her own happiness in order to help others, for example delaying her escape with Raoul to protect Erik’s feelings and later agreeing to marry Erik, despite the repulsion he inspires in her, to save Raoul’s life. Her energy and compassion keep her from being seen as a victim, as she remains true to her moral commitments and emotions even in the most difficult, life-threatening situations.

Christine Daaé Quotes in The Phantom of the Opera

The The Phantom of the Opera quotes below are all either spoken by Christine Daaé or refer to Christine Daaé. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Natural vs. the Supernatural Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

Some claimed that it was a mark of immeasurable pride; others spoke of her saint-like modesty. Yet, as a rule, artists are rarely so modest; in truth I am rather tempted to ascribe her actions to sheer dread. Yes, I believe that Christine Daaé was frightened by what had just happened to her, and was as taken aback by it as everybody else around her. […] To suggest that Christine was taken aback or even frightened by her triumph is in fact an understatement: having reread the letter, I would say that she was terrified. Yes, yes, terrified. “I am no longer myself when I sing,” she wrote.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Carlotta
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 56
Explanation and Analysis:

The Angel was never seen but could be heard by those who were meant to hear. This often happened when you least expected it, when you were sad and down-hearted. Then your ears would suddenly hear celestial harmonies, a divine voice, which you would remember for ever. Those who had been visited by the Angel were stirred. They experienced a thrill unknown to other mortals and henceforth could not touch an instrument or open their mouths to sing without producing sounds that put all other musicians to shame. The people who knew nothing about the angelic visitation called them geniuses.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Christine’s Father
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:

“As I would not let go of the cloak, the shadow turned round and beneath the hood I saw a terrifying skull, whose staring eyes burned with the fire of Hell. I thought I was face to face with Satan himself. It was like a vision from beyond the grave.”

Related Characters: Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: Masks
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

To think that he had believed in her innocence, in her purity! That he had tried for a moment to explain everything by her naivety, her simplicity of mind and her extreme candour. The Spirit of Music! He knew him now! He saw him! Surely he was some minor singer at the Opera, some good-looking Lothario, some coxcomb all smiles and sweet talk. He felt ridiculous and pitiable. Ah, what a wretched, insignificant and foolish young man you are, Viscount de Chagny! he raged to himself. As for Christine, what a brazen, devilishly cunning creature!

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 98
Explanation and Analysis:

His heart was cold, frozen solid: he had loved an angel and now he despised a woman.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

Christine simply took off her mask and said: “It is a tragedy, Raoul!”

He now saw her face and could not suppress a cry of surprise and shock. Gone was her fresh, glowing complexion. No longer a reflection of her tranquil disposition and untroubled conscience, her face—so charming and gentle in former days—was deadly pale. How anguished she looked now! Her features were cruelly furrowed by sorrow and her beautiful, limpid eyes—Little Lotte’s eyes—had become wells of deep, dark, unfathomable mystery and were bordered with terribly doleful shadows.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Related Symbols: The Ring, Masks
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:

It was a tranquil and pure fountain of harmony from which the faithful could safely and piously assuage their thirst, secure in the knowledge that they were partaking of musical grace. Having touched the Divine, their art was transfigured.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

“When a man,” resumed Raoul, who felt his strength draining away from him, “adopts such a romantic stratagem to seduce a girl...”

“Either he is a villain, or she is a fool?” she interrupted.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“If Erik does not hear me sing tomorrow, he will be devastated.”

“It can only be thus if you want to escape him for ever.”

“You are right, Raoul. At all events, he will certainly die of grief if I run away.” … And then she added in a muted voice: “On the other hand, he could just as easily kill us.”

“Does he love you so much?”

“Yes, he would stop at nothing for me, not even murder.”

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh, how I hate him!” cried Raoul. “And you, Christine, tell me: do you hate him too? I need to know so that I can listen to the rest of your extraordinary tale with some peace of mind.”

“No, I do not hate him,” said Christine simply.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Daroga of Mazenderan / The Persian
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:

Hideousness, soaring on the wings of Love, had dared to face Beauty.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: Masks
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 149
Explanation and Analysis:

“You are afraid of him, but do you love me? If Erik were handsome, would you love me, Christine?”

“Why do you raise questions that I have pushed to the back of my mind as if they were sinful?”

She rose too and wrapped her beautiful, trembling arms round the young man.

“Oh, my betrothed, if I did not love you, I would not offer you my lips! Kiss them, for the first and last time.”

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: Masks
Page Number: 151
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“Are people always unhappy when they’re in love?”

“Yes, Christine, they are unhappy when they love but are unsure of being loved in return.”

“Are you speaking for Erik, here?”

“For Erik and for myself,” said the young man shaking his head, thoughtful and forlorn.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:

“Let me tell you why I would like to see you leave tonight.”

“Yes, tell me, Raoul.”

“Because tomorrow, all your resolve will be gone!”

“Then, Raoul, you must take me away. Are we not agreed on that?”

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

“You’re afraid of me! And yet, deep down, I am not a bad man. Love me and you’ll see! To be good, all I ever needed was to be loved for myself. If you loved me, I would be as gentle as a lamb; and you could do with me as you pleased.”

Related Characters: Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice (speaker), Christine Daaé
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 235
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

“I don’t express myself like other people. I don’t do anything like other people. But I am very tired of it! Tired of having a forest and a torture chamber in my home! Sick of living like a mountebank, in a house full of tricks! Yes, I am sick and tired of it all! I want a nice, quiet apartment like everyone else, with ordinary doors and windows, and a proper wife.”

Related Characters: Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice (speaker), Christine Daaé, Viscount Raoul de Chagny, Daroga of Mazenderan / The Persian
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 244
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Phantom of the Opera PDF

Christine Daaé Quotes in The Phantom of the Opera

The The Phantom of the Opera quotes below are all either spoken by Christine Daaé or refer to Christine Daaé. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Natural vs. the Supernatural Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6 Quotes

Some claimed that it was a mark of immeasurable pride; others spoke of her saint-like modesty. Yet, as a rule, artists are rarely so modest; in truth I am rather tempted to ascribe her actions to sheer dread. Yes, I believe that Christine Daaé was frightened by what had just happened to her, and was as taken aback by it as everybody else around her. […] To suggest that Christine was taken aback or even frightened by her triumph is in fact an understatement: having reread the letter, I would say that she was terrified. Yes, yes, terrified. “I am no longer myself when I sing,” she wrote.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Carlotta
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 56
Explanation and Analysis:

The Angel was never seen but could be heard by those who were meant to hear. This often happened when you least expected it, when you were sad and down-hearted. Then your ears would suddenly hear celestial harmonies, a divine voice, which you would remember for ever. Those who had been visited by the Angel were stirred. They experienced a thrill unknown to other mortals and henceforth could not touch an instrument or open their mouths to sing without producing sounds that put all other musicians to shame. The people who knew nothing about the angelic visitation called them geniuses.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Christine’s Father
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:

“As I would not let go of the cloak, the shadow turned round and beneath the hood I saw a terrifying skull, whose staring eyes burned with the fire of Hell. I thought I was face to face with Satan himself. It was like a vision from beyond the grave.”

Related Characters: Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: Masks
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

To think that he had believed in her innocence, in her purity! That he had tried for a moment to explain everything by her naivety, her simplicity of mind and her extreme candour. The Spirit of Music! He knew him now! He saw him! Surely he was some minor singer at the Opera, some good-looking Lothario, some coxcomb all smiles and sweet talk. He felt ridiculous and pitiable. Ah, what a wretched, insignificant and foolish young man you are, Viscount de Chagny! he raged to himself. As for Christine, what a brazen, devilishly cunning creature!

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 98
Explanation and Analysis:

His heart was cold, frozen solid: he had loved an angel and now he despised a woman.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Page Number: 100
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

Christine simply took off her mask and said: “It is a tragedy, Raoul!”

He now saw her face and could not suppress a cry of surprise and shock. Gone was her fresh, glowing complexion. No longer a reflection of her tranquil disposition and untroubled conscience, her face—so charming and gentle in former days—was deadly pale. How anguished she looked now! Her features were cruelly furrowed by sorrow and her beautiful, limpid eyes—Little Lotte’s eyes—had become wells of deep, dark, unfathomable mystery and were bordered with terribly doleful shadows.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Related Symbols: The Ring, Masks
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:

It was a tranquil and pure fountain of harmony from which the faithful could safely and piously assuage their thirst, secure in the knowledge that they were partaking of musical grace. Having touched the Divine, their art was transfigured.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Viscount Raoul de Chagny
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 111
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

“When a man,” resumed Raoul, who felt his strength draining away from him, “adopts such a romantic stratagem to seduce a girl...”

“Either he is a villain, or she is a fool?” she interrupted.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 116
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“If Erik does not hear me sing tomorrow, he will be devastated.”

“It can only be thus if you want to escape him for ever.”

“You are right, Raoul. At all events, he will certainly die of grief if I run away.” … And then she added in a muted voice: “On the other hand, he could just as easily kill us.”

“Does he love you so much?”

“Yes, he would stop at nothing for me, not even murder.”

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:

“Oh, how I hate him!” cried Raoul. “And you, Christine, tell me: do you hate him too? I need to know so that I can listen to the rest of your extraordinary tale with some peace of mind.”

“No, I do not hate him,” said Christine simply.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice, Daroga of Mazenderan / The Persian
Page Number: 140
Explanation and Analysis:

Hideousness, soaring on the wings of Love, had dared to face Beauty.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé, Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: Masks
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 149
Explanation and Analysis:

“You are afraid of him, but do you love me? If Erik were handsome, would you love me, Christine?”

“Why do you raise questions that I have pushed to the back of my mind as if they were sinful?”

She rose too and wrapped her beautiful, trembling arms round the young man.

“Oh, my betrothed, if I did not love you, I would not offer you my lips! Kiss them, for the first and last time.”

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Related Symbols: Masks
Page Number: 151
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“Are people always unhappy when they’re in love?”

“Yes, Christine, they are unhappy when they love but are unsure of being loved in return.”

“Are you speaking for Erik, here?”

“For Erik and for myself,” said the young man shaking his head, thoughtful and forlorn.

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Page Number: 153
Explanation and Analysis:

“Let me tell you why I would like to see you leave tonight.”

“Yes, tell me, Raoul.”

“Because tomorrow, all your resolve will be gone!”

“Then, Raoul, you must take me away. Are we not agreed on that?”

Related Characters: Christine Daaé (speaker), Viscount Raoul de Chagny (speaker), Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 23 Quotes

“You’re afraid of me! And yet, deep down, I am not a bad man. Love me and you’ll see! To be good, all I ever needed was to be loved for myself. If you loved me, I would be as gentle as a lamb; and you could do with me as you pleased.”

Related Characters: Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice (speaker), Christine Daaé
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 235
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

“I don’t express myself like other people. I don’t do anything like other people. But I am very tired of it! Tired of having a forest and a torture chamber in my home! Sick of living like a mountebank, in a house full of tricks! Yes, I am sick and tired of it all! I want a nice, quiet apartment like everyone else, with ordinary doors and windows, and a proper wife.”

Related Characters: Erik / The Phantom of the Opera / The Ghost / The Voice (speaker), Christine Daaé, Viscount Raoul de Chagny, Daroga of Mazenderan / The Persian
Related Symbols: The Ring
Page Number: 244
Explanation and Analysis: