Beauty vs. Ugliness Theme Analysis

The “Phantom” Erik’s tragic situation as a man forced to live in a cave derives from his repulsive, skeleton-like appearance, which proves too horrific for others to witness. Although the novel takes pity on Erik’s circumstances, highlighting the injustice of being forced to live in solitude, it also offers no viable alternative: Erik is forced to accept that his talents as a singer will never come to light, and that he will never be forgiven for his ugliness. In this way, the novel denounces nineteenth-century theories about beauty, according to which physical deformity could be considered a reflection of one’s moral character. Ultimately, it is only in death that the novel offers some hope of justice: when Erik is dead, his skeleton resembles that of any other mortal, thus finally allowing him to be “normal”—the very status he tragically aspired to achieve throughout his life. The novel thus exposes the judgmental nature of society, which keeps perfectly admirable—yet unattractive—individuals from expressing themselves and contributing to the social and artistic life of humanity.

Erik’s extraordinary gift as a singer sets him apart from ordinary human beings, but the beauty of his voice is only apparent to others as long as he hides his physical deformity. This gestures to society’s preoccupation with appearances, as it conflates external beauty with moral goodness and ugliness with evil. On the one hand, Erik’s voice is so strikingly beautiful that it seems imbued with the divine: Raoul describes his voice as “a tranquil and pure fountain of harmony,” an expression of “musical grace.” On the other hand, the hideousness of Erik’s face associates him with the devil. When Raoul discovers Erik’s face, a skull covered in yellow, rotten flesh, he links this ugliness to evil: Erik’s eyes, he describes, “burned with the fire of Hell. I thought I was face to face with Satan himself.” Characters thus prove not only incapable of accepting Erik’s ugliness, but they can also conflate Erik’s physical repulsiveness with his moral worth, demonstrating a narrow understanding of the link between human behavior and appearances.

Affected by constant public rejection, Erik forgoes his artistic aspirations and dreams only of living a normal life. However, his inability to thrive in the human world condemns him to solitude—thus forcing him to live neither as a successful artist, nor as an ordinary human being. This tragic, unfair situation leads the narrator to conclude that readers must pity Erik and condemn society’s double standards. Following this idea, some characters do understand that Erik should be admired, not hated. Although Christine is horrified by Erik’s face, she pities him and understands his sadness. When she hears him sing his self-composed piece, Don Juan triumphant, Christine is overwhelmed by the power of Erik’s rendition, in which “Hideousness, soaring on the wings of Love, had dared to face Beauty.” In this moment, Christine temporarily grasps that Erik is a subversive figure, standing for something beyond what society usually allows: the potential for physical ugliness to be just as morally valid and acceptable as traditional beauty.

Nevertheless, unable to succeed by expressing the full range of his intelligence and talent, Erik is forced to survive by resorting to tricks and cunning. The narrator notes the injustice of this situation. He denounces society’s hypocrisy, which causes Erik “to hide his genius or squander it on tricks, whereas, with an ordinary face, he would have risen to greatness among his fellow-men! He had a big heart, large enough to embrace the entire world; but, in the end, he had to confine himself to a dismal cellar.” Echoing Christine’s frequent outbursts of compassion, the narrator concludes that, despite Erik’s misdeeds, readers must focus on his vulnerable side: “Poor, poor unhappy Erik! Should we pity him or should we curse him? He simply longed to be ‘someone’, someone normal. […] Yes, all in all, the Phantom of the Opera deserves our pity.” Implicitly, the novel thus determines that Erik is immoral not because of his ugliness but, rather, because society’s harsh judgment has caused him to become immoral. In other words, it is society’s rejection of unconventional appearances that breeds injustice and immorality—not the appearance of individuals.

Erik’s failure to integrate ordinary human life makes death—a state beyond social judgment—his only salvation. At the end of the narrative, when the narrator finds Erik’s skeleton (which he recognizes because of Erik’s distinctive ring), he realizes that Erik finally looks like everyone else, since “all men who have been long dead are the same.” In this way, Erik’s ugliness finally disappears and, in death, he can be considered equal to any other human being. This dismal ending, which highlights Erik’s humanity and vulnerability, underlines society’s intolerance for physical disability. It provides a pessimistic vision of society as a potentially cruel, exclusive group that condemns outsiders to suffering and death, as it superficially judges people on appearances alone.