Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Phantom of the Opera: Erik vs. Raoul My Opinion





So, this is basically a defending post like the one of Cosette and Eponine, but this time it's about if you ship Christine and Erik, or Raoul and Christine. And bonus, to get me in the mood of writing this, I'm listening to the 25th Anniversary at The Royal Albert Hall, at this very moment. I am going to tell you about my opinion. But first, let's look over the characters. 







Hadley Fraser as Raoul in
The Phantom of the Opera
25th Anniversary at
The Royal Albert Hall
*I Do Not Own Picture
So I'll start with the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny. He's known Christine Daae since they were little, rushing into the ocean to rescue young Christine's scarf, and more. They evidently lost contact, and now, Christine at this time is sixteen, they meet again. In the book The Phantom of the Opera, he hears Christine speak, but is shocked to hear a male voice reply to her "The Angels wept tonight." He truly loves Christine, but Christine seems the opposite. She's more tied up in listening to her Angel of Music. That should cover Raoul's story. I'm trying to make this short and to the point. And I have read the book. 











Ramin Karimloo as Erik in
The Phantom of the Opera
25th Anniversary at
The Royal Albert Hall
*I Do Not Own Picture
Now we move to Erik, otherwise known to newest fans (like me, which I call him both) the Phantom. He is a musical genius with a deformed face, described by Gaston Leroux, as "a rotting corpse". (Correct me if I'm wrong, because right now I'm feeling rather brain-dead). He lives way under the Paris Opera House, alone, and secluded hiding from the world. He hears Christine, but does not reveal himself to her, as he helps her with her vocals, basically becoming her vocal coach, as we would call it nowadays. He also, and has been swindling money from the old managers of the opera house, and the new managers, Monsieur Firmin and Andre. He breaks a chandelier, kills many people, takes away Carlotta's voice, basically to say he's a murdering psycho. And another thing: IT'S ALL FOR CHRISTINE!!!!! Just Christine!!!!!





Sierra Boggess as Christine Daae in
The Phantom of the Opera
25th Anniversary at
The Royal Albert Hall
*I Do Not Own Picture


Now that we know about the two of them, I'll get to my opinion. I ship Erik/Christine. I know, right now people are thinking "This girl is crazy!" "She wants Christine to marry a murderer over a handsome rich Vicomte!" "This girl must have not read the book!" And many more, I'm sure. But the thing is, to answer some of the statements up there, I have read the book, and yeah I might be crazy for saying that. But here's my reason: 





The Phantom of the Opera
Book cover
Written by Gaston Leroux
*I Do Not Own Picture
Raoul, I love the guy to pieces, but I love Erik more. Raoul hasn't had to suffer through hideousness, rejection by his own parents, and by anyone who sees his face and/or meets him. He's got wealth, a bit of fame (Come on he's a VICOMTE, how could he not?), good looks, and for some bonus points, he's known Christine Daae way longer than Erik. He is very courteous to her, doesn't kill anyone, and basically a good man. But Erik, way different story. Hideousness from the day he was born and rejected by his parents. I mean, Gaston never says Raoul's parents were afraid and rejected by his parents, does it? He's lived a terrible life, running way from home at a young age, becoming a live freakshow, almost getting killed, himself, and yeah. Not such a sweet life. Raoul could give Christine a perfect life. Full of wealth, fame, and anything she wanted, including love. Erik, on the other hand, could give her a beautiful life, as well. Maybe he doesn't have everything that Raoul could give her, but he loves her very deeply. He KILLED for her. I'm not justifying that that is all right. It is wrong, even if it is for the person you love. But the thing is, she was never in danger, so it shouldn't be justified just because he's in love. Raoul showed how much he love Christine, by going after her with the Persian and suffering through Erik's torture chamber. He went through all that for her. Christine shows love to both, saving Raoul's life, and agreeing to be Erik's "living wife", after she had once tried to commit suicide.  But what gets me, is Erik could have not kept the end of the bargain and let the Vicomte and the Persian die, but he didn't. He saved them. But that's only one. I've got another reason up my sleeve. I'm going to put this in bold letters so, hopefully, people will get my point. HE LET HER GO!!!!!!!! That proves how much he loved her. "Go marry the boy whenever you wish. I know you love him." Erik's quote as he let her go. Sure, Raoul tried saving her, but Erik proved his true love by letting her go. "But Raoul tried to save her! That's more heroic than letting her go!" You may say. I understand, we all have different opinions. But this is mine. The thing is, Erik knew if he was ever going to be loved by a woman, it had to be forced. No woman would fall for a deformed creep, just sayin'. He couldn't just stroll up to a woman, and say, "Hey, you're very pretty and I love your voice. I love you, now marry me, and we will live a beautiful life, 'kay?" Even if the woman would have said yes, what would she do when she saw Erik's face? His heart would be shattered once again. Christine was the woman he loved, and he wanted her for himself. This is was Erik always wanted. "I want to have a nice, quiet flat, with ordinary doors and windows and a wife inside it, like anybody else! A wife whom I could love and take out on Sundays and keep amused on week-days." How could that happen with no woman? If Christine would have said yes, and agreed, A. He wouldn't have to kill anyone anymore. He would get the woman he loved and that would be it. B. He would finally be happy for once in his life. He wouldn't have to hide because he was rejected by the world. And C. He wouldn't be as psycho as he was before he capture Christine. He foolishly killed for her, not knowing it would all go to waste (No, I am not justifying the killing part, because it is still wrong). Maybe it's because I pity Erik for his terrible life, maybe that's why like him more. Even from the beginning of finding out about this beautifully written book and the shows, I've always wanted Christine to go with Erik. That's just me. Whenever I watch the ending of the 25th Anniversary at The Royal Albert Hall, I always wish for a different ending that says Christine would stay with Erik. The only reason I only ship Raoul 1/16th of a percent is that in the novel they both seemed severely childish. (After all, Christine is only sixteen in the book) If only Christine wouldn't think of Erik as a psycho genus. I ship Erik and Christine, plain and simple. This article is my reason, and I will stick to it for the rest of my life. 



What Do You Think About This Article, Which Pair Do You Ship, And Why? Both Couples Are Accepted! 

5 comments:

  1. The first time I watched the Phantom of The Opera movie I hated Phantom! And all I wanted to happen was for Christine to hurry up and marry Raoul and go live in a nice mansion in the South of France. (I know, right)
    So, as you can imagine I was severely disappointed with Love Never Dies! "No no! Raoul can't be a jerk! No! Die Phantom die!!!"...pretty much my exact reaction.
    But, after watching the 25th Anniversary Concert I was amazed and enthralled by Ramin's portrayal of Phantom. For once I actually got the impression that he genuinely loved Christine (but he just didn't know how to express it because he'd never known love himself..), I actually cried for him.
    I still prefer Raoul as a husband for Christine (Hadley Fraser only the managed to further my high opinion of Raoul...!) Yes, he's kinda dumb sometimes...but really so is Christine (well, in the film at least, the Sierra Boggess portrayal is brilliant!)
    So, I'm still not utterly convinced of Erik/Christine....but I'm planning on reading the novel soon, so I might have a different opinion after that!
    Beth xxx

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    1. Yayayayay! You're the first person who commented! I think you'll love the book. I have not seen the movie version, but I've watched enough to state that's it's not my favorite. I love the 25th Anniversary with Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, and Hadley Fraser. The only thing that I think makes Raoul and Christine a good couple is the fact that in the book they are both very childish. If you like watching POTO, there's an amazing high school version on Youtube. I'll have a post on that and my review soon! Thanks so much for commenting!
      P.S. I respect your opinion very much!
      ~ Hannah S.

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  2. **Forgive me if I get some facts wrong or out of order, it's been a month or two since I last watched Phantom**
    You seem to have said you ship The Phantom with Christine becuase he's had a tortured past and nobody else would love him, but what about Christine? He manipulated her and killed for her, which (if i remember correctly) scared her out of her wits! He seemed extra-creepy with a side of wack-o sauce to me. Not letting her decide, throwing a tantrum and killing when she said no. She doesn't love him the way he loves her, and just becuase he has a tortured past doesn't mean she should throw herself at him. It shoudln't be about his past, but his actions towards her, and those were really creepy borderline psychotic. Though I do agree that he has had a tragic life and I love him as a character, Christine didn't want to be with him! In the Musicale, forgive me i'm a bit rusty, I think she only agreed to be with him ,if she did at all, to save RAOUL. in your post you've talked about how the Phantom loved Christine, but love has to be mutual. I'm not sure anyone could love someone who kidnaps, tortures, and kills to try and get them to stay. 100% of people would be freaked out by that, call the cops, and be in major therapy for years. That doesn't really scream "THEY'RE MEANT FOR EACH-OTHER" to me.
    I don't mean any offense by this, nobody ever talks about phantom where I live and I have some serious ChristinexRaoul feelings pent up.

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  3. I've always shipped Erik x Christine, so this was amazing. There was just some sort of beauty in the way that the Phantom loved Christine. I mean, sure Raoul is cool, but I have just always felt like he was an obstacle. He was kinda just there, like, "Christine, love me!" and all that jazz. He intruded on their story. I feel like this just reinforced the stereotype, "the good guy always gets the girl". But, Erik wasn't actually a bad guy. He just didn't know how to show affection, having been shown none himself. That is, until Christine came along. Nobody had looked up to him, treated him with respect, like she had. So, for Raoul to swoop in, and mess all that up, it's no wonder that he was less than overjoyed.
    In Love Never Dies, Christine admits that she has always been in love with Erik, so it doesn't really matter if you people ship RaoulxChristine, because it will never truly be there. Pus, she's like dead, so it doesn't quite make a difference, now does it?

    Anyways, great points!

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    1. Thanks so much for commenting! Ah, another ErikxChristine shipper! :) I get what you mean. I love Raoul, but was truly always the one who was getting in the way. Erik has suffered a lot in his life. I don't know what I'd do if I had gone through his situation. He by far was a brave man, and though he was insane, I'd like to know one person who would be sane living his life. Thanks so much for commenting and for you imput! :)

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