Re: The Phantom of the Opera
Some time ago, I read The Phantom of the Opera. It was a difficult book to get through, and though the character of Eric enchanted my imagination and the narrative skillfully rode that subtle edge of humor and horror I love so much, I cannot class it as one of my favorites. The problem, I find, is in the ingenue, Christine. Hate feels like too strong of a word, but I would rather avoid her company. Yet, she is the very center of the whole affair.
I think I'm in the minority, and so any correction I would advise is probably the result of a woefully arrogant caprice on my part. Anyway:
The story is, if I remember, a mystery, a mystery involving the Phantom but centered on the odd behavior of Christine, oddities eventually explained by Eric's deceit and her credulity, this all seen through the eyes of Raoul. Yet, even after she has been undeceived, she persists in acting like a complete dolt.
For me, for my enjoyment of the story, Christine is the stumbling block. I could imagine, however, what I would attempt to change (if only to suit my own tastes). Christine's arc is actually a very interesting path. At the start, she is young and alone and suffering a great loss. Yet, a miracle happens, and as though her dad has returned to her in spirit, an invisible tutor begins honing her spectacular talent. Still, she must choose, her childhood love on one hand or her burgeoning career on the other. Caught in indecision, she sees the character of her angel grow more and more like a devil, and though she would be obedient to her tutor, her love and admiration for him turn into fear and dread. Finally, to save the one she loves, she agrees to marry the monster, and her kindness and sympathy undoes the Phantom.
It's a good story, but she's so irritating. I think, however, that the irritation comes from the perspective we're given. We hardly ever enter her head and see why she does the stupid things she does, and, I think, a few chapters from her point of view, letting us into her internal life as she makes these abrupt and frustrating decisions, would make her character far more sympathetic, at least to me. But one other change comes to mind. I think the ending is good, but it misses something: Christine Daaé is, no matter what I think of her, a talented artist, like Erik himself, and the greatest achievement of an artists, I think, is in holding "the mirror up to nature."
There are few things, I think, the titular Phantom hates more than himself, and I would have loved to see a climax where, after some time incarcerated with his desire, he would be unable to look away from the truth of what he was. Perhaps she would wear away into sickness, and he would have to return her or let her die.
I didn't write or imagine the story, and it's a good story with a strong ending that has enchanted many for years. I think it will continue to do so, but I do like, as someone who also wants success as a writer, to imagine what I would do with the greats. It is a sort of mental exercise I think not wholly without merit.
- Have you read The Phantom of the Opera?
- Do you like to imagine how you would write other people's stories?
- What's a classic you find has an irritating drawback?
