Phantom of the Opera Analysis

Phantom of the Opera Analysis: Introduction

At the beginning of the 20th century, opera was one of the most popular entertainment activities for the bourgeois class in Paris. Phantom of the Opera was written by Gaston Leroux in 1910. After it was published in the newspaper, the story itself was interpreted into musicals and movies many times during the 20th and the 21st century. Thus, the novel has become a familiar story for us as it was shot multiple times in the cinema. This paper focuses on analyzing love and jealousy, themes of The Phantom of the Opera, and it is aimed to reveal the reasons that keep Rough and Christine apart. One can address that there is a love triangle between Christine, Rough, and Eric. At the beginning of the story, Christine admires and respects Eric since she has believed that he is the angel of the music. However, her emotions slowly change once Rough tries to wake her up from her illusionary love. Both Eric and Rough cannot control their jealousy, and soon after, it consumes them both. After all, Eric is not a monster because of his damaged face, and he is described as a feared person due to his violent actions that stem from jealousy.

Body Paragraphs

First of all, Rough is Christine's childhood love, they know each other for many years, and her father used to tell them stories about an angel of music. However, when her father dies, she becomes an orphan who has lower social status than him. A while after her father’s death, he knows that he can never marry her as she is not equal to him. In other words, her social status is the first reason for being apart from her. Also, she knows that they cannot be together as well as him. As the years pass, he comes to a point in which he leaves his pride behind and follows his love despite the barrier ahead of them, but there is someone in her life.

Eric and Christine know each other for three months, but he accomplishes to persuade her that she can never leave his side. He guides and teaches her, and eventually, he becomes the angel of music in her eyes. He seeks her benefits and interferes with her career and life. Also, her mother supports their relationship as she believes that he has been sent by her husband from heaven. For instance, when Rough comes to their house, she tells him that Christine can never marry because an angel of music says so, and Christine obeys his commands and guidance (Leroux 59). However, his obsession and jealousy of her create problems in her life. For example, she has to wear a golden ring which is given to her as a symbol of her freedom. In other words, she is free as long as she wears the ring. Eric’s actions create the most challenging barrier against them because he makes her believe that she can never escape him.

Christine is in a mental asylum, which is shaped by Eric's thoughts and rules. Also, she is aware of the fact that he is a dangerous man who can kill people in his own interest. Thus, she is afraid of his jealousy because he can murder Rough. In other words, she creates a barrier that is created by fear. Therefore, she constantly pushes Rough away and ignores him. Meanwhile, he suffers from his love for her and envies their connection. Eventually, his jealousy drives him mad as it does the same thing to Eric, but he overcomes his jealousy in a different way than Eric. He knows that he must reveal his true nature to her. Therefore, he tries everything in his power to wake her up from the imposter’s power on her. He tries to persuade her to run away and marry him. He does it without forcing her.

On the other hand, Eric does not hesitate killing people by also threatening them for his demands. His jealousy drives him mad, and he thinks that he can solve his problems with violence. He is madly in love with Christine even though he knows that she will never love his ugly face. He is ashamed of his look and knows that a handsome man can easily steal her heart. Therefore, he resorts to both mental and physical violence because he is afraid of losing her. For him, violence is a method of expressing his feeling as he cannot accept himself, and his whole life passes with loneliness and darkness. She lightens his dark world, and this is the reason why he feels intense jealousy. However, when he kidnaps her in the middle of the play, she comes to a turning point in which she will choose her fate and Rough’s. After all, Eric's violent acts draw her away, and she faces the severe circumstances of intense jealousy and obsession.

Phantom of the Opera: Conclusion

Consequently, this paper focuses on analyzing the love and jealousy themes of The Phantom of The Opera, which is one of the classics that was interpreted into musicals and movies many times during the 20th and the 21st century. It reveals the harmful side of love and jealousy because, at first, Eric is the angel of music in her eyes who teaches and guides her. As time passes, his obsession and jealousy for her drive him mad, and she slowly understands his true nature with Rough's help. However, he is not the only one who suffers from jealousy because Rough is consumed by his jealousy as well because an imposter interferes with Christine's life and rules her life with fear. He says that he is not the angel of music; he is a monster. After all, he is described as a monster because of his violent acts that stem from jealousy.

References

Leroux, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. Mint Editions, 2021.