“Through the Use of Symbolism, the Author Supports the Themes Of

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Due: October 24th, 2011

“Through the use of Book Analysis by: Kaitlyn Coleman symbolism, the author supports the themes of reality, illusion, horror, and innocence, in his tragic and eternal tale of deception and love set within the mysterious Paris Opera House.” -Thesis Kaitlyn Coleman AP Literature and Composition- Book Analysis 1 Due. Oct. 24th, 2011

“The Opera ghost really existed,” maintains the narrator of Gaston Leroux’s The

Phantom of the Opera. A phantom haunted the trap doors and catacombs of the 17 story labyrinth that is the Paris Opera House, or so it was rumored. Shrouded in mystery, such a ghost was said to be superstition or the product of young ballerinas’ gossip, but the narrator insists that the phantom “existed in flesh and blood.” Gaston Leroux spins an eerie web of anguish, love, and redemption around the reader, as he relates the tale of the Opera ghost, told from the point of view of the journalist narrator and the memoirs of supporting characters. Through the use of symbolism, the author supports the themes of reality, illusion, horror, and innocence, in his tragic and eternal tale of deception and love set within the mysterious Paris Opera House.

Le Fantome de l'Opera was penned by Gaston Leroux between the years of 1901 and

1910. The tale, although unsuccessful in the years following its publishing, would become a phenomenon, brought to screen, in numerous movies and television programming, and stage, in the widely popular Broadway musical. The author, however, would not live to witness such success, for he died in 1927, shortly after the release of the first film starring his, now beloved, characters.

Leroux’s tale is centered within the realms of the beautiful and mysterious Paris Opera

House, which was a mere 35 years old when The Phantom of the Opera was written. In those short years, though, the Opera house played a role in the turbulent Parisian history. The build site was chosen in 1861 and the Opera House was opened for performances in 1875. In those years, the house played a part in the history of Paris. During the siege of Paris in 1870, the Opera

House was used as a military storehouse, and, afterwards, it fell into the hands of the Paris

Commune, and was used to their ends. Leroux alludes to these uses of the Opera House in The

Phantom of the Opera.

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Kaitlyn Coleman AP Literature and Composition- Book Analysis 1 Due. Oct. 24th, 2011

The mysteries of such an interesting building as the Paris Opera House were speculated by the performers and audiences alike. Whispered stories of a ghost whom caused malfunctions were rumored by many, and it was in response to these rumors that Leroux created the Opera

Ghost, who lurked in the shadows and catacombs of the vast Opera House. Leroux linked these stories to the mysterious death of an opera singer during that time, and his story took form.

It is unclear whether Leroux truly inquired about the strange events said to have occurred in the Opera House during the 1880s, but he maintained until his death that his Opera Ghost

“really existed”, if only in his mind. He created a narrator who states the same at the novel’s beginning, and that he has investigated the happenings of the Opera at that time. The narrator, who introduces himself as an investigative journalist, claims to have traveled to the Phantom’s lair, finding the skeletons of “some poor wretches who had been massacred under the Commune in the cellars of the Opera” along the way.

The way the author portrays the story, telling it from the point of view of the narrator and the memoirs of supporting characters, helps the reader indentify more so with the story and the characters who were part of it. He gives evidence as to the Phantom’s existence, through the narration of the story. This style of writing gives the work more impact, and makes the tale of the

Opera Ghost more human and believable.

There are so many underlying themes in The Phantom of the Opera, and each reader takes something different from the tale, but some of the most prominent are the themes of reality, illusion, horror, and innocence. The story, taking place behind the scenes of the Opera House, portrays themes of reality and illusion in many aspects. The author gives the reader a background on the Paris Opera House and some of the performers and workers in it, allowing them to have a

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Kaitlyn Coleman AP Literature and Composition- Book Analysis 1 Due. Oct. 24th, 2011 fuller understanding of the setting. By illuminating the shadows of the Opera House, Leroux reveals how the seeming reality and appearance of it are mere illusion, the set pieces on a stage.

Erik, himself personifies these themes, by wearing his mask and hiding the reality of his deformed appearance. He is an illusion to those who do not know the truth of his existence, for he is gifted in deception and having the appearance of a phantom.

Leroux illustrates the effects of society on an individual, through the theme of horror in his novel. The Phantom, seen as mysterious and menacing, is the focal point of such horror, his distorted state shows how the cruel expectations of society can mold and corrupt an individual.

Due to his deformity, Erik has the skull-like appearance of a dead man, and grew up travelling as a freak featured in county fairs as the “living dead”. This deformity, and the rejection that resulted from it, caused horrific mental instability, and dark tendencies to match his outward ugliness. He is described throughout the novel as a monster, and seems to embrace the part, seeing himself not worth redemption, and hating the monster within.

The horror that surrounds the image of the Phantom and the society which created him, is contrasted by the innocent of Christine and the love she shares with Raoul. Believing, with a child’s innocence, that she is being watched over by her father and that he has sent the Angel of

Music to her, Christine falls for Erik’s ploys. It is also with this innocence that Raoul and

Christine have kept their love for one another since childhood. Believing that the Phantom is not watching, the two take part in childish love games, as they explore the aboveground levels of the

Opera House together, innocently giving in to their love, and pretending, if only for a time, that

Christine is free of the Phantom’s possession.

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Kaitlyn Coleman AP Literature and Composition- Book Analysis 1 Due. Oct. 24th, 2011

Despite the Phantom’s many emotional flaws and uses of underhanded tactics to get what he wants, there is underlying innocence in his character, as well. He strived for the most basic of human needs, the need to be loved. An object of revulsion, Erik had never been shown love, and this isolation and rejection are what caused his unstable emotional state and distorted his soul.

Having lived a life of hate, when the Phantom falls desperately in love with Christine, he becomes obsessive and possessive of her, refusing to be rejected yet again, and desiring for her to love him for who he is.

Symbolism is a major element used by Leroux to support his themes, and there is a multitude of it in The Phantom of the Opera, seen differently by different readers. The

Phantom’s iconic mask, the ring he gives Christine, the roses, and, finally, the mirrors, are but a few of the items with symbolic meaning. Each has strong meaning that gives the story ever more depth and personal emotion.

The Phantom’s mask is the most recognized and iconic image related to the tale of the

Opera Ghost. What it symbolizes though, is not so straightforward, for it is different for each reader. Rejected, Erik attempted to make his appearance more physically pleasing by wearing a mask to hide his deformity. His deformity and the mask he wears to hide it portrays the symbolic masks all people wear to hide what they believe to be imperfections from the world. Like the

Phantom, everyone has a desire to be accepted and loved for themselves, despite their hidden hurts and thoughts, and the superficial expectations of society.

The Phantom gives Christine a gold wedding band to wear, while he is keeping her in his lair, and then sends her back to the surface, warning her to always wear his ring. This ring symbolizes the possession Erik felt for Christine, and the love he wished from Christine, in her

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Kaitlyn Coleman AP Literature and Composition- Book Analysis 1 Due. Oct. 24th, 2011 consenting to marry him. Raoul also realizes the ring’s meaning, and becomes quite jealous of the Phantom. The ring symbolizes the Phantom’s desire for Christine and to spend his life with her, but the circle of it symbolizes his realization that he may have possession over her actions, but not her heart. The ring eventually makes the complete circle when he returns it to Christine, upon releasing her, asking that she return to bury him after his death.

After each of her performances, the Phantom would give Christine a rose, a symbol of his affection, with a darker side. The thorns of the rose and the pain they can cause, symbolize the

Phantom’s rejection when he learns of Christine and Raoul’s love for each other, as well as

Christine’s pain at being forced, by Erik, to choose life without Raoul. The symbol of a rose also holds a different meaning in the story, as it appears in the Phantom’s lair. The roses the Phantom keeps show his desire to be physically appealing, and have others love, rather than scorn him.

They contrast the description given to Erik, as the appearance of death, bringing life into the shadows, until they wilt.

Just as the Phantom’s mask represents the inward deformities people attempt to hide, the mirrors, which played a part throughout Leroux’s novel, symbolize how one views themselves.

The mirrors reveal what is behind the mask, and are either reality or illusion, however the mind sees it. It is fitting, then, that Erik bids Christine into his realm from behind a mirror, for, at this point, she is still under the false illusion that he is the Angel of Music, sent to her by her father.

Mirrors also appear in the Phantom’s torture chamber, representing the torture the Phantom himself has experienced and the agony and hate he feels for himself and his reflection. However, his reflection, too, seems illusion, for the true distortion, as Christine says, is “in his soul, not on his face.”

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Kaitlyn Coleman AP Literature and Composition- Book Analysis 1 Due. Oct. 24th, 2011

The Phantom of the Opera has intrigued audiences for nearly a century, causing them to both fear and pity the man behind the mask. This popularity, itself, qualifies the story of having high literary merit, but the story has so much more depth and portrays a slightly different meaning to each person entertained by it. The novel portrays the understanding that “not everything is as it seems,” for reality and illusion are not all that far apart. It also shows the effects a structured, prejudiced, and misunderstanding society can have on an individual, specifically one whom doesn’t seem to fit in. Leroux used symbolism to enhance the meaning of his themes of reality, illusion, horror, and innocence and draw the reader ever deeper into the

Phantom’s haunting music of the night.

Works Cited

Leroux, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. New York: Perennial Library, 1987.

Included by Publisher (author unknown). The Paris Opera House. New York: Perennial Library,

1987.

Hopkins, Vicki. Lessons From The Phantom of the Opera and Other Phantom Ramblings.

16-23, 2011.

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