Apollo’s Lyre
Why only one chapter this week? Well a few reasons, it’s a very long chapter, it’s a very important chapter and it’s my favorite chapter.
Very simply in this chapter Christine explains the voice, the Opera Ghost, and Erik. How they met and all their interactions. How he loves her and how she pity him, lies to him and horrifies her.
Much like the confession scene or rathe chapter in Hunchback, Christine tells Raoul the story as in flashback. Most movies and stage show just show theses scene as they happen in the narrative. Which isn’t bad at all, I just like the mood it create as a story. Though if I was director or screenwriter, I would present this scene as flashbacks with cut back to Christine telling the story to Raoul on a dark roof with shadow lurking on Apollo Lyre This same goes for Frollo’s confession.
Ok so some points of interests that I don’t believe you see in movie or stage versions, remember how it was mentioned that Erik first took Christine right after the chandelier fell during Faust? This means Christine HAD to have been dresses in her costume which was male. No frilly dressing gown or romantic gown when she was taken underground. Not that I don’t like the dressing Gown of Webber’s show but it’s interest to remember that she was in boy clothes as Siébel. I mean given Christine’s urgency to find the voice after the Chandelier fell I doubt she changed.
Second thing, when Erik grabs Christine she struggles to escape but she says that his hand past over her mouth and she smelled death. Now I was on a forum ages ago and someone suggested that Erik used chloroformed on her. She also mented she felt she under teh influenced of some kind of cordial or alcohol. It’s possible that Gaston Leroux didn’t know what chloroform smelled like and just suggested it smelled like death, from some quick research it seem to smell like acetone but also somewhat sweet and chemically. It’s also possiable that he didn’t but it seems likely given Christine passing out and acting a little drunk/drugged.
Anyway this is my favorite chapter, makes all the build up mystery totally worth. Read it!