Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Phantom of the Opera, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Natural vs. the Supernatural
Love vs. Jealousy
Violence, Revenge, and Redemption
Beauty vs. Ugliness
Summary
Analysis
On the evening of Messrs. Debienne and Poligny’s last night as directors of the Paris Opera House, an overexcited group of ballerinas storm into dancer Sorelli’s dressing-room. Little Jammes, who quickly locks the door, tells Sorelli, a beautiful yet—according to the narrator—unintelligent ballerina, that they have seen the ghost. Although Sorelli reacts skeptically (even though she is secretly scared and superstitious), the girls all begin to talk at once, defending what they have seen, explaining that a mysterious, ugly figure cloaked in black suddenly appeared out of nowhere, scaring them all.
The fact that young ballerinas are the first witnesses of the Phantom that the novel mentions suggests that the ghost’s apparition could be the result of collective panic and paranoia, more than a credible occurrence. It immediately immerses the reader in the atmosphere at the Opera, in which people’s awareness that a ghost might exist creates an atmosphere of superstition and fear, far from the rational approach that the narrator seeks to adopt.
Themes
The narrator notes that for the past several months, everyone at the Opera House has been discussing the matter of this ghost, who sometimes appears in person and sometimes causes strange occurrences. People have become so paranoid that any strange trick or surprising event is attributed to the ghost’s doing. Nevertheless, the girls in Sorelli’s room insist that they have seen the ghost, who has a skull-like head.
The narrator’s acknowledgment of the atmosphere of collective hysteria at the Opera shows that he is capable of distancing himself from such phenomena and witnessing them from the outside. This display of emotional disengagement gives greater weight to his assertion that the Phantom does, in fact, exist, since the reader knows his conclusion is not based on peer influence.
Themes
Literary Devices
The narrator notes that this description fits the one that Joseph Buquet, the chief stage machinist, shared. According to Buquet, the ghost is skeletal, has neither eyes nor nose, and has yellow skin. Since Buquet is not prone to fanciful stories but is considered serious and reliable, people paid attention to his description, even though some people claimed that Buquet must have been the victim of a joke.
The skeletal appearance of the ghost associates him with death and danger, suggesting that he is probably not an harmless apparition. It also suggests that this ghost could not possibly be human, since this description is more reminiscent of a corpse than a living person. Buquet’s first scary vision of the ghost can be seen as an eerie prelude to his later death.
Themes
Literary Devices
Another episode also created an uproar. One of the firemen on duty, Papin, almost fainted after his safety rounds below stage. He claimed to have seen a floating head of fire come toward him, which terrified him beyond measure. Defending Papin’s experience, the narrator ironically notes that firemen are not usually scared of fire. Although this description did not necessarily conform to the ballerinas’ and Buquet’s depiction of the ghost, people concluded that the ghost might have several heads.
Papin’s alternative description of the ghost creates uncertainty, suggesting that the ghost might be capable of shifting shapes—as Raoul himself later believes—and that he is therefore definitely non-human. The narrator’s comment about firemen’s mental strength aims to show that readers should take Papin’s testimony seriously, since—unlike other people’s reactions—it cannot be interpreted as the result of fear or collective paranoia.
Themes
Get the entire The Phantom of the Opera LitChart as a printable PDF.
These events help explain everyone’s fright in Sorelli’s room. When Sorelli interrogates the girls about what they have seen, Little Jammes defends their narrative by explaining that Gabriel, the chorus-master, saw the ghost the day before: The Persian, a mysterious man whom everyone believes to have the “Evil Eye,” entered the office and the ghost’s face appeared behind him, terrifying Gabriel and causing him to hurt himself while running away. After Little Jammes’s story, Sorelli tries to hide her fear and a silence settles in the dressing-room.
Little Jammes’s association of the Persian with the Phantom raises suspicion about the figure of the Persian, suggesting that he might be one of the Phantom’s allies. However, it also suggests that not all stories about the Phantom are equally credible. Indeed, her story does not actually support the ghost’s existence. It merely shows that fear and superstition is strong enough for people to hurt themselves in the absence of an actual threat.
Themes
Little Meg Giry then notes that Joseph Buquet should keep quiet, because her mother, Mme Giry, says the ghost should be left in peace. Pressed to explain herself, Meg reveals the secret her mother has asked her to keep: that her mother interacts with the ghost in his private box, Box Five. She notes that the ghost is invisible, and that Buquet’s description thus makes no sense. She adds that her mother has told her Buquet would suffer for his revelations.
This third description of the ghost (as an invisible being) heightens the mystery of the ghost’s identity, suggesting that the narrator’s conclusions will have to account for these three contradictory descriptions. Mme Giry’s warning suggests that the ghost is fearful and dangerous, since he might react negatively if disturbed.
Themes
In that very moment, Little Jammes’s mother calls her daughter, wild with fear and excitement. To everyone’s horror, she announces that Joseph Buquet has been found hanging down the stage in the cellar. The machinists who found the body claimed to hear music for the dead at the same moment. All the ballerinas whisper to each other that this must be the ghost’s doing. The narrator himself notes that, although the press claims that Buquet committed “suicide under natural circumstances,” when the co-directors ran down to look for Buquet, they found him dead on the floor, with no rope to be seen. The narrator notes ironically that a hanging without a rope can hardly be called “natural circumstances.” The narrator adds that the disappearance of the rope will later become more understandable, in light of later events.
Joseph Buquet’s death alone does not necessarily have anything to do with the Opera ghost. However, the mysterious circumstances surrounding his hanging suggests that he might have been the victim of paranormal activity—since he hanged himself without a rope. This also suggests that he might have been the victim of a murder, disguised as suicide. The narrator’s ability to note the abnormality of Buquet’s death without concluding on the ghost’s involvement suggests that he does not yet have enough information to implicate the Phantom. This once again gives the narrator credibility, suggesting that his knowledge of the Phantom is based on evidence, not mere supposition.
Themes
