The Phantom of the Opera: Chapter 14 Summary & Analysis

Raoul and Christine run away from a pair of frightening eyes and suddenly come across a mysterious man, the Persian, who leads them forward. While they run, wondering if they might both have imagined Erik’s presence, Raoul once again insists that they could leave tonight. However, Christine says that she has promised Erik not to see Raoul outside of the Opera, and does not want to bring them bad luck by breaking her pledge. Raoul, however, expresses his fear that she might not actually love him.

Christine says that they could go to her dressing-room, where Erik has promised never to listen. She also says that Erik can hear her anytime she calls, because he has talents beyond human capacities. She also insists that Raoul should take her with him by force if she refuses to leave. While Christine prepares to leave to return to Erik’s abode, she suddenly panics, realizing she has lost the gold ring Erik once gave her, which he told her was a sign of her faithfulness to him. However, instead of looking for it, however, she decides to leave at once.

That night, Raoul sees two burning eyes at the foot of his bed. Shaking, Raoul strikes a match but does not notice anything unusual. He begins to wonder if he has lost his mind. However, when he blows out the light, the eyes return. Raoul then slowly grabs hold of his pistol, takes aim, and shoots. Servants and Count Philippe immediately come running and, noticing Raoul’s feverish face, they wonder if he has gone mad. However, Raoul stands up and sees blood on the floor, concluding that the ghost is indeed a normal human being. Count Philippe argues that Raoul must have shot a cat, as the trail of blood goes does the balcony through a drain-pipe, and Raoul laughs, saying that Erik can indeed take whatever form he wishes. The count—and, later, the examining magistrate M. Faure—becomes convinced that Raoul must have gone mad.

When the servants leaves, Raoul yells that he plans to take Christine Daaé away with him. Later, during police investigations, the servants told M. Faure, the examining magistrate, that such fights were not uncommon between the two brothers. The next morning, Count Philippe hands a paper to Raoul, in which someone has written that Christine Daaé and Viscount Raoul de Chagny are engaged, despite Count Philippe’s resistance. Philippe tells Raoul that he must have gone mad, to want to leave with this girl, but Raoul refuses to answer. Instead, he spends the entire day preparing for his escape with Christine.

In the evening, Raoul goes to the Opera, leaving his carriage by the entrance, ready for his escape. That night, Christine Daaé is welcomed coldly on stage, as the public considers that, as a mere singer, she is not fit to marry into the French nobility. Although this initially makes Christine uncomfortable, she soon immerses herself in the beauty of the moment in Faust in which she ascends to the sky, calling up to the angels. In the middle of her heartrending performance, the lights suddenly go out for a few seconds and, when they return, Christine is no longer there. Although it seems as though Christine has been taken up by the angels, the audience turns toward Raoul, to figure out if he might be involved in this disappearance. The conductor then steps onto the stage and announces that Christine has vanished through some mysterious, unknown means.