The Phantom of the Opera: Chapter 21 Summary & Analysis

The two men enter a dark passage, and the Persian reminds Raoul to keep his hand raised, with his pistol ready. The Persian then lights a lantern and the two of them walk through the passage, which Raoul later learns was built by insurgents during the period of the Paris Commune to carry prisoners straight to prison. The Persian then kneels and searches the floor, finally finding the opening of a trap leading onto mezzanine floors beneath the stage. The two men step in and fall down to the floor.

Raoul notes that, although he does not actually know the Persian, he fully trusts him, assuming that they both intend to defeat Erik. He concludes that the Persian would not have given him a pistol if he were against him, and that any hesitation on his part would make him a coward, since his goal is to save Christine.

The two men then find themselves behind a screen. In front of them, Raoul notices two dead bodies, whom the Persian says must be Erik’s fault. Moments later, they watch as the stage manager finds the bodies of Mauclair, the man in charge of electricity, and his assistants. Mauclair, however, is not dead, but under the influence of a narcotic. As Inspector Mifroid, who has arrived, concludes that this must be the abductor’s work, the stage manager notes that the only other time he found Mauclair in this position was on the night that Carlotta’s voice broke.

As the men leave, Raoul and the Persian keep on walking. The Persian tells Raoul that, if his pistol is too heavy to carry at this height, he can put it in his pocket but must keep his hands in front of his face at all cost, as this is “a matter of life and death.” Raoul finds himself in an incredible maze of passageways, where he follows the Persian, who seems to know the Opera extremely well. They walk downwards, trying to keep out of sight of the various workers walking around, carrying out their tasks.

As the men make their way through different floors, the Persian suddenly tells Raoul to stop and lie down, because a shadow is moving toward them. When it crosses them, the Persian says he knows him but does not give Raoul any details. Suddenly, the two of them then see a shining head of fire float toward them. Remembering Papin’s description, the Persian and Raoul attempt to flee. However, the fast-moving head keeps on moving toward them.

When the floating head finally reaches them, the terrified pair realizes that he is nothing but a man leading waves of rats away from the Opera. The man cries out that he is the “rat-catcher” and that they should make way. The narrator notes that the man must use a special technique to guide rats away from the Opera House, where they could cause damage. Raoul and the Persian sigh in relief, as the Persian notes that he thought this was one of Erik’s many tricks.

Despairing at being so far from Christine, Raoul asks the Persian to take him straight to the lake. However, the Persian says that the lake is terribly dangerous, because a siren lives there. The Persian tries to reassure Raoul, telling him that they can reach Erik’s abode through the third mezzanine, through a secret passage behind the Le Roi de Lahore cloth—the very spot where Buquet was found hanging. As Raoul and the Persian keep on moving, the Persian taps a wall, saying that this could be part of Erik’s home. The narrator notes that the Opera walls were built with a double shell, inside of which Erik was able to build his retreat.

Finally, they reach the cloth from Le Roi de Lahore. The Persian slips behind it. He presses against a section of the wall and, as a stone gives way, uncovers a hole. Concentrated, he cocks his pistol and tells Raoul to do the same. The two of them crawl into a narrow passageway, as the Persian tells Raoul to make as little noise as possible. The Persian then slides through a hole in the floor, telling Raoul that he will help him down. The two of them fall down and stay quiet. Knowing that he is in Erik’s abode, Raoul has to force himself not to call out to Christine and reveal their presence.

The Persian lights the lantern and turns back, shocked to see that the hole they opened is closed again. Looking down, he picks up a rope and exclaims in horror that this is a Punjab cord—the instrument that must have killed Buquet. The two men then begin to examine the walls around them and, as they realize that they are mirrors, the Persian begins to panic, saying that they now found themselves in the “torture chamber.”