The Phantom of the Opera: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

On Saturday morning, Moncharmin and Richard receive a letter from the Phantom reminding them of his conditions. He tells them that his box must be liberated; that Christine Daaé should sing Marguerite, since Carlotta will be ill; that Mme Giry must return; and that he wants to make plans about receiving his money. He threatens to “curse” the performance of Faust if these terms are not respected.

Moncharmin and Richard are then told that Lachenal, the Opera’s chief groom, in charge of the twelve horses in stables, is upset. Lachenal tells the directors he wants the stablemen fired, because a horse called César has been stolen. When asked for his opinion, Lachenal says he believes the ghost did it, because he saw a black figure riding the white horse in an underground gallery. After Lachenal leaves, Richard tells the administrator Mercier to fire him, but Moncharmin intercedes, noting that Lachenal has important connections.

In that moment, Mme Giry enters, handing the directors a letter from the Phantom. Furious, Richard suddenly grabs Mme Giry and kicks her out by kicking her squarely on the rear. Indignant, Mme Giry storms out. Around the same time, Carlotta receives an anonymous letter in red ink warning her not to sing tonight, as “a misfortune worse than death” might affect her. Reflecting on this situation, Carlotta concludes that she must be the victim of a conspiracy. Resentful about Christine Daaé’s extraordinary performance when she herself was last ill, Carlotta concludes that Christine must be responsible for this threat.

The narrator notes that, although Carlotta has a powerful technique, her singing lacks emotion and is nothing but a well-tuned instrument. Referencing her past as a dancer in Spanish brothels and a singer in squalid Parisian music-halls, the narrator wonders how she could have lost her soul and why she was never “purified by art,” through the wonderful roles she played at the Opera.

Angry at this threat, Carlotta resolves to sing and to invite all her friends to the Opera that night, so that they might defend her against what she assumes to be Christine’s followers. In Box Five, Moncharmin and Richard wait to hear or see the ghost. After the end of the first act, Richard says that he invited his concierge to the performance, who has never been to the Opera, so that she might agree to take on Mme Giry’s job.

During the next act, when Christine begins to sing, Carlotta’s friends assume that Christine’s friends will cheer her on, but nothing happens. Carlotta, by contrast, receives enthusiastic applause, which surprises the other spectators. During the interval, the directors try to find out more about this supposed machination against Carlotta. When they return, they notice a box of sweets under the ledge and, suddenly serious, feel a strange, cold air swirl around them.

When Christine begins to sing again, she sees Raoul in his brother’s box and loses some of her confidence, as Raoul begins to cry. Upset that Christine is making his brother suffer, Count Philippe also feels resentful toward his brother for loving this singer who only had one extraordinary performance. In the meantime, Raoul recalls the letter that Christine left him, in which she begged him to never seek her out again. She assured him that she would never forget him and that her own life was at stake.

Carlotta then sings confidently, knowing that she has so many friends in the audience. Suddenly, though, her voice croaks, producing a horrible sound. The entire audience rises in indignation, knowing that such a sound could never leave the mouth of such a well-honed voice. Instead of booing her, they are convinced that some strange, unfair phenomenon must be taking place, as Carlotta’s voice is too perfect to suffer such an accident.

In Box Five, while the public is in uproar, Moncharmin and Richard are struck with horror, convinced that this is the prelude to other catastrophes. At the same time, they can also feel that someone is present with them in the box, even though they cannot see him. When Carlotta tries to sing again, unable to contain more croaking, the directors then hear a voice in their ear whispering that the chandelier is about to fall. In that instant, the chandelier crashes to the ground. Everyone runs away in terror and panic, except the woman who has been killed on the spot by the weight of the chandelier: Richard’s concierge, the very woman he had planned to make their new box attendant in place of Mme Giry.