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 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.
The Phantom’s threats reveal, once again, his willingness to use violence in order to assert his authority over others. It also suggests that one of his primary goals is to satisfy his artistic passion and listen to beautiful music, which he knows that Christine—not Carlotta, who sings without true emotion—will be able to deliver.
Themes
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.
The directors’ assumption that anyone who mentions the ghost must be crazy appears increasingly foolish, since several staff members have mentioned him in so many different contexts. Instead of solving the problem, the directors assume that firing everyone will put an end to the chaotic situation at the Opera. It will later be confirmed that the Phantom did, in fact, steal César.
Themes
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.
It remains unclear whether the reason for Carlotta’s past illness, which allowed Christine to triumph at the gala performance, was also the result of the Phantom’s manipulation. However, the Phantom’s threat suggests that he takes pleasure in scaring others and that he knows that, in certain situations, violence is less of a punishment than other events—such as, in Carlotta’s case, the ruining of her voice, on which her livelihood depends.
Themes
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.
The narrator’s comments suggest that emotion is the essence of art, beyond technique itself. It also assumes that art has moral value and is capable of elevating people—and, perhaps, redeeming them. Erik is both an illustration and a counterexample of this, since he expresses emotion beautifully but often behaves violently toward others.
Themes
Get the entire The Phantom of the Opera LitChart as a printable PDF.
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.
This moment of anticipation before the Phantom’s actions highlights the characters’ lack of adequate information. As will later become apparent, Carlotta is wrong to believe that Christine will attack her, and the Richard is wrong to think that the Phantom will allow Mme Giry to be replaced. None of these characters understand that they are exposed to a danger beyond their understanding.
Themes
Literary Devices
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.
Instead of being reassuring, the lack of action on Christine’s part only highlights the danger that awaits the characters, as the Phantom—not Christine—will seek revenge on the people who have not obeyed him. His placement of sweets in Box Five serves to confound the directors and make them panic, since they know that that is a sign of the Phantom’s presence.
Themes
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.
Christine’s distress at seeing Raoul suggests that she sees him not as an enemy, but as someone she loves and whom she cannot bear to disappoint or make suffer. Her letter highlights the contrast between her sincere feelings of love and her necessity to distance herself from Raoul for their own good. Philippe’s frustration with Raoul’s love for Christine is connected to their status as noblemen, which dictates that men of high rank should not accept mere singers as acceptable partners.
Themes
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.
Although Carlotta’s singing defect might seem normal in any other set of circumstances, the public immediately understands that it is not an accident. Their interpretation of these events as a sign of some evil intention underlines the Phantom’s supernatural powers, as he is able to manipulate other people’s voices. It remains ambiguous whether the Phantom achieves this through ventriloquism or through some extra-human mechanism.
Themes
Literary Devices
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.
The Phantom’s callousness and lack of compassion is evident not only in his treatment of Carlotta, who did not intentionally mean to upset him, but also in his decision to punish the entire audience for the directors’ failure to respect his conditions. He appears to take pleasure in torturing others, since his announcement in the directors’ ears serves no practical purpose beyond increasing their fear and anxiety. The concierge’s tragic death suggests that the Phantom does not mind killing innocent people, and serves as vengeance against Richard for trying to replace Mme Giry, despite the Phantom’s clear demands.
Themes
