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Symbols
The ring that Erik gives Christine Daaé represents the difficult situation the young singer is in: although the ring signals her entrapment, as she is forced to obey the Phantom’s demands, it also highlights the compassion and respect she feels for him. After Erik discovers that Christine loves the handsome Viscount Raoul de Chagny, her childhood friend, he gives her a wedding ring and makes her promise two things: to visit him regularly, and to never marry. This ring thus instills fear in Christine, for when she understands the depths of Erik’s jealousy, she realizes that both her life and Raoul’s are in danger. However, when Erik finally decides to set her free, asking her to put the ring on his finger after he dies, Christine abides by his request, even though she is no longer under Erik’s direct influence. The ring thus acquires various, complex meanings according to the characters’ attitudes in the narrative. To Erik, this ring is associated with his noble aspirations—his love for Christine and his desire to live a normal wedded life, instead of being treated like a monster—as well as his basest behavior, as he must resort to violence and manipulation to keep Christine under his control. In turn, for Christine, this ring becomes a symbol of external obligation, as Erik could prove violent if she does not respect his wishes, as well as personal obligation, since she wants to respect her promise and not hurt Erik’s feelings, thus showing moral commitment and compassion. The various meanings that characters assign to this ring thus reflect their fluctuating, sometimes paradoxical behaviors, oscillating between love and control, freedom and oppression.
The Ring Quotes in The Phantom of the Opera
The The Phantom of the Opera quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Ring. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 6 Quotes
Some claimed that it was a mark of immeasurable pride; others spoke of her saint-like modesty. Yet, as a rule, artists are rarely so modest; in truth I am rather tempted to ascribe her actions to sheer dread. Yes, I believe that Christine Daaé was frightened by what had just happened to her, and was as taken aback by it as everybody else around her. […] To suggest that Christine was taken aback or even frightened by her triumph is in fact an understatement: having reread the letter, I would say that she was terrified. Yes, yes, terrified. “I am no longer myself when I sing,” she wrote.
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After Christine’s extraordinary gala performance, which impresses all critics and members of the public, Christine disappears. Without giving any explanation, she refuses to sing in public again. The narrator’s conclusion that Christine’s behavior derives from fear highlights the supernatural quality of what has happened to her: the visits from Erik (whom she believes to be the Angel of Music) and his capacity to make her sing beautifully. Christine’s lack of control over her own voice suggests that Erik might have the power to control other people’s singing—as he perhaps does later with Carlotta, when he causes her to croak in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Elig
Chapter 9 Quotes
To think that he had believed in her innocence, in her purity! That he had tried for a moment to explain everything by her naivety, her simplicity of mind and her extreme candour. The Spirit of Music! He knew him now! He saw him! Surely he was some minor singer at the Opera, some good-looking Lothario, some coxcomb all smiles and sweet talk. He felt ridiculous and pitiable. Ah, what a wretched, insignificant and foolish young man you are, Viscount de Chagny! he raged to himself. As for Christine, what a brazen, devilishly cunning creature!
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After Carlotta’s terrible croaking on stage, Christine disappears for a while. Trying to solve this mystery, Raoul visits Mme Valerius, who tells him that Christine is with “the Spirit of Music,” a mysterious being who has been giving Christine music lessons. When Raoul hears this, he becomes convinced that Mme Valerius is a delusional old lady. He assumes that Christine must have lied to her caregiver, inventing a fairytale to justify her clandestine relationship with a man. Raoul’s reaction, however, is contradictory. Part of his anger toward Mme Valerius derives from the influence he assumes her credulous attitude must have Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur
Chapter 10 Quotes
Christine simply took off her mask and said: “It is a tragedy, Raoul!”
He now saw her face and could not suppress a cry of surprise and shock. Gone was her fresh, glowing complexion. No longer a reflection of her tranquil disposition and untroubled conscience, her face—so charming and gentle in former days—was deadly pale. How anguished she looked now! Her features were cruelly furrowed by sorrow and her beautiful, limpid eyes—Little Lotte’s eyes—had become wells of deep, dark, unfathomable mystery and were bordered with terribly doleful shadows.
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When Christine asks Raoul to meet her at the masked ball, so that she can assure him she loves him and tell him about her relationship with the Phantom of the Opera, Erik does not let her speak, instead accusing her of lying to him and inventing a fanciful story about an “Angel of Music.” After he argues that this must be a farce, Christine argues that, on the contrary, this is a tragedy—referring both to her situation under Erik’s control and to the injustice from which Erik suffers. This moment represents the first, unequivocal signal to Erik that Christine Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui d
Chapter 11 Quotes
“When a man,” resumed Raoul, who felt his strength draining away from him, “adopts such a romantic stratagem to seduce a girl...”
“Either he is a villain, or she is a fool?” she interrupted.
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After the masked ball, during which Raoul sees Christine disappear through a mirror after pitying Erik out loud and smiling to his voice, Raoul confronts Christine about her relationship with the Phantom. When he discovers that the “Angel of Music” has forbidden her to marry, he concludes that this man must be manipulating her. Instead of realizing that Erik is indeed forcing her to promise things that do not accurately reflect her desires (for example, to become Raoul’s fiancée), Christine defends Erik. Her interruption of Raoul’s speech suggests that she is just as lucid as he is but that she Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum
Chapter 13 Quotes
“If Erik does not hear me sing tomorrow, he will be devastated.”
“It can only be thus if you want to escape him for ever.”
“You are right, Raoul. At all events, he will certainly die of grief if I run away.” … And then she added in a muted voice: “On the other hand, he could just as easily kill us.”
“Does he love you so much?”
“Yes, he would stop at nothing for me, not even murder.”
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Hidden on the roof of the Opera (although they are secretly followed by Erik), Raoul and Christine share their feelings for each other, enjoying their time together as clandestine fiancés. When Christine tells Raoul that Erik once kidnapped her, Raoul argues that the only logical solution would be to flee from Erik at once, so that he might lose his influence over Christine and no longer harm her. As usual, however, Christine is moved more strongly by compassion for Erik’s feelings than by an instinct for self-preservation, even though she is aware of Erik’s murderous tendencies. Although this irritates Raoul, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem
Chapter 23 Quotes
“You’re afraid of me! And yet, deep down, I am not a bad man. Love me and you’ll see! To be good, all I ever needed was to be loved for myself. If you loved me, I would be as gentle as a lamb; and you could do with me as you pleased.”
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After abducting Christine a second time to keep her from running away with Raoul, Erik tells her that she must make a choice between dying or living as his wife. Feeling threatened and overpowered, Christine begins to cry. To soothe her, Erik says that he is capable of changing and abandoning his violent habits if she agrees to love him. Although Erik’s speech can be seen as a manipulating device to convince Christine to marry him, his belief in his capacity to change suggests that he might not be as cruel and evil-bent as he appears. He argues that his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti
Chapter 24 Quotes
“I don’t express myself like other people. I don’t do anything like other people. But I am very tired of it! Tired of having a forest and a torture chamber in my home! Sick of living like a mountebank, in a house full of tricks! Yes, I am sick and tired of it all! I want a nice, quiet apartment like everyone else, with ordinary doors and windows, and a proper wife.”
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After Erik launches the torture in the torture chamber, where Raoul and the Persian are trapped, he tries to distract Christine from her despair at knowing that her friends will die by launching into a long monologue about marriage and love. He denounces the injustice he has been suffering from, as someone who has been forced to live underground, far from the comforts of social life. However, Erik’s speech cannot be fully trusted, since his goal is not only simply to express his emotions, but to make Christine pity him and, perhaps, want to marry him. For example, despite claiming Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetu
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The Ring Symbol Timeline in The Phantom of the Opera
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Ring appears in The Phantom of the Opera. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 11
...Valerius that Christine is under the influence of an impostor. Raoul then points to a ring that Christine is wearing and argues that she must be married. Upset by such insinuations,...
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Chapter 12
...their game and leave to the North Pole. At the same time, he notices the ring on her finger and feels a pang of intense jealousy.
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Chapter 14
...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...
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Chapter 27
Erik then gave Christine the ring she had lost, which he had searched for himself. He told her that this was...
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Epilogue
...finally achieving normality in death. However, the narrator knew it was Erik because of the ring around his finger, which Christine must have put there, as she had promised. The narrator...
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