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
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.
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!
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.
“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.
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
The Ring Symbol Timeline in The Phantom of the Opera
