Phantom of the Opera (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (39 page)

1
(p. 11 )
after “dancing”
Polyeucte: This reference is to Charles Gounod’s 1878 opera, based on Pierre Corneille’s 1643 tragedy of the same name. Gounod ( 1818-1893) composed more than a dozen operas, the most famous of which is his 1859
Faust,
which will figure prominently in the novel on both real and symbolic levels.

2
(p. 11 )
Rue le Peletier:
The Opera de la rue le Peletier served as Paris’s official opera house from 1821 until it burned to the ground in 1873. It was not far from where the new opera house was constructed (see map on page xxxi).

3
(p. 13)
that nose is a horrible thing
to look at: Throughout the novel, Leroux uses italics in a very particular way to emphasize pieces of dialogue and description. Many critics have commented on the purpose and effectiveness of this unique stylistic trait, used in most of his novels.

4
(p. 13)
manager of the Opera:
This is the first of a number of footnotes that the narrator will provide. The notes reinforce the illusion of veracity that Leroux strives to create and maintain throughout the novel by layering “proof” upon “proof.”

5
(p. 15)
the absent Persian:
First mentioned in the Prologue and referenced briefly here, the character of the Persian will become increasingly important both in terms of the role he plays in the events of the novel and in the shaping of the story; he will “narrate” five chapters near the closing of the book.

6
(p. 19)
Roi de Lahore:
This reference is to an opera by Jules Massenet (1842-1912),
Le Roi de Lahore ( The King of Lahore
)
,
first performed in 1877.

1
(p. 20)
Gounod had conducted the
Funeral March of a Marionette ...
drinking song in
Lucrezia Borgia: For the most part, the composers, singers, and works mentioned here are real and accurate for the period depicted in the novel. Leroux extensively researched the era in which the novel is situated, and his attention to detail not only adds depth to the story but also serves to heighten the narrator’s credibility.

2
(p. 20)
a few passages from
Romeo and Juliet: The reference is to Gounod’s 1867 opera based on Shakespeare’s play.

3
(p. 21)
final trio in
Faust: Based on Goethe’s famous 1808 play, Gounod’s operatic
Faust
(1859) is one of the most-performed operas of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The principal roles are Faust, Mephistopheles, and Margarita. Siebel, whom the narrator notes Christine has played to this point, is a minor male role.

4
(p. 22)
in search of the survivors of the D’Artoi’s expedition ... for three years:
Although the dates are not accurate, survivors of this real-life expedition could indeed be found. Leroux was the first European journalist to speak with the explorer and his crew after their rescue.

5
(p. 23)
the Opera was one of those places:
This long description of Philippe establishes him as the perfect example of the real and literary type of aristocratic playboy popular in nineteenth-century France.

1
(p. 38)
Rue Scribe... Rue Auber:
The streets mentioned here are to the south and west of the Opera House (see map on page xxxi) .

2
(p. 42)
Rue de Provence:
This is a street to the north of the Opera House (see map on page xxxi) .

3
(p. 44)
Rue Mogador:
This is a street to the east of the Opera House (see map on page xxxi) .

4
(p. 45)
“They were playing
La Juive [The Jewess]: This popular nineteenth-century opera, composed by Jacques Halévy (1799-1862), was first performed in 1835.

1
(p. 48)
I am going to Perros:
Perros-Guirec is a small port village on the northwestern coast of France, in the region of Brittany. Lannion, where Raoul arrives by train, is the largest nearby city.

2
(p. 53)
Daddy was beginning to cough at that time:
From this reference and the mention of Daaé père’s subsequent death, it can be assumed that he had tuberculosis, one of the leading causes of death in the nineteenth century.

3
(p. 53)
he knew that Christine could not be the wife of the Vicomte de Chagny:
This thought attributed to Raoul is indicative of the still-rigid class structure of nineteenth-century France. Aristocrats in particular did their best to preserve their names and social status by marrying within their class, although mutually beneficial unions between aristocrats and members of the wealthy bourgeoisie (infusion of wealth was exchanged for the prestige of title) were more and more common. Marriage with a penniless singer would indeed have been considered scandalous for Raoul and his family.

4
(p. 61)
a few weeks later:
The narrator spends a great deal of time establishing both the particulars of the ”future” moment from which he conducts his ”investigation” and the back-story relative to Raoul, Christine, and the events leading up to the shift in the Opera’s management. The actual events recounted in the novel—from the evening on which the managers take over to Christine’s disappearance—span only a few weeks’ time.

1
(p. 65)
stared silently at Box Five on the grand tier:
The eerie description of the inside of the performance area and the multiple mythological references serve to highlight the interplay between art and reality and to draw attention to the gradual diminishing of the incredulity of the managers. While they do not yet believe in the Opera ghost, this episode will continue to resonate as their certainty is shaken again and again.

1
(p. 68)
twelve horses:
When the Opera House was constructed, a full working stable was built into one of its lower basements, as horses were increasingly being used in opera productions.

2
(p. 68)
the
Profeta: The reference is to an opera,
Le Prophète (The Prophet),
composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) and first performed in 1849.

3
(p. 68)
Franconi’s stables:
The Franconi family was the best-known riding family of the nineteenth century. Heavily involved in theater and innovative in their approach, the Franconis managed, among other things, the extremely successful Cirque Olympique, an enclosed hippodrome.

4
(p. 70)
”And he takes his vermouth at Tortoni’s ... ” added Moncharmin:
The café Tortoni was one of the most popular Parisian cafés of the nineteenth century.

5
(p. 72)
”Vain! In vain do I call ... No sign! No single word!”:
These are the opening lines of Gounod’s Faust. All of the subsequent quotations that Leroux provides are taken directly from the opera. The choice of Faust, with its themes of genius and dark creative energy, is clearly not haphazard.

6
(p. 81)
The papers... state that there were numbers wounded and one killed:
This account was undoubtedly inspired by a real 1886 accident in the Opera House in which an electrical problem resulted in the chandelier’s partial collapse during a performance.

1
(p. 83)
Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires:
This street is located at the far eastern limit of the ninth arrondissement.

1
(p. 91)
the viscount thought himself very ridiculous.... he would certainly never be recognized!:
This is another interesting piece of commentary on class consciousness in the nineteenth century. The fear of ridicule was extreme for members of the aristocracy, for whom perception and reputation were kinds of currency.

2
(p. 97)
”Poor Erik!”:
In revealing the common, human name of the amorphous Opera ghost and the fantastic ”Red Death,” the narrator gives additional credence to his assertion that the opera ghost was just a man—a man for whom the reader can begin to feel pity.

1
(p. 110)
nobody recollected their existence:
While these incredible remarks on the ”forgotten” underground inhabitants contribute to the fabric of the novel’s fantastic elements, they also serve simultaneously as social commentary in which Leroux draws attention to the metaphorical invisibility of the masses.

1
(p. 114)
huge tanks, full of stagnant water:
Although experimentation with electric lighting began at the Opera House in 1879, gas lighting continued to be used as the primary source of illumination. Because of the dangers of this type of lighting, the tanks of water were needed as reserve in case of a fire.

2
(p. 119)
”I can not tell you the effect which that music had upon me.... Suddenly, I was outside the room without knowing how!”:
The spiritual nature of the musical ecstasy described here is underscored by the fact that the beckoning call is again
The Resurrection of Lazarus.
The notion of resurrection also has thematic importance in that Erik’s potential for transformation and reawakening depends directly on Christine’s love.

3
(p. 122)
”I knew ... that there was nothing supernatural about that underground lake and boat. But think of the exceptional conditions in which I arrived upon that shore!”:
As discussed in the introduction to this edition, there was indeed a real, man-made lake under the Opera House. Yet despite Christine’s claim to the contrary, this lake, as described here and later in the novel, is indeed imbued with a supernatural aura. In addition, this description of Christine’s descent is replete with mythical overtones that highlight the transformational nature of her journey to Erik’s house on the lake.

4
(p. 126)
”fetch you all the things that you can need”:
The fantastic elements of Christine’s ordeal are oddly undercut by this very detailed description of a markedly bourgeois setting and by the reminder of corporal needs.

5
(p. 127)
”enormous stave of music with the notes of the Dies
Iræ”:
Dies Irae
(”Day of Wrath” or ”Judgment Day”) is the name by which the musical sequence in a requiem mass is commonly known. Requiem masses are offered for the dead as funeral masses and on All Souls’ Day (November 2); they may also be celebrated on other days in memory of particular individuals.

6
(p. 127)
”I asked leave to look at it and read,
‘Don Juan Triumphant “’ : The significance of the Don Juan theme will become increasingly clear. While Erik is anything but a Don Juan figure, the two are similarly characterized by a vacant soul. The triumph, for Erik, will be finding a way to redeem this lack. Leroux was also undoubtedly familiar with Mozart’s 1787 opera
Don Giovanni,
which is based on the Don Juan myth.

7
(p. 128)
”with a movement which I was utterly unable to control, swiftly my fingers tore away the mask. Oh, horror, horror, horror!”:
This moment, which is the point of no return for Christine in her personal and artistic maturation, is a perfect example of how art and reality are intermingled in the novel: Lost in her role of Desdemona, she commits an action whose real consequences are dire.

1
(p. 142)
Christine ... uttered the divine cry: ”My spirit longs with thee to rest!”:
The synchronicity of the action of this staging of Faust, in which Margarita asks to be taken by the angels to heaven, and Christine’s abrupt disappearance from the stage at the hands of the ”Angel of Music” once again reinforces the interplay between art, reality, and the fantastic.

1
(p. 150)
Raoul rushed on the stage, in a mad fit of love and despair.-
There is a marked evolution of the Raoul who ”knew that Christine could not be the wife of the Vicomte de Chagny” (p. 53) to this one, who bares his soul for all to see on the Opera House stage.

2
(p. 151)
No doubt Erik was... contemplating some decisive step against Raoul, but ... had escaped to turn against poor Christine instead:
Whether or not Raoul indeed shot Erik is never confirmed in the novel.

1
(p. 159)
understand what could be got out of that fine intellect with the two words ”ghost” and ”empress”:
In keeping with the methodical investigative project announced in the prologue, the narrator is careful to provide or reveal plausible motivations for those who help and/or protect the ghost.

1
(p. 184)
contrived at the time of the Paris Commune to allow the jailers ... and a state prison right at the bottom:
The historical details in this paragraph are accurate. March 18, 1871, is the day when the revolt of the Communards began; it would be defeated on May 28, 1871.

2
(p. 191)
say no more:
This footnote, which only adds to the strange account of the ”shade,” once again illustrates Leroux’s practice of reinforcing the fantastic precisely in deflating or denying it. Although the narrator refuses to reveal the identity of the shade or his knowledge of the shade’s secret machinations, he nonetheless authoritatively confirms its existence.

3
(p. 194)
”I am
the
rat-catcher!
...
Let me pass, with my rats!”:
A footnote provided by Leroux, one that was cut by the novel’s translator, specifies that rats were an ongoing problem in the underground portion of the Opera House. The solution described here of the ”rat-catcher“—whose appearance and methods are unorthodox, to say the least—is another example of how the fantastic is explained away, yet rendered all the more extraordinary.