An interesting piece of information about Gaston Leroux is that he apparently admitted to the events within the novel to be true, after discovering this information I did my research and discovered that the Opera house, which is the main setting within this novel, is not only real but also has underground tunnels and water, the chandelier did fall and kill someone it also set the Opera on fire which is not featured in the novel.
I also feel the need to applaud Leroux’s writing style because of an early part in the novel where we see the new managers of the Opera occupy Box 5 for Carlotta’s performance, and during this Leroux creates a sense of isolation not just for the characters but also for the audience, as a writer he knew how to make his audience feel part of the story as if they were living in Paris, as if they were actually present at the Opera as the chandelier fell and when Christine was kidnapped. Before I decided to read the book, I felt that I would have a different view on the Phantom than I did when I watched the musical but the fact that the book delves into the Phantom’s backstory better than the musical or the movie (2004, I personally have not watched the other movies so I am not sure how close they are to the novel), gives me a renewed sense of pity for the Phantom that reveals how he is a tortured soul that truly only ‘wanted to be loved for myself!’ The Phantom’s mission in the novel to have Christine fall in love with him and make her his wife and live an ordinary life can be seen as diabolic with how he chose to manipulate and murder but a man that has been rejected by society and has such a tortured mind justifies any form of pathos evoked within us as an audience especially with Leroux’s writing style.
Whether you pity the Phantom, believe he is truly a monster or that he is a man that has been wrongly abused by society the Phantom has a different effect on us all. The Phantom of the Opera is a timeless classic that strikes the inner heartstrings of anyone that reads, watches or performs it.
Quote: ‘I tore off my mask so as to not lose one of her tears…and she did not run away!…And she did not die!…She remained alive, weeping over me, with me. The Phantom of the Opera Book Review- Gaston Leroux Review
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