Issues in Adaptations of the "Phantom" Legend
an academic thesis by Heather Sullivan
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The original novel The Phantom of the Opera, which is considered "general fiction --
horror and ghost stories (Barnes and Noble)," was published in 1911. Written by Gaston
Leroux, a journalist and aspiring novelist, the novel reads more like a news report than
a work of fiction. The work is based on a legend that dates from about 1880 (Perry 32),
but Leroux firmly states in the prologue that the tale he is about to relate is carefully
researched fact.
"The Opera Ghost really existed. He was not, as was long believed, a creature
of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a
product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the
ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the
concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the
complete appearance of a real phantom . . . (1)"
Since its publication, the story has become immensely popular, partly for its portrayal
of love uncontaminated by superficiality, and partly for its gothic horror. It has inspired
countless adaptations in many mediums, including film, drama, art and literature. This paper
will address two specific adaptations of Leroux's novel: "The Phantom of the Opera," a
musical with music by Lord Andrew Llyod Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart and directed by
Harold Prince; and "Beauty and the Opera, or, the Phantom Beast," a novella by Suzy McKee
Charnas.
"The Phantom of the Opera" opened in London on October 9, 1986 and on Broadway
on January 26, 1988; both productions continue to this day, with never an unsold seat in
London. Since its debut, the show has won countless awards, including seven Tony awards,
and has delighted theatergoers in cities worldwide. According to the Really Useful Theatre
Company, Inc.,
"The Phantom of the Opera has broken every advance box office record since it
opened in London, and the original cast album was the first in British musical
history to enter the charts at number one."
Suzy McKee Charnas's "Beauty and the Opera," which is considered a fantasy novella,
was first published in Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine in July of 1996. It has been
nominated for several awards, including the Hugo, an award for fantasy and science fiction
(Krista). It is also very popular among fans of the Phantom who wish the ending to the
legend were different.
The Phantom of the Opera tells the tale of Erik, a brilliant man who was born with a
hideously deformed face and lives beneath the Paris Opera. He wears evening clothes and a
mask to hide his deformity, and often frightens the actors and employees as he roams about
the Opera. These impressionable and superstitious Parisians take him for a phantom, and
call him "the Opera Ghost." Erik, who has never had companionship and cares very little for
others, turns this mistake as his profession, occasionally startling the Opera cast for his
own amusement. The managers know him as well, since Erik demands a monthly salary and a
free box for keeping the Opera free of "curses." He also sends them notes requesting that
they give leading roles to Christine Daae, a young member of the chorus.
Erik falls in love with Christine, a timid and innocent young woman who has recently
lost her beloved father. Befriending her through her dressing-room wall, Erik applies his
musical abilities to giving Christine singing lessons; the girl improves incredibly, and
Erik uses his ghostly influence to further her career. Finally, at Christine's request, he
reveals himself to her and takes her to his house beneath the Opera, where he continues to
teach her and treat her with kindness and regard. When he first confesses his love to
Christine, she accepts his suit; unfortunately, her feelings change after she unmasks him.
Her curiosity drives her to remove his mask, and he is furious. Frightened by his ugly face
and fierce temper, Christine begins to encourage the advances of a handsome young aristocrat
named Raoul. Violently jealous, Erik tries to keep the two apart; finally, he kidnaps
Christine and tells her she must marry him or he will destroy the Opera house and everyone
in it. Meanwhile, Raoul has walked right into one of the many booby-traps that protect Erik's
home: a "torture chamber" where Raoul is subjected to extreme heat and thirst. Christine
finally agrees to marry Erik whereupon he floods the torture chamber, sparing yet almost
drowning Raoul. Erik and Christine, now husband and wife, nurse the young man back to
health; in the end, Erik sends Christine away with Raoul, because she had allowed him to kiss
her. He dies soon afterwards, "of love," and Raoul and Christine run away together, never to
be heard from again.
The musical "The Phantom of the Opera" follows the plot of the original novel quite
closely. The greatest omission is that of Erik's name; he is known only as "the Phantom."
Minor changes in the plot are made to condense the 264-page story into a two-and-a-half
hour play, and "performance" scenes are added so that operatic music could be included in
the score. For example, Erik's own opera "Don Juan Triumphant" is only mentioned in Leroux's
novel; in the musical, the play is performed as a ploy by the aggravated managers to lure and
capture the troublesome Phantom. The final scene where Christine chooses the Phantom
over Raoul is basically the same. Having kidnapped Christine from the stage during the
performance of his opera, he catches Raoul in his Punjab Lasso and threatens to strangle
the young man if Christine refuses him. Christine ultimately throws her arms around the
Phantom and kisses him; the Phantom, moved by Christine's action, cuts Raoul free and
sends the two off together. The ending is slightly ambiguous; after singing, "Christine,
I love you . . . You alone can make my song take flight - it's over now," he swirls his cloak
around himself and disappears. The audience is never informed of the Phantom's fate, nor of
what happens between Raoul and Christine.
"Beauty and the Opera" explores what would have happened had Christine actually
married Erik and stayed with him. The tale begins with the final choice between Erik and
Raoul. Christine offers to stay with Erik for five years if he will release Raoul, never
commit another crime, and treat her properly. Erik agrees and their marriage begins. When
the five years have passed, Erik begs Christine to stay with him, but she refuses; he falls
ill with a fever and dies, and Christine seals him in his underground home and sets out to
live the rest of her life independently.
The Webber musical is a faithful adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, since it
retains the basic elements of character and plot while modifying less crucial details to tailor
the story to the medium of theater. "Beauty and the Opera," however, is not a faithful
adaptation. The characters are not the same as in Leroux's original, and the novella more
closely resembles a gothic "Beauty and the Beast" tale than a new ending to the Phantom legend.
In evaluating adaptations of the Phantom tale, it is necessary to determine what is
essential -- what must be retained in an adaptation in order for it to be faithful to the
original. In the case of the Phantom legend, there are three essential qualities: the
character of Erik, the character of Christine, and the "choice" scene, where Christine takes
her first steps toward overcoming her fear of Erik's deformity and learning to love "the man
behind the monster (Webber, scene I.iv)."
Erik's character is vital, because much of the tale hinges on how he is perceived by
the reader or the audience. In Leroux's novel, he is a deformed man who has been
misunderstood and denied love or even friendship because of his appearance. He is extremely
talented: a great musician, composer, architect, inventor, and even a ventriloquist; even so,
he was shunned by the world because of his face. He remarks at one point, "My poor,
unhappy mother would never let me kiss her - she used to run away, and throw me my mask!
(253)" Because he has been deprived of human contact throughout his entire life, Erik has
no great love of mankind and withdraws from society. He has committed crimes, but he is
not an evil man; he simply cares for his own survival and has no qualms about killing to
defend himself from a perceived threat. It is clear that Leroux's Erik is a sympathetic
character; in the end, Leroux clearly states his own verdict:
"Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him? He only asked to
be "some one," like everybody else. But he was too ugly . . . He had a heart
that could have held the empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to
content himself with a cellar. Yes, we must needs pity the Opera Ghost.
(263-4)"
Webber's Phantom is faithful to this characterization. He too has lived his whole life
alone, and has never been accepted because of his deformity. He himself believes that he
was driven to live underground by an unfeeling world:
"Why, you ask, was I bound and chained
in this cold and dismal place?
Not for any mortal sin,
but the wickedness of my abhorrent face!
Hounded out by everyone,
met with hatred everywhere,
No kind word from anyone,
no compassion anywhere . . . (scene II.viii)"
He tells Christine an almost identical story about his mother, who could not stand to see
him. "A face which earned a mother's fear and loathing - / A mask, my first unfeeling scrap
of clothing . . . (scene II.ix)" Despite his hideous face and scarred past, he still hopes to
win Christine's heart; he entreats her to let "fear turn to love" and see that he is a
"repulsive carcass which seems a beast, but secretly/ Dreams of beauty . . . (scene I.iv)"
Webber's Phantom has committed crimes; he is guilty of the murders of Joseph Buquet, a
stagehand, and Ubaldo Piangi, the company's lead tenor, as well as being responsible for the
chandelier crash at the end of Act I. However, he does these things out of passionate anger
at being thwarted by the Opera management, and jealousy at the loss of Christine to
Raoul -- not out of an evil nature.
Charnas's Erik, however, is a menacing, gothic figure. He also shares the same tragic
past as Leroux's Erik: a lifetime of ignored talents and rejection because of his deformed
face. However, Leroux intended to paint Erik in a sympathetic light; it is clear from
Charnas's alternate title, "The Phantom Beast," that she does not intend the same. Erik's
actions throughout the novella are those of a brutal, monstrous man with questionable
sanity. A major change in his character appears in the very first scene, where Erik removes
his own mask to show his face to Christine. This is extremely inconsistent with Erik's
character; First, a man with his psychological profile would most likely never do such a thing.
Secondly, in the original tale he flies into a rage when Christine unmasks him. Furthermore,
he never removes the mask himself in the course of the novel except to sleep or wipe tears
from his eyes -- and even then, he hides his face. Instead of being ashamed of his deformity
and enraged at its exposure, Charnas's Erik dares Christine to look upon his ugliness.
"Abject and defiant at once this monster gazed up at me, clearly apprehending how I recoiled
but bearing it in silence while he awaited my answer. (605)" Another great disparity
between Charnas's Erik and the original is Charnas's Erik's evil nature. This Erik may have
been made a criminal by years of being mistreated, but now he seems to enjoy his deviance.
He goes to executions for fun, attempts to burn a poodle alive because its yapping irritated
him, and even strikes Christine. The original Erik, who never had any kindly physical contact
and shrank from even Christine's touch, would certainly never have raised a hand to her.
Christine's character is also of great importance, since the nature of her relationship
with Erik greatly depends on her personality. Leroux's Christine is innocent, a weak and
impressionable child. The greatest influence on Christine comes from the recent death of her
father, whom she loved very much. "[When] the father died, [Christine] seemed to have lost,
with him, her voice, her soul, and her genius. (54)" What Christine seems to be looking for
is a father-figure, or at least someone to care for her as her own father did. Erik became a
sort of father-figure for her, holding the role of teacher and protector; she is attracted to
his musical talent, as well as his offers to love and care for her. Even when she becomes
involved with Raoul, it is not because he is wealthy or more handsome than the deformed
Erik; it is because he pledges his eternal love and wants to take her under his wing.
Webber's Christine fits this characterization quite well; she is indeed childish. At
first she believes the Phantom to be the "Angel of Music," sent from heaven by her dead father
to care for her in his absence. She feels the loss of her father as keenly as the original
Christine: "You were once my one companion; you were all that mattered;/ You were once a
friend and father; then my world was shattered," she sings (scene II.v) Her feelings for Erik
are confused; on one level she is disturbed by his constant attentions. "He's with me even
now - all around me . . . it frightens me," she tells her friend Meg (scene I.ii). Yet she
returns to the Phantom, answering his rebuke for her relationship with Raoul by singing,
"Angel of Music - I denied you, turning from true beauty.
Angel of Music - my protector!" (scene II.v)
It is obvious that Erik's musical abilities and help as her teacher greatly affect Christine.
First, his voice seems to have a hypnotic effect on her; he draws her to him several times by
singing to her. Secondly, they help her career, because the Phantom's tutelage and influence
with the managers get her leading roles.
Christine's weakness shows in that she allows herself to be manipulated by Raoul and
the managers. This occurs more in the musical, where these men actually hatch a plot to
capture the Phantom; he has been extorting money from the managers and causing havoc in
the Opera, while Raoul just wants him away from Christine. The unfortunate girl becomes
bait for the trap; she is given the lead in the Phantom's opera to lure the composer to the
auditorium, where he will be captured by the gendarmes. However, the crafty Phantom
thwarts the plot and captures Christine, precipitating the final "choice" scene.
Charnas's Christine maintains the same love of music and debt to Erik as the original
character. She refers to Erik several times as her "maestro." Here, however, the similarities
end. She is more devious than innocent and childlike, and this change in her character
destroys the relationship that must exist between Erik and Christine for the adaptation to
be consistent. The biggest indicator of the change in Christine is her behavior at the very
beginning of the novella. She strikes a bargain with Erik for Raoul's life by agreeing to stay
with him for five years. An accurately adapted Christine would not be so calculating and
unemotional; not would she have felt inclined to "burst into shrieks of hysterical laughter
(605)" at the sight of Erik's deformed face. This Christine is much more assertive than
Leroux's. She bargains fiercely with Erik, instead of merely submitting to him as in the
original; it is rather difficult to imagine that any Opera manager, handsome young aristocrat,
or phantom could manipulate her.
Completely missing from Charnas's Christine is the desire for a father-figure. Leroux's
heroine pines for her lost father and mourns at his tomb, and although his character is not
discussed in depth, Mr. Daae is described as a good man who suffered from poor luck.
"[Christine] Daae's father was a great musician, perhaps without knowing
it . . . His wife died when Christine was entering upon her sixth year. Then the
father, who cared only for his daughter and his music, sold his patch of ground
and went searching for fame and fortune. He found only poverty. (50)"
Charnas's heroine paints her father in a rather different light.
"My father was a country fiddler with no education, a hard drinker and a
fanatical gambler. He had not hesitated to exploit my pretty face and voice
at the fairs, fine homes and festivals where we performed . . . ours was not a
sentimental relationship. (621)"
Christine's headstrong manner and contempt for Erik in "Beauty and the Opera"
overwhelm any tender feelings she might have for him; she says at one point that she is
purposefully cold, for showing Erik affection would place her at Erik's mercy, which was "in
short supply and . . . unreliable (627)." She often refers to herself as "a wise child" for
holding herself as distant from Erik as possible. It seems that Charnas forgot to give
Christine a heart, for she is never moved to pity Erik. Even when he pleads with her at the
end of the novella to stay with him, she reminds herself, "Fool, have you forgotten that he is
a monster? Look at him . . . you should have fled when you had the chance! (634)"
Erik finally dies, forcing him to keep his word and release her. With hardly a backward
glance, Christine lays Erik in his bed, scatters his music about him, seals off the entrance to
his underground home, and leaves the Opera; she then lives independently for the rest of her
life, something Leroux's heroine would not and could not have done. She was far too timid
and weak to make her own way through the world; in her father's absence, she alternated
between Erik's underground home and the apartment of her guardian, Mme. Valerius, rarely
even visiting her own flat.
The third essential quality to a Phantom adaptation is the "choice" scene, where
Christine is confronted with the ultimate dilemma: does she marry Erik or Raoul? The matter
is complicated in the original novel, since Erik has become quite hysterical and threatens
that "everyone will be dead and buried" if Christine denies him. However, both Erik and
Christine are unaware of Raoul's presence in the torture-chamber, so the life Christine must
save with her choice is her own. However, Erik later tells us that, when confronted with this
choice, "Christine came to me with her beautiful blue eyes wide open, and swore to me, as she
hoped to be saved, that she consented to be my living wife! (252)" Because she allows Erik
to kiss her forehead, he begins to cry; no woman has ever allowed him to kiss her. Christine
cries too, and Erik realizes that she truly does care for him, and that he cannot keep her
with him. He cries again, but sends her off with Raoul, and then dies "of love."
The "choice" scene in "The Phantom of the Opera" is slightly different; the Phantom
has captured both Christine and Raoul, whom he has strung up in a noose. He then tells
Christine,
"Start a new life with me - buy his freedom with your love!
Refuse me and you send your lover to his death!
This is the choice! - This is the point of no return! (scene II.ix)"
The ensuing trio features Raoul's pleas to Christine to save herself, the Phantom's jealous
ravings, and Christine's own conflicting feelings for the Phantom. Finally, she answers,
"Pitiful creature of darkness - what kind of life have you known?
God give me courage to show you you are not alone!"
She then kisses the Phantom, whereupon everything changes. He releases Raoul and sends
the two young people off together, sobbing to Christine that he loves her, but realizing he
cannot force her to stay with him.
Charnas's "choice" scene involves two major changes which render it unfaithful to the
original. First, Leroux's novel tells of how Christine unmasked the Phantom long before he
ever proposed to her. However, Charnas has her Erik unmask himself as he is asking
Christine to marry him. Until this point, Christine admits that Erik "had behaved impeccably
towards" her. Suddenly, he demands her hand in marriage, strips away his mask to reveal a
horrifying deformity, and tells her that Raoul's life depends upon her acceptance of his hand.
This drastic change in Erik's actions could account for the second major alteration,
Christine's cold and analytical bargain. However, the fact remains that Charnas's Christine
reacts quite incorrectly to Erik's offer. In the original she agrees to marry Erik to save her
life and the lives of others, but also because she feels affection and sympathy for Erik.
However, the adapted Christine strikes an agreement with Erik: her company for five years in
exchange for Raoul's release and Erik's oath to never commit another crime. Furthermore,
Christine does not seem to think anything unusual about the fact that she is negotiating
with Erik. "One does not survive long in the arts without learning to bargain," she says
cynically (606).
At the end of "Beauty and the Opera," after Christine has gone off into the world and
made her own life, she says,
"I have thought about writing an opera about [my experiences with Erik], but
time seems short and I know my limitations. Someone else will write it,
someday. They will get the story wrong, of course; but perhaps, all the same,
the music will be right. (641)"
In truth, it is Charnas who has gotten the story wrong; she transforms the characters and
the crucial "choice" scene too much for her novella to be a faithful adaptation of Leroux's
tale. "The Phantom of the Opera," however, takes a few small liberties with plot but for the
most part retains the original characters. The musical elaborates on the relationship
between the Phantom and Christine but keeps the basic structure of the novel, therefore
comprising a faithful adaptation.
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Works Cited
Barnes and Noble, Inc. "Book search: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux."
Barnesandnoble.Com. 1997-98. http://www.barnesandnoble.com.
Charnas, Suzy McKee. "Beauty and the Opera or the Phantom Beast." rpt. in Modern
Classics of Fantasy, Gardner Dozois, ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
Krista. "Phantom Book News." Phantom Books. March 21, 1998.
http://w3.one.net/%7Eerikog/carrie.html
Leroux, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. New York: Penguin Group USA, Inc, 1987.
Perry, George. The Complete Phantom of the Opera. New York: Henry Holt and Company,
Inc., 1988.
The Really Useful Company, Inc. "The Phantom of the Opera: About the Musical." The Really
Useful Company Presents Andrew Lloyd Webber. November 13, 1995.
http://www.reallyuseful.com/news/Phantom/pr1.html
Webber, Lord Andrew Lloyd and Charles Hart. "The Phantom of the Opera (the musical)."
New York: The Really Useful Group P.L.C., 1986.
(The libretto of "Phantom" is available from many sources, including The Complete Phantom of
the Opera by George Perry, and the Tower Lyrics Archive on the internet at
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/tower/Songs/Phantom_Opera/phantom-opera.whole)