By Lydia Williams
March 28, 2022
One often ponders how they are perceived by others. Many novels have explored the idea of reputation and legacy and how others can affect said reputation. It has been portrayed in literature through a series of similar plot structures and messages. Gaston Leroux breaks the mold of the typical narrative style and underlines the implications of bias through his use of stories and perspectives that ask the question “what makes a story true?” in The Phantom of the Opera.
The Phantom of the Opera was far from the first gothic tale in literature. Previous novels, poems, and plays created a prototype for gothic literature that was followed long before Leroux’s time. Works such as Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, and Macbeth all exhibit the typical narrative structure of such a tale. One begins with a detailed description of the setting, often a gloomy, rundown, remote place: “A dark and stormy night,” for example. The setting is dark and secluded: a castle on a hill, a rundown mental hospital, or even simply the woods. Somewhere no one can hear you scream.
Narration within a gothic novel does not strike the reader as unusual as most gothic tales are very similar, filled with sensory details and horrific events instead of a striking narrative structure. Whether it be first or third person narration, explicit descriptions are always included; however, we usually get one character’s experience of the story. One protagonist, one perspective, and one journey. The story is told in chronological order, from event to event. For example, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre begins with a description of a rainy morning and a depressing household. It then introduces the protagonist, Jane, and continues on with the story of her life in chronological order, starting with childhood and ending with marriage.
The Phantom Of the Opera describes the various tales of the Opera Ghost during the incident of Christine Daae’s disappearance and the Phantom’s exposure to the outside world. This novel follows stories of kidnapping, love confessions, and above all, mystery. It separates from the typical structure before even the first chapter. In Leroux’s introduction, he cautions the reader about the reality of the tale he is about to tell: “The Opera Ghost really existed”. He speaks of characters yet to be introduced as celebrities and the events as moments of history, inventing the story as if it was a detective’s journal, rather than a piece of fiction. The novel includes pieces from the characters’ “memoirs” or official “interviews,” implying that these events happened in real life and that the reader is aware of who these people are.
Never do we get the narrator explaining events as they happen: This tale is told solely through stories, as all of the action is retold by a character who witnessed it to another character or to Leroux himself. This not only makes for an interesting reading experience, but also delves into biases.
The retellings revolve around Erik, the title character, the Phantom of the Opera. He is first presented to the reader by Leroux himself in the introduction. He insists that Erik exists and gives little to no detail of his character. According to the typical narrative, the villain would be introduced with a flare of dramatics. This is not the case in The Phantom of the Opera. Erik is not presented to the reader directly for a hundred pages. He is only described by those telling stories of their interactions with him. Everything we know about Erik is through other characters’ vastly different perspectives.
The exploration of perspective begins with Raoul’s feelings of the Phantom, as a manipulative monster abusing Christine. This viewpoint stays consistent throughout the novel and paints Erik as a pure villain. The Persian admits he admires Erik for his genius yet also acknowledges these terrible sins, such as the kidnapping of Christine Daae and the murder of stagehands. Christine’s position is equally complex: at first she is enamored by her angel of music and has an unconventional love towards him. However, in “Apollo’s Lyre”, she expresses crippling fear. The tale ends with an account from Erik himself. He sees himself both as a monster and a victim. He exclaims “Poor unhappy Erik… a poor dog ready to die for her [Christine],” showing his view of himself. These varying stories leave the reader with no clear vision of Erik. Erik the Phantom, Erik the angel of music, and poor unhappy Erik all live within the reader’s mind simultaneously.
Through the varying descriptions of Erik, Leroux implies that one’s legacy and reputation are not really up to them. The reader develops different judgments about Erik’s character as he is described in the characters’ stories. At the beginning of the novel, one believes Erik to be a mysterious monster, just as Raoul believes him to be. As the novel progresses, Christine’s love, fear, and pity shine through and the reader’s entire perception of him shifts. Other people's biased retellings of your story really shape the way people think of you.
These differing perspectives also provoke the reader to ask the question “what makes a story true?” There is a deep feeling of absolute honesty from each character and their story. The reader never gets the sense that one character is lying or stretching the truth. Everything they say is real and true to them. Every character has their own unique experiences in their life that warps the way they see the world, such as Erik’s painful childhood of parental abuse and kidnapping that leads him to pity and self-loathing or Christine’s grief that leads to her being easily manipulated by the “angel of music.” Thus, the reader will come up with their own truth of the story based on their understanding of the novel and the world.
This question of truth becomes meaningless when we consider these nuances. If every character believes their story to be the right and only one and there is no narrator to tell us otherwise, how does one believe only one? The reader must regard every story as simultaneously true. One might have a story they want to be true, but there is no way to know what really happened.
The Phantom of Opera’s artistry and intensity developed a cultural impact that long outlived Gaston Leroux himself. The captivating story, characters, and message have been immortalized in film, theatre, and other literary works of immense popularity such as the Broadway musical. Leroux created a realistic depiction of reputation while including fantastical events and descriptions. He prompted the reader to contemplate variations of the truth. The reader leaves this novel with a flurry of emotions and judgments that never quite leave them.