one of the few if any instances of CHRISTINE treating Raoul like a child and not vice versa
...apart from the one in the very next chapter which de Mattos cuts... as he does a lot of stuff relating to Raoul's character?
I thought this expedition was something you WANTED to do... but now you're not sure you'd want to if Christine wouldn't miss you? Yes, he was keen to go off on this rescue expedition and his brother pulled strings to get him on board... but all that was before he found Christine. Before he'd even arrived in Paris, by the sound of it.
Right now the last thing he wants to do is leave Christine, especially with this mystery hanging over her.
Is this 'yeah, maybe the Phantom will kill me while you're gone?' Given her later comments about Erik potentially murdering her, very probably. Or she may simply be envisioning that she will pine away and die if she is shut up in Erik's underground domain, which is the threat she believes to be hanging over her head.
The logic of the 'secret engagement' has always seemed very confused; my interpretation is that Christine's sense of propriety tells her that it's wrong to allow herself to make love to a young man whom she isn't going to marry (note: 'make love' is not a euphemism for sexual congress here -- she doesn't even intend to go so far as to kiss him!)
So in order to allow herself to express her feelings for him and revel in his declarations of affection towards her, she needs to be formally 'engaged' to him first, even if they both know that they aren't going to be able to go through with the marriage at the end of it. This allows them to engage in intimacies that would be improper between mere social acquaintances (although, interestingly, they continue to address one another very properly as 'vous', except at moments when Christine is particularly annoyed with him, when she reverts to the childhood 'tu' ;-p)
Also- is this referring to British or American biscuits?
I had to look up American 'biscuits'. No, they're definitely the ordinary flat, dry ('bis-cuit' is actually a French word in origin meaning 'cooked twice') sort of biscuit -- not even American 'cookies', which are much softer and thicker.
It's still a weird meal, though. (And who provided the food? Did Raoul bring the violets?)
Did she normally sing for him during the evening, or was this just referring to her usual practice for her job?
I assume it's referring to her performance -- although one wonders what the management made of her sudden disappearance, and who performed in her stead!
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2020-11-13 05:23 am (UTC)...apart from the one in the very next chapter which de Mattos cuts... as he does a lot of stuff relating to Raoul's character?
Yes, he was keen to go off on this rescue expedition and his brother pulled strings to get him on board... but all that was before he found Christine. Before he'd even arrived in Paris, by the sound of it.
Right now the last thing he wants to do is leave Christine, especially with this mystery hanging over her.
Given her later comments about Erik potentially murdering her, very probably. Or she may simply be envisioning that she will pine away and die if she is shut up in Erik's underground domain, which is the threat she believes to be hanging over her head.
The logic of the 'secret engagement' has always seemed very confused; my interpretation is that Christine's sense of propriety tells her that it's wrong to allow herself to make love to a young man whom she isn't going to marry (note: 'make love' is not a euphemism for sexual congress here -- she doesn't even intend to go so far as to kiss him!)
So in order to allow herself to express her feelings for him and revel in his declarations of affection towards her, she needs to be formally 'engaged' to him first, even if they both know that they aren't going to be able to go through with the marriage at the end of it. This allows them to engage in intimacies that would be improper between mere social acquaintances (although, interestingly, they continue to address one another very properly as 'vous', except at moments when Christine is particularly annoyed with him, when she reverts to the childhood 'tu' ;-p)
I had to look up American 'biscuits'.
No, they're definitely the ordinary flat, dry ('bis-cuit' is actually a French word in origin meaning 'cooked twice') sort of biscuit -- not even American 'cookies', which are much softer and thicker.
It's still a weird meal, though. (And who provided the food? Did Raoul bring the violets?)
I assume it's referring to her performance -- although one wonders what the management made of her sudden disappearance, and who performed in her stead!