Phantom Thoughts pt. 5: Raoul Edition

[zellephantom]

Because I may be an E/C shipper, but I do appreciate the Vicomte de Chagny.

{the dowagers of the Faubourg Saint-Germain were pitying the handsome and apparently delicate stripling for the hard work in store for him}

So Raoul is

A) handsome
B) delicate?? (or at least they think he is- or maybe it's late 1800s France for 'precious boy. sweet cinnamon roll.')
C) possibly not ready for hard work (is this code for 'physically weak and sheltered?')

{The shyness of the sailor-lad—I was almost saying his innocence—was remarkable. He seemed to have but just left the women's apron-strings. As a matter of fact, petted as he was by his two sisters and his old aunt, he had retained from this purely feminine education manners that were almost candid and stamped with a charm that nothing had yet been able to sully. He was a little over twenty-one years of age and looked eighteen. He had a small, fair mustache, beautiful blue eyes and a complexion like a girl's.}

D) Shy
E) Innocent
F) Charming in a candid way
G) Looks younger than he is
H) Has a mustache??? (I'm sorry, I know this is canon but I REFUSE to accept it- mustaches are Wrong on any Raoul other than hamster!Raoul.)
I) Has gorgeous cerulean face-orbs

I really have no idea what the girlish complexion is supposed to mean. (Is his facial structure more feminine than most men? Is his skin really soft?)

{Philippe spoiled Raoul. ... He took advantage of the young man's leave of absence to show him Paris, with all its luxurious and artistic delights. The count considered that, at Raoul's age, it is not good to be too good. Philippe himself had a character that was very well-balanced in work and pleasure alike; his demeanor was always faultless; and he was incapable of setting his brother a bad example. He took him with him wherever he went.}

Now I have the mental image of bby!Raoul following around his older brother and trying to do what he does. Enjoy the adorables.

Philippe: You know it's okay to let loose a little, right? This is Paris!
Raoul: ...
Philippe: You don't have to be such a pillar of virtue all the time! Nothing wrong with causing a little scandal now and then.
Raoul: I want to marry an opera singer.
Philippe: Not like THAT!

Will probably make a part 2 to this Raoul edition as I don't have time to finish this section.

Comments

[igenlode]

'teint de fille' appears to be a French literary cliché that accompanies blue eyes and a boyish face; a quick glance around the Net shows it being used to describe Victor Hugo's elder brother Abel as a child ("Abel avait des grands yeux blue et un teint de fille") and the roguish eighteen-year-old protagonist in a translation of the D.H Lawrence novel "The Boy in the Bush": "the child was the 'spitten' image of the father: dark blue eyes, curly hair, peach-bloom skin".

Basically, Raoul is fresh-faced and innocent.

Philippe: You don't have to be such a pillar of virtue all the time! Nothing wrong with causing a little scandal now and then.
Raoul: I want to marry an opera singer.
Philippe: Not like THAT!

This is far too accurate :-D