Phantom Thoughts pt. 13
Dec. 17th, 2018 02:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zellephantomAnd we've reached the Enchanted Violin! Yay!
{Christine Daae, owing to intrigues to which I will return later, did not immediately continue her triumph at the Opera. After the famous gala night, she sang once at the Duchess de Zurich's; but this was the last occasion on which she was heard in private. She refused, without plausible excuse, to appear at a charity concert to which she had promised her assistance. She acted throughout as though she were no longer the mistress of her own destiny and as though she feared a fresh triumph.}
Is this because of her last exchange with 'the Angel', or is she just now realizing that she's afraid of being in the spotlight on her own, and the consequences of being a star? Is she afraid that despite her Angel's wishes, she'll become corrupted by the fame and turn into another Carlotta? (Possibly reaching a bit there, but I do love Carlotta/Christine parallels and AUs where Carlotta was also Erik's formal pupil.)
{Some pretended that it was due to overweening pride; others spoke of her heavenly modesty. But people on the stage are not so modest as all that; and I think that I shall not be far from the truth if I ascribe her action simply to fear. Yes, I believe that Christine Daae was frightened by what had happened to her. }
Okaayyy, I guess we'll just leave it as ambiguous fear then? (I'm not satisfied by that explanation, unless it's implying that Christine has an anxiety disorder, which, as a person with GAD myself, is a headcanon I can get behind.)
{"I don't know myself when I sing,"}
I know this is supposed to be because her voice has undergone so much of a transformation due to "the Angel" (perhaps she feels like her voice is more a reflection of him than an expression of herself? "I [Christine] am the mask you wear/It's me [the Phantom] they hear" indeed?), but this seems like she's dissociating when she performs to me. Maybe because of the association of singing with her father is causing her to recall those memories, and she feels as if she's stuck in the past and merely viewing herself sing with a strange, new voice? Feeling distant from everything, herself and her actions especially? (Oooh, this could be what Meg is noticing about Christine acting weird in 'Angel of Music' in the ALW musical.)
{To-morrow is the anniversary of the death of my poor father, whom you knew and who was very fond of you. He is buried there, with his violin, in the graveyard of the little church, at the bottom of the slope where we used to play as children, beside the road where, when we were a little bigger, we said good-by for the last time.}
Ohhh... Now I want to see Father Daae interacting with bby!Raoul, being the father figure he never had, the paternal influence that Philippe could not be no matter how hard he tried. Also just imagine Christine in years past going to visit her father's grave near the place where she said farewell to Raoul, and mourning the two key figures of her childhood: father and friend, both of whom she thinks she'll never see again.
{He read Christine's note over and over again, smelling its perfume, recalling the sweet pictures of his childhood, and spent the rest of that tedious night journey in feverish dreams that began and ended with Christine Daae.}
Looks like someone has a crush, and his name rhymes with- nevermind, I couldn't think of anything that rhymes with Raoul de Chagny. Maybe THAT's why he doesn't have a solo song in ALW. (I can picture it now- "Oh Raoul"/"He's such a.. pal?")
Tune in next time where we explore the tangental infodump that is Christine's backstory!
{Christine Daae, owing to intrigues to which I will return later, did not immediately continue her triumph at the Opera. After the famous gala night, she sang once at the Duchess de Zurich's; but this was the last occasion on which she was heard in private. She refused, without plausible excuse, to appear at a charity concert to which she had promised her assistance. She acted throughout as though she were no longer the mistress of her own destiny and as though she feared a fresh triumph.}
Is this because of her last exchange with 'the Angel', or is she just now realizing that she's afraid of being in the spotlight on her own, and the consequences of being a star? Is she afraid that despite her Angel's wishes, she'll become corrupted by the fame and turn into another Carlotta? (Possibly reaching a bit there, but I do love Carlotta/Christine parallels and AUs where Carlotta was also Erik's formal pupil.)
{Some pretended that it was due to overweening pride; others spoke of her heavenly modesty. But people on the stage are not so modest as all that; and I think that I shall not be far from the truth if I ascribe her action simply to fear. Yes, I believe that Christine Daae was frightened by what had happened to her. }
Okaayyy, I guess we'll just leave it as ambiguous fear then? (I'm not satisfied by that explanation, unless it's implying that Christine has an anxiety disorder, which, as a person with GAD myself, is a headcanon I can get behind.)
{"I don't know myself when I sing,"}
I know this is supposed to be because her voice has undergone so much of a transformation due to "the Angel" (perhaps she feels like her voice is more a reflection of him than an expression of herself? "I [Christine] am the mask you wear/It's me [the Phantom] they hear" indeed?), but this seems like she's dissociating when she performs to me. Maybe because of the association of singing with her father is causing her to recall those memories, and she feels as if she's stuck in the past and merely viewing herself sing with a strange, new voice? Feeling distant from everything, herself and her actions especially? (Oooh, this could be what Meg is noticing about Christine acting weird in 'Angel of Music' in the ALW musical.)
{To-morrow is the anniversary of the death of my poor father, whom you knew and who was very fond of you. He is buried there, with his violin, in the graveyard of the little church, at the bottom of the slope where we used to play as children, beside the road where, when we were a little bigger, we said good-by for the last time.}
Ohhh... Now I want to see Father Daae interacting with bby!Raoul, being the father figure he never had, the paternal influence that Philippe could not be no matter how hard he tried. Also just imagine Christine in years past going to visit her father's grave near the place where she said farewell to Raoul, and mourning the two key figures of her childhood: father and friend, both of whom she thinks she'll never see again.
{He read Christine's note over and over again, smelling its perfume, recalling the sweet pictures of his childhood, and spent the rest of that tedious night journey in feverish dreams that began and ended with Christine Daae.}
Looks like someone has a crush, and his name rhymes with- nevermind, I couldn't think of anything that rhymes with Raoul de Chagny. Maybe THAT's why he doesn't have a solo song in ALW. (I can picture it now- "Oh Raoul"/"He's such a.. pal?")
Tune in next time where we explore the tangental infodump that is Christine's backstory!
no subject
Date: 2020-11-13 02:58 am (UTC)"Le fait est qu'à cette époque, elle refuse toute invitation, tout cachet" -- "the truth is that at that era she refused all invitations".
"Oui, je crois bien que Christine Daaé avait alors peur de ce qui venait de lui arriver et qu’elle en était aussi stupéfaite que tout le monde autour d’elle. Stupéfaite ? Allons donc ! J’ai là une lettre de Christine (collection du Persan) qui se rapporte aux événements de cette époque. Eh bien, après l’avoir relue, je n’écrirai point que Christine était stupéfaite ou même effrayée de son triomphe, mais bien épouvantée. Oui, oui… épouvantée !" -- "Yes, I believe that Christine Daaé was frightened by what had happened to her and that she was as stunned by it as everyone around her. Stunned...? Come now! I have here a letter of Christine's (from the Persian's collection) referring to the events of that period. And after reading it again, I shall not say that Christine was stunned or even frightened by her triumph, but terrified -- yes, terrified!"
That's a little stronger than de Mattos's abridgement of 'suggests a feeling of absolute dismay'...
And Leorux-the-narrator than refers to her as "La pauvre, la pure, la douce enfant" when describing Raoul's failure to get in contact with her -- "poor sweet innocent child" who was afraid to show her face anywhere. She is *frightened* by the unearthly voice that comes out of her mouth when she sings under Erik's influence; echoes of Trilby and Svengali?