Thanks for such an interesting comment! I had a lot to say in this response, so it ended up being really long...
I mean, I understand the awe and the daddy-issues and religious thing, but once it drifts into poor Erik / "pitiful creature" territory... well, I feel for Raoul.
I personally somewhat disagree with this, although I can definitely see why you'd interpret these events like that! (I think the 'Angel of Music' thing was less about Christine having... complicated feelings about her father and being really devout, and more Christine feeling really lonely, depressed, and isolated, Erik seizing the opportunity of playing the Angel character in order to get in contact with Christine, and Christine just being so lonely and trusting and wanting to believe what her father promised her has come true that she goes 'well, I guess this is legit'.)
I understand *why* she sympathizes with Erik (because Christine is such a compassionate and forgiving person who is trying to see the good in just about everyone), but my original point, which I probably could have stated more clearly, was more 'why is Christine feeling sorry for Erik *at this point*, when she has so many problems of her own to be concerned about?'.
I totally get why you'd feel for Raoul at this point, but I think 'Christine feeling sorry for the Phantom's horrible life' and 'Christine loving Raoul and ultimately choosing to be with him' aren't mutually exclusive. (Though I can see why her expressing those sentiments would be very upsetting to Raoul, who might interpret it as 'I really love the Phantom the most, but I'm being with Raoul just to lead him on/because he's safer and less mercurial'.)
And privileged and used to things following a pattern / falling into place. I mean, most of Raoul's assumptions (at least in ALW) are echoed by the rest of the cast so they're not *wrong* in general, just wrong in this instance.
That is an excellent point! Raoul's privilege is definitely a major factor in his behavior, and one that I hadn't really considered before!
I'm intrigued at how much more obviously Christine is cast as the young girl in need of leading / guiding / protecting (both how Raoul and Erik see her). It's not quite so obvious ALW
I personally think it's more obvious in ALW (for example: 'let me lead you from your solitude' 'wandering child/so lost/so helpless/yearning for my guidance'- really, most of All I Ask of You and Wandering Child, but those are the lines that stood out to me the most), but maybe that's because I first encountered the ALW musical in my late teens and watched and analyzed it A LOT before I ever read Leroux.
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2019-01-16 03:35 pm (UTC)I mean, I understand the awe and the daddy-issues and religious thing, but once it drifts into poor Erik / "pitiful creature" territory... well, I feel for Raoul.
I personally somewhat disagree with this, although I can definitely see why you'd interpret these events like that! (I think the 'Angel of Music' thing was less about Christine having... complicated feelings about her father and being really devout, and more Christine feeling really lonely, depressed, and isolated, Erik seizing the opportunity of playing the Angel character in order to get in contact with Christine, and Christine just being so lonely and trusting and wanting to believe what her father promised her has come true that she goes 'well, I guess this is legit'.)
I understand *why* she sympathizes with Erik (because Christine is such a compassionate and forgiving person who is trying to see the good in just about everyone), but my original point, which I probably could have stated more clearly, was more 'why is Christine feeling sorry for Erik *at this point*, when she has so many problems of her own to be concerned about?'.
I totally get why you'd feel for Raoul at this point, but I think 'Christine feeling sorry for the Phantom's horrible life' and 'Christine loving Raoul and ultimately choosing to be with him' aren't mutually exclusive. (Though I can see why her expressing those sentiments would be very upsetting to Raoul, who might interpret it as 'I really love the Phantom the most, but I'm being with Raoul just to lead him on/because he's safer and less mercurial'.)
And privileged and used to things following a pattern / falling into place. I mean, most of Raoul's assumptions (at least in ALW) are echoed by the rest of the cast so they're not *wrong* in general, just wrong in this instance.
That is an excellent point! Raoul's privilege is definitely a major factor in his behavior, and one that I hadn't really considered before!
I'm intrigued at how much more obviously Christine is cast as the young girl in need of leading / guiding / protecting (both how Raoul and Erik see her). It's not quite so obvious ALW
I personally think it's more obvious in ALW (for example: 'let me lead you from your solitude' 'wandering child/so lost/so helpless/yearning for my guidance'- really, most of All I Ask of You and Wandering Child, but those are the lines that stood out to me the most), but maybe that's because I first encountered the ALW musical in my late teens and watched and analyzed it A LOT before I ever read Leroux.