Phantom Thoughts pt. 27

[zellephantom]

{"On the contrary, mademoiselle," said the young man, in a voice which he tried to make firm and brave, but which still trembled, "anything that concerns you interests me to an extent which perhaps you will one day understand. I do not deny that my surprise equals my pleasure at finding you with your adopted mother and that, after what happened between us yesterday, after what you said and what I was able to guess, I hardly expected to see you here so soon. I should be the first to delight at your return, if you were not so bent on preserving a secrecy that may be fatal to you ... and I have been your friend too long not to be alarmed, with Mme. Valerius, at a disastrous adventure which will remain dangerous so long as we have not unraveled its threads and of which you will certainly end by being the victim, Christine."}

Why are you so stuck on the possibility of her getting murdered???

{"An impostor is abusing her good faith."

"Is the Angel of Music an impostor?"

"She told you herself that there is no Angel of Music."

"But then what is it, in Heaven's name? You will be the death of me!"

"There is a terrible mystery around us, madame, around you, around Christine, a mystery much more to be feared than any number of ghosts or genii!"}

Remind me, when did she tell Mrs. Valerius that? Because I don't recall her ever disabusing the notion that her absences were simply her visiting the Angel of Music. EDIT: no, wait- she did! though in more of an 'I'm just saying this to get you to calm down' way

Also, isn't the plural of genie genies??

{"That is what you must promise, Christine. It is the only thing that can reassure your mother and me. We will undertake not to ask you a single question about the past, if you promise us to remain under our protection in future."}

That's.. nice. 'Yeah, we won't make you answer any questions about the weird things that are happening, but you can't disappear or have music lessons with this 'angel' ever again.'

(Also, Raoul sort of manipulating her by holding the conversation within earshot of her adoptive mother and deliberately making her worry in order to ensure that Christine will stay? Not cool, man.)

{"That is an undertaking which I have not asked of you and a promise which I refuse to make you!" said the young girl haughtily. "I am mistress of my own actions, M. de Chagny: you have no right to control them, and I will beg you to desist henceforth. As to what I have done during the last fortnight, there is only one man in the world who has the right to demand an account of me: my husband! Well, I have no husband and I never mean to marry!"}

YOU GO, CHRISTINE. YOU AREN'T MARRIED TO HIM AND YOU SHOULDN'T LET ANYONE ELSE CONTROL YOUR ACTIONS. (this mean you, Erik.) IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TELL THEM WHAT HAPPENED, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO. ALSO RAOUL IS BEING RATHER NOSY AND OVERSTEPPING HIS BOUNDS.

{"You have no husband and yet you wear a wedding-ring."

He tried to seize her hand, but she swiftly drew it back.

"That's a present!" she said, blushing once more and vainly striving to hide her embarrassment.}

Yeah, maybe don't grab someone without asking, especially while you're in the middle of a disagreement.

{"Christine! As you have no husband, that ring can only have been given by one who hopes to make you his wife! Why deceive us further? Why torture me still more? That ring is a promise; and that promise has been accepted!"}

Ah, yes, why torture me still more, because my feelings are the only ones that matter... It's not her fault that you didn't notice the ring before and thus assumed she was free to be with you.

{"What I chose," said Christine, driven to exasperation. "Don't you think, monsieur, that this cross-examination has lasted long enough? As far as I am concerned ..."

Raoul was afraid to let her finish her speech. He interrupted her}

LET HER SPEAK. Just a minute ago, you demanded an explanation. Now, you might be getting one but you cut her off because you're afraid of what you might hear.

{"I beg your pardon for speaking as I did, mademoiselle. You know the good intentions that make me meddle, just now, in matters which, you no doubt think, have nothing to do with me. But allow me to tell you what I have seen—and I have seen more than you suspect, Christine—or what I thought I saw, for, to tell you the truth, I have sometimes been inclined to doubt the evidence of my eyes."}

Frankly, you should be getting down on your knees and *begging* her to let you associate with her again. Also, I really don't think 'good intentions' is a good excuse for your recent behavior, nor does it justify meddling, no matter how close you were in the past.

*insert Wicked's "my road of good intentions/led where such roads always lead" here*

by the way, she thinks the matters have nothing to do with you, and she's right! they don't. Respect the lady's wishes, Raoul.

{"I saw your ecstasy AT THE SOUND OF THE VOICE, Christine: the voice that came from the wall or the next room to yours ... yes, YOUR ECSTASY! And that is what makes me alarmed on your behalf. You are under a very dangerous spell. And yet it seems that you are aware of the imposture, because you say to-day THAT THERE IS NO ANGEL OF MUSIC! In that case, Christine, why did you follow him that time? Why did you stand up, with radiant features, as though you were really hearing angels? ... Ah, it is a very dangerous voice, Christine, for I myself, when I heard it, was so much fascinated by it that you vanished before my eyes without my seeing which way you passed! Christine, Christine, in the name of Heaven, in the name of your father who is in Heaven now and who loved you so dearly and who loved me too, Christine, tell us, tell your benefactress and me, to whom does that voice belong? If you do, we will save you in spite of yourself. Come, Christine, the name of the man! The name of the man who had the audacity to put a ring on your finger!"}

As I recall, you were pretty entrance by the voice too, Raoul, so you have no room to criticize in that regard... Also, I just hate that he says 'we will save you in spite of yourself', like he's the hero and she's the poor frightened manipulated child.

I suspect that Raoul's fatal flaw is, much like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, a 'saving people thing'. And maybe a little of Emma Woodhouse's 'I know people better than they know themselves, which justifies any manipulation of them because it's for their own good, even if they don't realize it yet' as well. (If you haven't read Jane Austen's Emma and are now thinking 'wow, this person sounds horrible'- don't worry. She gets better.)

Comments

Re: All Helpful Urges Should Be Circumvented

[zellephantom]

Yes! (insert *I understood that reference gif* here- also nice No Good Deed themed title that's definitely relevant here!) This is why I prefer to ship Christine with either of them in AUs of Leroux-verse (or preferably in more ALW-influenced fic), and not so much the canon itself, because both those guys are ridiculous and do messed up things 'for Christine's own good, of course'.

It *is* fascinating. (Also an unfortunately good way to procrastinate doing homework...)

Was I Really Seeking Good or Just Seeking Attention?

[bluewinged_songbird]

^^Things Raoul should consider.

You know, once I saw you make the No Good Deed reference, all these other surprisingly relevant lyrics just popped out.

I think, Leroux is a writer of his time and incorporates the attitudes of his day. For him, it's a logical progression, a portrait of the people around him. Which is interesting to consider when analyzing and gives us important contextual perspective. On the other hand, it's a pain in the ass to read!! It boils my blood! The one good thing is that Christine seems to have more of an obvious backbone in the novel. It's more subtle in the musical I feel.