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Summary alevel english - Phantom of the Opera quotation analysis used in AQA revision
Phantom of the opera quote analysis
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- “If I am the phantom, it is because man’s hatred has made me so. If I am to besaved it is because your love redeems me.” ‘If I am’ shows he does not
completely identify with the role of the phantom. He believes love is the only thing
that makes men equal, therefore allowing him to be Erik and not the Phantom - a
normal domesticated husband.
- “None will ever be a true Parisian who has not learned to wear a mask of gaiety
over his sorrows and one of sadness, boredom, or indifference over his inward
joy.” This quote is significant as it is something in which the reader may relate too.
This metaphorical mask suggests that society is a lot more corrupt than ordered.
Emotionally. Everybody is the same as the phantom, however they have the
metaphorical mask of beauty (or normality) which conceals that to make them appear
ordinary - whilst Erik is emotionally equal, physically cannot hide behind a
metaphorical mask and instead behind a physical one.
- You are crying! You are afraid of me! And yet I am not really wicked. Love me and
you shall! All I wanted was to be loved for myself.” “I’m not really wicked” shows how
Erik is aware he is playing into the role of the Phantom, which shows a sense of
awareness for a character who shows characteristics of insanity. “All i wanted was to
be loved for myself”
- “Our lives are one masked ball.” Shows how metaphorically, everybody in society
wears a mask to fit in. Ironic as Erik who wears a physical mask but not a
metaphorical one, still stands out.
- “But do you love me? If Erik was good-looking, would you love me, Christine?”
Society's control on how intellectually attractive somebody can be yet is still hideous
in the chances of love due to their appearance.
- “Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him? He asked only to be
'someone,' like everybody else. But he was too ugly! And he had to hide his genius or
use it to play tricks with, when, with an ordinary face, he would have been one of the
most distinguished of mankind! He had a heart that could have held the empire of the
world; and in the end had to content himself with a cellar. Surely we must pity the
Opera ghost!” Communism in the sense of equalism ‘he had to hide his genius or use
it to play tricks with, when he would have been one of the most distinguished of
mankind!’ - If he had an ‘ordinary face’ he would have been beyond attractive. This
quote really outlines how he is a tragic outcast, as he demonstrates how hurt he is,
therefore giving him the ‘pity.’
- “Now I want to live like everybody else. I want to have a wife like everybody
else and to take her out on Sundays. I have invented a mask that makes me look
like anybody. People will not even turn around in the streets. You will be the happiest
of women. And we will sing, all by ourselves, till we swoon away with delight.” This
shows Erik’s insanity however its sympathetic as we are exposed to how lonely he is
and how by drastic measures, he is reaching out to take what he wants.
- “I tore off my mask so as not to lose one of her tears... and she did not run
away!...and she did not die!... She remained alive, weeping over me, weeping
with me. We cried together! I have tasted all the happiness the world can offer.”
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1085&context=honors_theses
1. According to Marxist literary criticism, the use of Erik’s character shows how rebellion
against society establishes tragic outcasts.
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