Le Fantôme de l'Opéra.... Notre histoire a nous.
But his voice filled my spirit with a strange sweet sound
In that night there was music in my mind
And through music my soul began to soar
And I heard what I'd never heard before
Yet in his eyes: All the sadness of the world
His pleading eyes, that both threaten and adore
Three years ago, I got curious to read the original novel behind the most profitable artistic work in the history of man kind. Right then, I was just interested in getting finer details about the characters of the famous musical and I didn't know that this novel will mark my life for the following three years and become my all time favorite novel.
I was shocked by how different the Phantom is in the novel, though the musical featured him as an angry genius and hideous looking creature, I was always enchanted by his voice especially in the original soundtrack of the play featuring Michael Crawford as Eric (the phantom); I guess I was deceived by the amazing voice just the same way Christine Daea was tricked to obey the Angel of music and I always thought of him as more tame or at least, a less angry man. That view was corrected in the novel.
In my culture, they say that god created every human being with certain talent and a challenge so that every one is equal in one way or the other, this concept is deeply fixed in Egyptian culture as well as in Islam. So a very rich man, for example, could be unhappy because he lacks health or companionship or whatever. The point is we all have something and lack for the other; this would stimulate us to work and face our problems with our talents in a way but also ensure that every human being needs the other
Eric's curse is most well known: His hideous looks, his talent ,as well, is very well known. He was a genius; a very talented singer and a composer and specially talented in lots of sciences especially architecture - a fine detail we don't see in the play - hence was his first portal to the Opera house project for which he was one of the constructors and designers, hence he had access to the cellar maps to build his labyrinth after escaping from a near death experience in both Iran and the Ottoman empire's capital.
It was in Iran where he met the Daroga ( a police chief) who was replaced to the most by Mme Giry in the play, the Daroga was the sound of Eric's conscience
The major sin Eric committed in the novel was his inability to forgive people for the ill treatment in his early life and trying to obtain whatever he wants by any means especially when it came to his mad love and affection to Christine Daea the infamous badly trained singer whom he trained to become the most beloved diva but loves some other man (Le Viscomte de chgny)
I never felt much sympathy for any character like I did with Eric. Never stopped trying to find excuses for this imaginary man whose desire for revenge exceeded any other reason for his entire life until he fell in love with the Angel that he trained
You know for sure that you are crazy about some movie or a novel when you keep asking yourself what if? this exhausting thinking about the events - especially if the ending was sad when you try to sort a much happier one: I kept asking myself if Eric had a more acceptable visage but he would have never been the Angel of darkness and his talents would have made him a very rich man who would enjoy lots of women's attention and would have never knew that Christine existed so that no one would train her and she'd never become the diva and Raoul would have never seen her triumphing on stage and he loved and marries another woman in front of her now disparate eyes ( say for example: Carlotta! - LOL!!) leaving Deae to either love another man or turn herself to be the Angel of darkness! ... and so on, you ask thousands of questions and all lead you to the same inevitable answer, You can't change the blot, or else you'd be talking about another story!
The reason why I felt this huge sympathy with Eric was because I thought we had so much in common only that I was a worse version of the man who burns in hell but secretly dreams of beauty
There have been long days in my life when I felt very angry at the whole world and yearned for revenge just like he did, there have been so long nights in the previous three years when I wanted to grasp whatever I wanted by any means whether legal or not and I admit those feelings still exist deep in my soul; The last 4 years of my life had been the hardest on all means
At certain point of my life, I considered myself a far worse version of Eric: it is very easy to explain, just imagine the same - or close - intelligence, the same anger and desire for revenge yet instead of a hideous looks to warn people as in Eric's case, the deadly mix is wrapped in a far more beautiful capsule with round shoulders, square chest and a set of two pharaonic eyes that inspires everyone to approach promising them with a nice companion. so they become so close to the poison before even knowing so.
Yes, I considered myself as a very dangerous man in those past three years, I looked at every citizen in my country as a threat until proven otherwise, I hated people back just like they denied my rights and I wanted to get a payback someday.
But the same novel that would have inspired my evil dark side still showed me that it won't work... This is the first time I announce it after so many people asked about my reasons : The Phantom of the opera is the reason why I came out; Fearing that I will end up as a more deadly version of Eric decided for me!
At least now I know that I have a loving and accepting family. believe me, that helped so so much in transforming my infernal psyche into a more peaceful one in few days.
Yes, I am still angry at the world for lots of other reasons, but I am no longer the inhabitant of darkness and I don't see much of a reason to compose the music of the night these days... Let me tell you this, I am sure that this is the stupidity of my age and it will resolve later, I know that, yet it isn't a reason why I should deny it
The phantom of the opera will always be part of my life; It is the amazing musical I loved so much and stayed long nights listening to, the novel that marked a whole stage in my life and the inspiration that once lit my fire and cooled it, My Eric and Daroga in the same time; my evil dark side mixed with the voice of conscience
That's why, The Phantom of the Opera, remains all in all, my all time favorite novel.