History WMG / ThePhantomOfTheOpera

Working off of novel continuity here- he's born looking like a corpse (as traditional vampires did), he never knew his real father, and his childlike psychopathy is very much like Dracula's childlike psychopathy. Also, he manages to treat his prospective wife like total crap and have it romanticized, which seems par the course for [[{{Dracula}} most]] [[Literature/{{Twilight}} vampires]].

Working off of novel continuity here- he's born looking like a corpse (as traditional vampires did), he never knew his real father, and his childlike psychopathy is very much like Dracula's childlike psychopathy. Also, he manages to treat his prospective wife like total crap and have it romanticized, which seems par the course for [[{{Dracula}} most]] [[{{Twilight}} vampires]].

[[WMG: Erik is a TimeLord]]

At least in the book. The way he's described would fit with the symptoms and deformities associated with the disease and considering how widespread Syphilis was back before antibiotics, it would make sense.

So Sami people are the indegenous population of Scandinavia, yeah? Raoul recognizes Christine by her red scarf and red scarves or shawls are a part of some traditional Swedish-sami clothes. This is why she cherished it so much, it's a symbol of her heirtage, maybe it was even passed down from her late sami mother, having no energy to weave Christine her own scarf because she was dying of a disease, she instead let her have hers. Christine takes pride in her heirtage, but fears she'll experience the discrimination she did back home in Sweden and tries not to bring it up.

This may be strongly implied, but I'm not sure if it's every expressly said - or discussed. Especially in the musical and its incarnations, you'd think knowing nothing of the world but cruelty and then the only example of things outside of it is *opera* of all of things, your idea of how things work is probably a little... off. The hero always gets the girl and wins her by highly dramatic means (up to and including sword duels, magic, and particularly enticing music), extreme measures are always warranted, and lots of deaths may happen, but that's okay. It's the only idea of the outside world he's ever had.

[[WMG: Erik was an actor who played {{Pippin}}.]]

A lot of Erik's actions in the original musical can make a lot more sense if you consider the possibility that he's terminally ill. Everything he does is essentially one last "fuck you" to the world that [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds showed him nothing but cruelty; as such he is filled with nothing but rage and hate.]] Christine, by virtue of being the only person who showed him any kindness ever, [[LoveRedeems helps to redeem him at the end]], thus freeing his soul from that rage and [[TearJerker allowing him to die without regret and ascend to heaven afterwards]] (symbolized by his mask remaining, then being lifted up as a light from over the stage shines on it).