Line #32 Literature/Phantom


1	''Phantom'' is a 1990 novel by Susan Kay, based on ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' by Gaston Leroux, with obvious influence from Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's musical. It chronicles the title character's life, from birth to death. The story is split into seven sections, each narrated in the first person by a [[SwitchingPOV different character]].
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3	This version is reputed as being the second most popular (the first being the original novel itself) literary adaptation of ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'', even going into the realms of AscendedFanfic.
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6	!!Most of the tropes in the original novel and musical apply. Specifically, this book contains examples of:
7	* AssholeVictim: Erik kills [[spoiler:Javert]] to stop his invoking AttemptedRape (See below.).
8	* AbusiveParents: Madeleine, though portrayed more sympathetically than most cases. Yes, she's a spoiled brat, but she's lost her parents and beloved husband in rapid succession, leaving her to struggle by while she's shunned by society for giving birth to a monster. In addition, Erik is ''not'' an easy child to live with and he nearly drives her insane, however unintentionally.
9	* AdaptationExpansion: Oh yes. Almost the whole of Erik's life is fleshed out, the daroga gets a name and expanded backstory, and the novel even goes beyond the original story's finale.
10	* AintTooProudToBeg: Invoked by Erik twice to his master, Javert. Once when he begs to go home/get his mask back. [[spoiler: The second time occurs when Javert tries to rape him.]] Made worse by the fact that this is type 2.
11	* AngryMob: One shows up at the gates of Erik's childhood home, and kills his dog Sasha.
12	* AnimalMotifs: Christine's son is compared to a cuckoo in the last line of the book, [[spoiler:referring to his status as Erik's son and his adoption by Raoul.]]
13	* ArtisticStimulation: The Khanum provides Erik with hashish in the hopes that it will "inspire" him to develop more new and twisted methods of torture. It is 100% successful.
14	* AscendedExtra: Nadir Khan, AKA the Persian/Daroga.
15	* AttemptedRape: [[spoiler: Javert to Erik.]]
16	* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Fed up with Luciana's pesters, insults, and commands to see his face, ''and'' hurt by Giovanni's order to unmask himself, Erik snaps at them and pulls his mask off. [[spoiler: Horrified, Luciana runs the opposite way and falls to her death from the roof.]]
17	* {{Backstory}}: Quite a lot in Erik's case. Nadir's as well.
18	* BerserkerTears: [[spoiler: Erik, in his tirade against Christine, during the climax of ''Counterpoint''.]]
19	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Well, for one, Erik ''dies''. So does Christine, albeit about seventeen years later, and Raoul is left to look after another man's son. He does love Charles dearly, though, and has long come to accept the situation and glory in his child's accomplishments.]]
20	* BloodFromTheMouth:
21	** [[spoiler: Erik coughs up quite a lot of blood after he's poisoned by the new Vizier.]]
22	** Giovanni coughs some up, a sign of his failing health.
23	* BodyHorror: What happens to the victims of Erik's torture methods in Persia.
24	* BoundAndGagged: Erik ends up like this after trying to hide his face from [[ComeToGawk Javert's customers]] and trying to commit suicide. Javert ties him to the cage and gags him.
25	* CaptiveDate: Christine is this when she and Erik first meet face-to-face.
26	* CatsAreMean: Just to Raoul, though. Erik's cat, Ayesha, loved Erik and later loves Christine's son. [[spoiler:Probably because he's ''Erik's'' son]]. Although she also constantly interrupts Erik's playing by jumping on the keyboard.
27	* CharacterDevelopment: Despite her {{Flanderization}}, Christine does manage to go through this; while she keeps her child-like mentality, she [[GrewASpine grows a spine]] over the course of the novel, culminating in her going to visit [[spoiler:the dying]] Erik after Raoul forbids her to.
28	* ChildProdigy: Erik. [[spoiler:Charles too. Runs in the family.]]
29	* CircusBrat: Erik.
30	* ColdbloodedTorture: The Khanum loves this. Though not as keen to enjoy it, Erik commits a lot these during his years in Persia.
31	* ComeToGawk: Javert puts Erik's face on display.
32	* CompellingVoice: Erik's voice, up to eleven here, almost pornographically so. Literally ''everyone'' comments on how sexual, unearthly and hypnotic it is, even when he only says one word.
33	%%* CoolOldGuy: Giovanni.
34	%%* CreepyChild: Erik.
35	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Giovanni and Nadir believe this about Erik. They're right.
36	* DeadGuyOnDisplay: The Shah and Khanum are fond of this when it comes to their enemies. The sight is not pretty.
37	* DeadpanSnarker: Erik to a T.
38	%%* DeathByChildbirth: Rookheeya.
39	* DentedIron: Erik, by the time the events of Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera come around. Despite being well into middle age, he's still noted as cutting an impressive, intimidating figure and he easily weaves his way through the labyrinthine secret passages he personally installed in the Opera House, but it's ''also'' clear that he isn't nearly as physically capable as he was [[spoiler:before his poisoning at the hands of the Khanum.]] Between this and his addiction to morphine, it isn't a surprise that he quickly declines after [[spoiler:his first heart attack.]]
40	* DespairEventHorizon: When Erik resigns to his fate as a caged freakshow. He enters the horizon again when all the torture and killing in Persia takes its toll on him.
41	* DisappearedDad: Charles, Erik's father. [[spoiler: He died in a construction accident.]]
42	* DramaticUnmask: At least one per section. And they are very, ''very'' dramatic.
43	* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: The Shah. And arguably Erik, in an ''extremely'' twisted way.
44	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Maybe not quite ''standards'', but Erik is noted to be disturbed by the Kharnum's love of violence.
45	* FateWorseThanDeath: Erik fears this at the Romanis' hands after [[spoiler: Dunicha says she'll frame him for rape, leading to his decision to flee the camp.]]
46	** In Persia, [[spoiler: one man has candles stuck into holes gouged in his body. He's then dragged around the city before finally being put to death.]]
47	** Dr. Barye plans to send Erik to a mental institution, something the latter considers this trope.
48	* {{Flanderization}} : A lot of people love the book but ''hate'' Kay's portrayal of Christine. While in the original novel Christine ''was'' rather naive and childlike at some points, she was still a fundamentally sensible, strong willed and independent young woman who stood up to enormous mental pressure on all sides and tried to keep Raoul out of danger. In this book, however, it's flat-out stated she's as mentally fragile as a cracked vase, will always have a child-like mentality and needs a man to take care of her: "Whoever marries Christine is going to have to play the role of father as well as lover."
49	* ForceFeeding: Javert shoves food down Erik's mouth when the boy refuses to eat.
50	* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler: Erik running away from home, the horrors in Persia, Nadir's exile, the events at the Opera House, etc.]] The majority of Erik's youth in general - anyone familiar with the original tale knows that, however good it might currently be, ''it will not end well.''
51	* FreudianExcuse: Erik's got a ton of these.
52	* FunctionalAddict: Erik manages to be a fully operating Opera Ghost ''and'' be addicted to morphine. [[spoiler:Up until he has his first heart attack; then things start going downhill at a fairly steady pace.]]
53	* GagPenis: When the Khanum threatens to castrate Erik and have him put his manparts in a jar, he asks her if she's sure the jar will be big enough. (He was likely joking.)
54	* GenerationXerox: Played with. [[spoiler:One of the things that quietly confirms to Raoul that Charles is Erik's son and not his own, biologically speaking, is seeing a portrait of Erik's father (also named Charles), who died before Erik was born (just like Erik did before Charles de Chagny was born). The two Charleses look nearly identical, and Erik likely would have as well had he not been born horribly disfigured. He carries the DNA for it, at any rate.]]
55	* [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen God Save Us From the Khanum]]: Pretty much sums her up in a nutshell.
56	* HappilyMarried: Charles and Madeleine, Nadir and Rookheeya, [[spoiler:Christine and Erik [[WidowedAtTheWedding for their single night]]]], Christine and Raoul [[spoiler: [[SexlessMarriage to an]] [[TheMourningAfter extent.]]]]
57	* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:The reason the Shah tries to kill Erik.]]
58	* HeelRealization: After [[spoiler:Erik is nearly killed by an angry mob, his mother realizes what a terrible mother she's been and resolves to be better in the future. Unfortunately, he runs away before she gets the chance]].
59	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Erik and Nadir in the Persia section. Arguably during the Opera House years as well.
60	* HollywoodHeartAttack: [[spoiler: Erik gets one after Christine takes his mask off.]]
61	* HopeSpot: Madeleine [[spoiler: rejects Etienne's proposal after Erik survives the knife attack and resolves to be a loving mother from that point onwards. She even plans to burn the masks. But Erik [[ForegoneConclusion runs away before hearing her answer to the proposal.]]]]
62	* IdenticalGrandson: [[spoiler: Erik's son to the first Charles.]]
63	* IKissYourHand: Raoul to Christine, frequently.
64	* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: Christine and Madeleine, although in the portrait of Madeleine that Erik shows Christine, Madeleine wears an "I am a spoiled asshole" look that lessens the resemblance.
65	* InterruptedSuicide: A pubescent Erik attempts to poison himself when he's feeling particularly miserable among the band of Romani. He abandons the idea after remembering that it would just lead to his going to hell.
66	** [[spoiler: As per the original novel, Christine tries to kill herself via head bashing. She's stopped.]]
67	* ItsAllAboutMe: The Kharnum, Luciana, and Madeleine especially.
68	* JadeColoredGlasses: Erik eventually.
69	* KickTheDog: The mob trying to assault Madeleine's home [[spoiler: kills Sasha and severely wounds Erik.]]
70	** The assassins going after the first vizier [[spoiler: stab him to death ''viciously.'']]
71	** The Khanum [[spoiler: executes the slave girl Erik sent away.]]
72	* KidsAreCruel: The local village boys in Boscherville throw rocks at Madeleine's home, often mocking her and calling for the "monster."
73	** When Erik first wakes in his cage, some Romani children poke him with sticks, only stopping when Javert arrives and when Erik stops responding. Erik also mentions the children throwing rocks at him and chanting names whenever he walked by them.
74	* LikeASonToMe: Giovanni considers Erik to be the son he never had.
75	* LikeFatherLikeSon: [[spoiler: Christine's son, Charles, has been noted to be rather similar to Erik.]]
76	* LikeParentLikeSpouse: Erik's relationship with his mother is pretty twisted; then he goes and falls madly, passionately and irrevocably in love with Christine - who happens, by pure coincidence, ''to resemble Madeline exactly.'' Huh.
77	* LittleProfessorDialog: Young Erik sometimes speaks this way, unnerving Madeleine.
78	* LoveAtFirstNote: A variant. Erik immediately becomes obsessed with Christine after first hearing her sing, because her voice is the most technically perfect thing he's ever heard, but she sounds completely soulless.
79	* LoveEpiphany: [[spoiler:When she learns that Erik is dying, Christine is struck with the realization that she loved him all along, and immediately rushes to his side.]]
80	* MeaningfulName: Nadir means "the lowest point".
81	* MercyKill: [[spoiler: After it's become obvious that Reza's health is a hopeless cause, Erik feeds him a poison to put him out of his misery. Nadir [[{{Tearjerker}} lets him]].]]
82	* MissingMom: Rookheeya, Reza's mother and Nadir's dead wife.
83	* MoralityPet: Marie is one for Erik; thanks to her kind example, and despite all the horrible things he does over his long career of dealing out death and pain, he never harms a defenseless woman.
84	* TheMourningAfter: [[spoiler:The epilogue makes it clear that Christine never really got over Erik's death.]]
85	* MurderMakesYouCrazy: [[spoiler: Erik seems to make some disturbing mental development after he kills Javert.]]
86	* NearRapeExperience: [[spoiler: Erik has an extremely close encounter at Javert's hands. He manages to kill his master before anything else could happen.]]
87	* OutWithABang: [[spoiler: Never explicitly stated to happen, but since Christine was carrying Erik's child, and the only time she could have slept with him was when he was dying...]]
88	* PrecisionFStrike: Erik to Nadir: "''FUCK'' your customs".
89	* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Erik, a FriendToAllLivingThings misanthrope, invokes this '''''big-time''''' when a priest says that only humans can be TogetherInDeath.
90	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Marie, when Madeleine won't go to Erik after he's injured himself, has ''finally'' had enough:
91	--> "Get up!" she stormed. "Get up, you spoiled, sniveling brat! All your life you've been spoiled ... by your parents, by Charles, by me ... everyone pandering to Madeleine, dear, pretty Madeleine. Well, it's not enough simply to be pretty, do you hear me, Madeleine? It doesn't excuse you from human obligations. It doesn't permit you to poison a child's mind and cripple his soul. You should hang for what you have done to him since he was born ... you should ''burn!"''
92	* {{Sadist}}: Nadir mentions that the Khanum takes sexual pleasure in watching Erik kill.
93	* SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny: Erik at one point.
94	* SexlessMarriage: [[spoiler: Christine and Raoul end up with this, as giving birth to Charles nearly kills her and the doctor makes it clear that having another baby would finish the job. Raoul, being a staunch Catholic, rejects the idea of birth control and decides there's only ''one'' way to make certain Christine's life won't be put in danger again.]]
95	* ShrinkingViolet: Christine.
96	* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: Madeline's husband died while she was pregnant with Erik. [[spoiler:Similarly, Christine gives birth to Erik's son after his death.]]
97	* SpidersAreScary: Averted on several occasions: Marie asks Madeleine not to kill a spider because it "can't help being ugly" and Erik mentions that he feels a certain kinship with spiders ("gorged on her triumph like a glutted spider", feeling jealous of spiders because even though they're ugly they get to mate). Played straight with Christine, who is terrified of a large spider she sees during her fortnight with Erik to the degree that she asks him to also find and kill its mate.
98	* SpoiledBrat: Madeleine - which does ''not'' help when she has to deal with trying to raise Erik; Luciana - which likewise does not end well when she develops a crush on Erik. Also the Khanum, in a sense, since she often behaves childishly and her life of luxury has definitely turned her rotten.
99	* TallDarkAndHandsome: Charles. [[spoiler: And Charles "the second."]]
100	* TallDarkAndSnarky: Erik.
101	* TheseHandsHaveKilled: [[spoiler: After Erik kills Javert, he marvels at how easy it was and goes on to call murder another art for him to master.]]
102	* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Erik and Christine.]]
103	* TraumaCongaLine: Erik's life up to his settling in Paris.
104	* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Another reason for Madeleine's fear of her son. It troubles Marie too.
105	* WakingUpElsewhere: Erik faints after the Romani first pull his mask off. He wakes up in a cage.
106	* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: Madeleine's frustration toward Erik in a nutshell.
107	* WidowedAtTheWedding: [[spoiler:Erik dies the night after he marries Christine.]]
108	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Erik, no matter his age, being a genius and all.
109	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Erik.
110	* WouldHurtAChild: Javert. [[spoiler:Erik too, though his reasons were more sympathetic.]]
111	** The AngryMob going after Madeleine's home.

Context Literature / Phantom