Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny in LND

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time.

It is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."

Sydney Smith

Introduction

This post will be my third in the line of characters to dissect in Love Never Dies. As I continue this journey, I just want to reiterated I’m not here to justify Andrew Lloyd Webber’s tinkering of the characters. If you have read my former posts regarding the original characters in the Phantom of the Opera, you know that I love to dissect their lives and look into what makes them tick as human beings. What motivations drive them to behave as they do? What lessons, if any, can we learn from their behavior or perhaps relate to in our own lives?

Raoul, in Love Never Dies, has changed. Ten years has turned him into a sour apple most of you don’t wish to taste. You have taken the first bite, hated the result, and puckered in disgust. Read on. I am merely here to strip off his mask and examine the pain underneath. You may relate – you may not. Whatever you see inside Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, just remember by his example, sometimes life turns sour and so do we.

Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny

As I did with Meg, let’s take a step back and look at Raoul. The same holds true that he is a bit different from Leroux to Webber, but his personality is one we are acquainted with or so we think. What do we know about him? Well, he’s a mixture of two stories. He met Christine as a young boy, rescued her scarf that ended up in the sea, went off to the Navy, and came back a man who had traveled the world. He dared to cross the societal lines and pursue a girl beneath his status breaking away from tradition and family to marry.

Webber, however, doesn’t go into such depth in his background in the original, but you get the picture. He is the new patron of the Opera House, who sees his childhood sweetheart. The slightly arrogant aristocrat is filled with fanciful romantic intentions, but soon discovers he has a dark rival for Christine's affections. You watch Raoul take a journey from the romantic rooftop under the stars to the bowels of the earth where a noose wraps around his neck. His life hangs in the balance, but he is set free and leaves somewhat changed by the end of the show. He and Christine float off in the gondola and marry; but in this version, it’s after Christine has a moonless night with the Phantom first that leaves her with a son.

It’s now 10 years later. He’s no longer a young man filled with whimsical romantic ideas. Raoul has grown older and changed. He’s irritable, short-tempered, has a gambling habit, and his mistress is alcohol. What happened to Raoul? He was suppose to live happily ever after when he got the girl....right?

Raoul is a man struggling with the past. He thought his revival was dead, but unfortunately, the Phantom is still haunting him and his wife, as he prophetically spoke in the original play. Why? Because the music is still playing folks! It's the one thing that reminds Raoul of the Phantom. Music is an integral part of what makes Christine. She wants to sing music – Raoul hates her music and says it “hurts his head.” (Still singing songs in your head, is he?) Christine wishes to sing – he wishes to clip her wings. He want's to squash what she loves. Why? Well, the answer is obvious - because it reminds them both of him.

Raoul is married to Christine, but he’s no fool. He’s lived for the past 10 years with the realization he cannot give her everything she needs. He only owns half her heart, and no doubt his bruised male ego tells him he’s only half a man. Christine lives with him, but raises a son that is not theirs. It’s a sad affair of two people together in a half-hearted marriage. Christine finds solace for her emptiness in her son. Raoul on the other hand finds solace by turning to other things – the thrill of gambling and the bottle of alcohol that numbs the pain.

When things couldn't be worse, he's lured to Coney Island and discovers the Phantom is still alive. Once again, he faces his enemy for the affections of his wife. Drunk and reflecting, he wonders why she loves him when all he’s given her is sorrow in his attempt to kill the memories of the past. He admits that a different kind of ugliness resides with him – not the outward like the Phantom possesses but the inward. He talks of wearing his own mask – his outward handsome exterior that hides the shame and despair of his own heart. He faces his own demons in a drunken stupor.

Of course, there is more than one demon in Raoul's life, and he arrives to tempt Raoul at his weakest point. They make a bet – two men making a wager to win the heart of one woman. So in a last ditch effort to keep his wife, Raoul swears repentance of his old ways, if she’ll just leave and not sing. One must ask though, were his motivations pure or was he truly sorry for how he treated Christine?

We all know lady luck wasn’t with him on that bet. Christine sings, and he loses everything. He pens a departing letter filled with regrets for being unable to give her what she really needed and leaves her to the Angel of Music to give her what he could not. He is sorrowful, but it's too late. They are no longer the same people. Time, circumstances, and choices have changed them both, and they have drifted apart.

When you take the time to look at each of the characters in LND, you’ll see the theme of regret played in all of them in one degree or the other – the Phantom, Christine, Meg, Madame Giry, and Raoul. I heard it stated long before its release, that LND is a story of regret and truly that theme is prominent.

In conclusion, what can we take away from examining Raoul's journey? Do you relate to Raoul’s pain or not? Do you still see him as just one sour apple of a character? Have you ever drifted apart from a spouse? Have you ever made a choice you regretted? Have you ever looked back on your life and had regrets for how it turned out? Was there a time you sought solace elsewhere in someone or something to kill the pain inside? I think the majority of humanity has dealt with regret. It's how we process it that determines whether we turn into that sour apple or sweet as apple pie.

Raoul is merely human. To compensate for his brokenness, he portrays a rough exterior to mask the pain of a man who couldn't be everything to the woman he loved.

Sincerely,

The Phantom’s Student

NOTE: Bravo, by the way, to Joseph Millson, who played the part of Raoul de Chagny in Love Never Dies. He took a controversial role and did a brilliant job portraying the pain of one man who lost everything, giving the audience the capacity to feel sympathy for him rather than loathing. Also, I find it quite interesting if you read about Gaston Leroux's life, that he had a gambling problem and a mistress. The guy was quite colorful in his own life, who squandered and drank away his own inheritance. The similarities are a bit stark, to say the least.

de Chagny Family

Who are these people? Well, it depends on what storyline you choose – Webber or Leroux.

In Webber's version, Raoul is the patron of the Opera Populaire, a financial and artistic supporter of the operatic arts, along with his parents who hold titles of nobility. By virtue of Raoul’s title, Vicomte, his father holds the title of Comte over him, and there is no mention of siblings.

In the original work, Raoul’s parents are not alive, as mentioned in the play and movie. Leroux’s version indicates that Raoul’s mother died giving him birth. At the age of 12, his father passed away, and his two sisters and elder brother, Philippe, raised him. Raoul also spends time with his aunt, and it is there while visiting her near the sea that he meets Christine Daae.

The de Chagny family, as written by Leroux, is a well-established family dating back to the fourteenth century, holding a vast amount of property and wealth. They have their own family box at the Opera House to view performances, and it's not Box 5. The characters of Raoul and Philippe, as aptly penned by Leroux, give further insight into these individuals. For those of you who have never read the original work, here are few tidbits of character background.

Raoul was noted as being extremely polite and a perfect man in his behavior, but somewhat shy. He had a tendency to openly show his emotions. He loved the sea, and one of his ancestors was a famous naval admiral. Raoul graduated the French Naval Academy with honors; and at the time of the Phantom matter, was on a long furlough. He was termed as “charming,” 21 years old, but looked much younger, fair perfect complexion, blue eyes, and small mustache.

Philippe de Chagny was his elder brother (20 years older), and is described as spoiling Raoul and being proud of him. Leroux’s description of his character is as follows: “Philippe Georges Marie Comte de Chagny was just forty-one years of age. He was a great aristocrat and a good-looking man, above middle height and with attractive features, in spite of his hard forehead and his rather cold eyes. He was exquisitely polite to the women and a little haughty to the men, who did not always forgive him for his successes in society. He had an excellent heart and an irreproachable conscience.” However, Philippe de Chagny is supposedly murdered by the Opera Ghost in the original work.

How did the de Chagny’s view Christine Daae? Philippe often fought with Raoul over his affections for the Diva. Raoul’s brother termed her as, “little baggage” insinuating that because she was alone, had no protector or benefactor, she wanted more from Raoul than just love – the money grubbing social climbing Diva mentality once again.

Raoul, of course, loved Christine from the day he met her at the seaside when he rescued her red scarf from a watery grave. After spending the summer with her, they became childhood sweethearts, and he did not see her again until three years later. It’s interesting to note Leroux pens that at the end of their meeting Raoul tells Christine he would never forget her, and then "...went away regretting his words, for he knew that Christine could not be the wife of the Vicomte de Chagny.” Why did he say such a statement? It was due to their difference in classes; for in the real world, their match would have been unacceptable to family and society.

The more time I take to study Raoul’s character, the more I appreciate the man. Of course, in the Phantom fan world, most dream about Erik and Christine forever, yet there are a small majority of fans out there that dream about Raoul and Christine. Once you get to know the man behind the character, you have to give him some credit. He loved Christine deeply and risked everything in life to be with her – including his own life to save her. In the book, he dares to defy his brother’s wishes over his longing to marry her; and in both versions, he risks his life to save her from the Phantom. These acts alone tell me he was a man of character.

So is the story real or Hollywood? Was it possible that Raoul and Christine, after having floated away on the gondola while singing Webber's music, lived happily ever after in the 19th century world? You might want to think that matter over, because no doubt there would have been great obstacles to their match in real life from family and society.

As always, I encourage you to pick up the original version and read. It will give you a deeper understanding behind the characters and their motivations.

I am, as always, your obedient servant.
The Phantom’s Student

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Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny

Raoul is the representation of light and salvation; but is he a saint or a sinner? Well, that depends on your point of view.

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s portrayal of Raoul paints him as a saint from the very beginning. He arrives at the Opera House in his carriage, pulled by white horses, while we hear the rehearsal of Hannibal singing the words “savior” and “salvation” simultaneously as he enters through the stables. He is the “patron” of the Opera House, as if he’s the “patron saint,” a guardian who has arrived to save the Opera House from darkness. He is their supporter and benefactor. The lyrics Raoul sings in All I Ask of You are riddled with Biblical verses further identifying his role:

• Darkness - “there arises light in the darkness” (Psalm 112:4)
• Fears - “do not fear, nor be afraid” (Isaiah 44:8)
• Harm - “no harm can come upon us” (Micah 3:11)
• Freedom - “the Lord gives freedom” (Psalm 146:7)
• Dry your tears -- “will wipe away tears” (Isaiah 25:8)
• Here with you - “I will never leave you” (Hebrews 13:15)
• Guard you - “guard you from the evil one” (2 Thessalonians 3:2)
• Guide you - “I will guide you” (Psalm 32:8)
• Shelter - “you have been a shelter for me” (Psalm 61:3)
• Light - “your light and your salvation” (Psalm 27:1)
• Safe - “ keep me safe forever” (Psalm 40:11)

Raoul represents all that is light, in contrast to the Phantom who represents all that is darkness. Even during his battles with the Phantom in the cemetery and in the lair, Raoul wears a cross under his white shirt, a sign of salvation and protection from the evil one. He rides a white horse as he speeds off to save Christine from the Phantom’s deception at her father’s grave. He does everything in his power to save Christine, even to the point of his willingness to lay his life down pleading that she not waste her life with the Phantom to free him. Raoul, the saint.

How do others view him? Christine loves him because he can protect her, give her a better life, and she looks to him to be her guide and father figure. In Leroux’s version however, she judges him for his lack of compassion towards the Phantom. "Raoul, why do you condemn a man whom you have never seen, whom no one knows and about whom you yourself know nothing?" Anne Perry, in her introduction to Leroux’s original novel, judges him as shallow: “Would Raoul be so madly in love with Christine were she not beautiful? He looks at her ‘pure’ and gentle face and sees in it all he believes her to be.”

Raoul has fallen in love with his childhood sweetheart. The Phantom declares he was bound to love her, once he heard her sing. Leroux states, “Raoul suffered, for she was very beautiful and he was shy and dared not confess his love, even to himself. And then came the lightning flash of the gala performance: the heavens torn asunder and an angel's voice heard upon earth for the delight of mankind and the utter capture of his heart.”

How does the Phantom view him? A rival, of course. A threat to his influence over the Opera House and to his desire for Christine. He accuses Raoul of sins. What are his sins? He embodies the “garish” light of day that never shows him compassion. He represents the world of society that has rejected him. He calls Raoul an insolent boy, negating his manhood. He is foolishly brave, invading his territory and daring to share in his triumph. He rants that he’s a slave of fashion, indicating his shallowness. The unseen genius calls him an ignorant fool. Raoul, is the world that shows the Phantom no compassion, but begs for compassion itself.

How does Raoul view the Phantom? A rival, of course. At first he denies his existence to Christine, in order to discredit him. He views him as a threat that needs to be stopped and destroyed. He gives him no credit for being a genius who has inspired Christine’s voice, only saying his genius has turned to madness. He is unable to relate to the Phantom’s plight. The Phantom is a dangerous rival for Christine’s affections, because he can touch her soul in places that he is incapable of doing so.

How interesting that both of these men are jealous of each other. The Phantom jealous of Raoul, because he can provide Christine the things in life he cannot - beauty, acceptance, wealth, and status. Raoul jealous of the Phantom because he can provide Christine things in life he cannot - tutoring, inspiration, music, and passion. Raoul touches her purity. The Phantom touches her passions. Yet neither of them possess her heart completely. Each possess only that part they are able to touch.

Do we relate to Raoul? I dare say not many. Though he represents light and all that is good, we recognize his sins of shallowness and his inability to be moved by the sufferings of the Phantom. Raoul and the Phantom, symbols of the age-old struggle of light versus darkness, jealous of what each possess.

Not many of us live blissful, prosperous, lives full of beauty. Perhaps that is another reason we relate more so to Erik, for he embodies all that we long for and the pain we sometimes feel. What are your thoughts? What do you see in Raoul? Is he a saint or sinner? Is he able to touch you at your passions or lot in life, or do you view him as shallow and self-centered? Is he to be envied or pitied? As you ponder the thoughts, look deeply inside yourself. Do you struggle with jealousy over what another possess in life that you do not? I'm sure that answer depends on your point of view behind the mask of your life. Perhaps another lesson can be learned, that whether we are saint or sinner, we are all in need of redemption.

Your Obedient and Respectful Student

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