Frankenstein of the Opera?
The presences of love-hate evoking storylines in the Phantom of the Opera and Frankenstein are astounding. Both characters are parentless, friendless, physically deformed and shunned from society. But the common trait between the phantom and the monster that catches my interest is how both characters are portrayed in a way that both lose and gain compassion from the reader thoughout the story.
In the Phantom of the Opera, the phantom is a deformed orphan that is enslaved and tortured as a circus side-show freak. He later uses his traumatic childhood as a justification to kill innocent people. He tricks the main female character, Christine, and kidnapps her in hopes of forcing her into marriage. As the plot unfolds and more of the phantom's evil doings are complete, contempt for the phantom is drawn from the reader. However, in the end when Christine does not reciprocate his love and he is left in the under-belly of the opera house all alone, I ironically felt really bad for the phantom realizing that no one would ever love him for him and he would die friendless and loveless.
Mary Shelley uses the same characteristic shifts in Frankstein. The monster is abandoned upon his first momments on earth by the only person that can appreciate the wonderment of his creation, Victor Frankenstein. Much like the absence of the phantom's mother, the one person whose love you are supposed to be guaranteed on earth, the monster is denied love from his parent/creator. The monster murders almost all of Victor's familial circle who were blameless in the monster's torment. Yet remarkably at the deathbed of Victor, the monster reveals his only wish and aim was to have someone to love and appreciate him despite his deformity. When the possibility of that one wish was extinguished the monster was left all alone and become a tender and pitiful being that drew my compassion even though he was still a deranged murderer.
What is the authors' motive for writing this type of narrative in which they maticulously evoke a feeling of wanting to simultaneaoulsy strangle and hug the villain?
In the Phantom of the Opera, the phantom is a deformed orphan that is enslaved and tortured as a circus side-show freak. He later uses his traumatic childhood as a justification to kill innocent people. He tricks the main female character, Christine, and kidnapps her in hopes of forcing her into marriage. As the plot unfolds and more of the phantom's evil doings are complete, contempt for the phantom is drawn from the reader. However, in the end when Christine does not reciprocate his love and he is left in the under-belly of the opera house all alone, I ironically felt really bad for the phantom realizing that no one would ever love him for him and he would die friendless and loveless.
Mary Shelley uses the same characteristic shifts in Frankstein. The monster is abandoned upon his first momments on earth by the only person that can appreciate the wonderment of his creation, Victor Frankenstein. Much like the absence of the phantom's mother, the one person whose love you are supposed to be guaranteed on earth, the monster is denied love from his parent/creator. The monster murders almost all of Victor's familial circle who were blameless in the monster's torment. Yet remarkably at the deathbed of Victor, the monster reveals his only wish and aim was to have someone to love and appreciate him despite his deformity. When the possibility of that one wish was extinguished the monster was left all alone and become a tender and pitiful being that drew my compassion even though he was still a deranged murderer.
What is the authors' motive for writing this type of narrative in which they maticulously evoke a feeling of wanting to simultaneaoulsy strangle and hug the villain?
posted by Kristian at 10:40 PM
3 Comments:
hmnnn...i'm not sure. do you have any inkling?
By liking the villain, it keeps the reader reading. If you hated the monster you would want all bad things to happen to him and would get frustrated if the monster wasn’t punished. If some part of you does like him, then you would want to know if he actually is punished for his monstrous actions or if he gets his way and is able to live happily ever after. You also keep reading to find more evidence of if he is good or evil; does he show remorse and regret for his actions or does he continue to do bad?
That is a really good point Malen I hadn't thought of that or any other possibility for this quandry. still thinkin...
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