Last night, I took my husband and both kids to see Phantom of the Opera because I had a chance to get very inexpensive tickets with a group (granted they were nosebleed tickets, but it's still Phantom). I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that both kids seemed to like it. My daughter cried at the end so this morning she pondered whether she really liked it or not. (Maybe the sad ending ruined it for her. She hasn't decided yet.) She has that sympathy for the Phantom gene which I must have passed on to her.
I loved it, as I always do - but seeing it with my daughter really made me wonder how Christine turned out in the end. (Side note - I read A.L.W.'s follow-up novel with his theory of what happened and it doesn't really fit so there's no need to tell me about that book. I prefer to wonder.)
Did Christine become a mom? Did she learn how to stand up for herself and rely less often on those around her to save her from bad things? (Because, really - you know - they can't. Even if they want to do so.)
I hope she did. I like to imagine that she had a daughter herself and that she was able to help her daughter face mean girls fearlessly (I suspect they had mean girls even back then) and encouraged her to sing in her school choir. Maybe her daughter even became the first female scientist in Paris. (I'd like to but can't imagine her to be Marie Curie because Marie was, in fact, Polish - and her true name wasn't even Marie. History has a tendency to ruin fantasies which would otherwise be perfectly lovely.)
I've come a long way. I never used to focus upon Christine - it was all about the Phantom. I guess I figured she just faded into nothingness.
My current image of her is what I prefer - hurt but whole, strong, and ready to build a new life for herself.
3 comments:
Did you know there is a new follow-up musical? It takes place 10 years later, and things aren't going so well for Christine & Raoul.
I think you may be projecting yourself onto Christine. Just saying.
Ya' think? Really? :)
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