The Official Phantom of the Opera Thread v2.0

PotO in Paris! Yea or Nay?

Yeah dude!	48.6%	[ 669 ]
Nope	6.5%	[ 89 ]
Who cares?	22.4%	[ 308 ]
FRENCH CAST ALBUM NEED	22.6%	[ 311 ]
Total Votes:			[ 1377 ]

[Phantom_Muz]

*laughs at the thought of Zorro Erik* xd rofl

[fuokohopin]

Phantom_Muz

Well, whenever you post it- you must let me know so that I may read it. Though isn't Raoul an officer in the French navy type thing, isn't he? I find that much different than a Bristish Sailor XD

On that note- i do not find Raoul innocent.... just naive.

Fuoko's Sweeney Todd Rant

I can't remember if he was an officer or not--shame on me. He is in the Navy, though! *fetches Leroux*

You don't find Raoul innocent? With Philippe or Erik as comparison, I certainly do XD

[Phantom_Muz]

Hm... after this post- I shall IM of questions & such from the rant if you don't mind (I'm ashamed of how in the dark I am about Sweeney)

And to me, Raoul is not innocent. None of the characters are really innocent to me... Christine being's the closest to innocent. Raoul may not be as experienced as his brother or Erik- he's no young boy. Though I agree that he needs a lot more maturity, I don't know... the word "innocent" just doesn't work.

[fuokohopin]

After consulting Leroux, Raoul is not an officer. He's considered a sailor, but a gentlemanly one at that--he is an aristocrat, after all.

I will still have to disagree, since it was Leroux's intention for Raoul to be as pure and innocent as possible:

"The shyness of the sailor-lad--I was almost saying his innocence--was remarkable. He seemed to have but just left the women's apron-strings. As a matter of fact, petted as he was by his two sisters and his aunt, he had retained from this purely feminine education manners that were almost candid and stamped with a charm that nothing had yet been able to sully. He was a little over twenty-one years of age and looked eighteen. He had a small, fair mustache, beautiful blue eyes and a complexion like a girl's."

If that isn't a picture of innocence, I don't know what is~

Leroux's comparison of Raoul to a girl is incredibly telling; that and the fact that Philippe is taking Raoul to the Opera in the first place XD He's lived an incredibly sheltered life~

[Phantom_Muz]

Heh- I forgot about the comparison of Raoul to a teenage girl XD

Hm.... maybe it's the sailor-aristocrat that kind of takes away the innocence. You travel to distance lands, stick on a boat with a bunch of men... whether you are raised by females the previously mentioned experiences have to have some effect....plus mustaches are always guilty!

Sorry, times have been hard on Muz.

Though it would be interesting to see his first long voyage ^^ *evil thoughts*

[fuokohopin]

Mustaches were fashionable in the 19th century--it don't know what you mean by suspect x)

Raoul's first voyage sounded like a school trip, to be honest--he was aboard a training ship, which I'll wager was populated by men of his same class and stature--and the only adjective Leroux applies to the experience is "quiet". x) Regardless, Leroux also stresses Raoul's unsullied, wholly unspoiled nature, so I suspect whatever experiences he did have did not have much effect on him.

I should say that it isn't like this is a Career or Profession as we would think of it. Raoul isn't bourgeouis--he's an aristocrat and probably independently wealthy, so I've always got the impression that it was just something to keep him occupied until he tied the knot or grew up.

[Phantom_Muz]

HOWEVER- there are a lot of things to keep you occupied as a sailor. XD

[Phantom_Muz]

On a serious note though.

Hm... I actually have no idea how to reply... I guess I can see the point since he's such a "silly young lad", heh.

[fuokohopin]

I don't really know anything about sailing in the 19th century, so I can't really say any more on the subject without making things up.

Alas, at any rate, off I must go to bed~

Night, Muz! heart

[Phantom_Muz]

Heh, same here Fuoko. It was great to talk to you again!

I bid you a good night as well. * courtesies*

[Bleeding Art]

And here I missed a lovely discussion on Raoul. D:

I must say, though, I can see where Muz was going with the "there were all men" thing. I can't say for certain if homosexual practices were made on such a ship (though they were off for months, though who's to say they didn't port elsewhere?) or that Raoul would have even been a part of them. Being sheltered, I'm sure he would have either been the favorite bum, or hidden away from their raunchy activities.

Then again, you never know. If the ship was run by a good Catholic man, I think he would have not had such activity on the ship, but whatever. Even at sea, the boy maintained his feminimity and shy demeanor. Not to say it's a bad thing, as it's a rather charming character being painted of Raoul.

[Phantom_Muz]

Hm... maybe I'm just really surprised that a little, girly, innocent man can survive on a boat with strong, beefy men for months on end...

I just can't expect Raoul to be THAT innocent... techincally in our comparison, Anthony shouldn't be either... the actor was just able to project that and very well mind you.

To me, sailors can't be saints.... but it could jsut be my veiw of seamen


(Sorry, I had to!)

Edit: WHY CAN'T I TYPE THE WORD "JUST" CORRECTLY! scream

[Elanchana]

Five high D's... AHHH!
Four fog machines
Three pretty harmonies

I think Phillippe may be a little less innocent than Raoul.

Two Christines (and an understudy)
And a sweaty piece of porcelain on his face
Happy Pholidays

[Phantom_Muz]

Oh, most definately.

[Gabriyn]

Poor Phillippe. . . I killed him gonk