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I agree. I always loved the forehead kiss because it emphasized the total lack of human kindness showed to Erik, but then I like the lips kis too...

QuestionL will Erik have a kitty? (Ayesha)

I really want to know what I can do to make Raoul a likable character since the general concensus is "Grrr. Erik>Raoul, Dogshit>Raoul"

If you play him like he is in Leroux you shouldn't have much of a problem... Raoul's a very likeable guy, albeit highly confused through most of the story.

I haven't read the book in a while, so forgive me if I'm a bit off here...

But I think he should be very honest, emotional and genuine, to balance out Erik's sublty and deceit. Erik is crafty, manipulative, whereas Raoul wears his emotions on his sleeve and seems to take everything to extremes. But he's a gentleman through and through and a true romantic. He was raised on fairy tales just like Christine, and so he models himself after the courageous hero without ever meaning to.
And Christine is the only woman he's ever really loved. He loved her when they were children, but right when he began to think that he might love her as more than a friend they were seperated... And years later he sees her again and finally realizes that he's head over heels in love with her. But he becomes embroiled in this mystery surrounding her... He doesn't know anything about Erik, all he knows is that the woman he loves more than anything in the world is in love with another man. He's crushed, initially his pride is wounded and he's a little bitter, but when he starts to realize that Christine might be in trouble he's immediately resolved to help her, even if she doesn't love him.
Another thing off the top of my head is that, while Christine and Raoul were both raised on fairy tales, Raoul has grown up a little. While Christine is still so deeply entangled in fantasy that she can't even tell when she's being tricked, Raoul is old enough to realize that the fairy tales aren't really true. And although he is young and inexperienced, he isn't stupid or naive. He's the first person to realize that the Angel of Music is someone's way of tricking Christine.

Just throwing out ideas here...

Welcome. ^_^
I agree about the weak spot left by her father's death, but I don't think she continues to cling to it after she learns who Erik is. That scene where she wakes up, in more ways than one, to find herself trapped in the Louis-Philippe bedroom is really the moment she gets over her obsession with the Angel of Music. Her entire world basically comes crashing down around her when she finally comprehends that there was no Angel of Music. It was all a lie, just like Raoul told her. She was so willing to believe in some remnant of her father that she fell completely into this man's lies, and now she's in real danger for her stupidity and naivete. That's when she goes into the hysterics Erik finds her in... And notice that she never refers to him as the Angel of Music after that.
For a time she behaves like any other kidnap victim. She's afraid of Erik, to the point of arming herself with scissors in case he tries to hurt her, and everything she does when he's showing her around is in an effort to humor him... To placate him into letting her go, or allowing her a chance to escape. But at the same time, she learns about him, how he's in love with her and, like anyone, becomes interested. When he sings she's captivated by his voice again, but this time in connection with the man, not the Angel. She's practically getting off on listening to him sing now. That's when she gets grabby with the mask, and we all know how that goes, but after the inital scaries and temper tantrum are over she finally gets the fully picture. She realizes why he lives down there, why he couldn't approach her like a normal suitor, and that's when she gains that overwhelming pity for him (because remember, Christine is a very empathetic person) that keeps her coming back, even though she knows he's dangerous.

Whoo, post of DOOM.;

Raoul: The thing that I find people often over look about Raoul is the simple fact that he isn't a fop or girly man, but a very brave and if you go by the book also probably very physically fit. He volunteered for an artic naval voyage, something that would take a whole lot of courage and physical strength and endurance back then. To be a naval officer was hard enough work, let alone to be excepted onto an arctic mission.

Erik: I wouldn't go so far as autistic with Erik. Driven, insane, but not necessarily mentally challenged. I think more along the lines of what if Mozart was forced to live with the face of a monster? His brillance is natural and incredible, but his face an abomination. What makes Erik tragic is the fact that he would be applauded and honored in society if it weren't for his physical condition. Another note on Erik, in the book especially, Christine has every right to fear him. He is a monster and overly possesive. Too show him as simply a pityable creature does no justice to the book. He must be scary before pitied. I love when he makes Christine dig her nails into his face. "A rose by any other name..."

Christine: Blonde, that's all I've got to say.

Daroga: To often in the various plays/film versions, he is portrayed as a stereotype or completely rewritten to be someone else. The man is cunning and full of wit. The only man Erik every really respected and maybe even feared. If including him, do him justice.

As a fellow aspiring filmmaker, I've often thought of doing a true-to-book adaptation myself. The one element I've longed to actually explore is flashback scene's during the Daroga's description of Erik's past to Raoul. too many times Erik has been portrayed as either a circus freak or a man who's face is destroyed latter in life.

You know, I didn't even mean it that way. I simply meant that she's always portrayed with brown hair instead of the blonde color she has in the book. Hadn't even thought that it would come off like I meant "a dumb blonde." I'll try to pick my words better next time.

Writer's Note: Authors put themselves in a character. Gaston Leroux put himself in Daroga. ALW put himself in Erik. I guess I am putting myself in Christine.