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I dislike Leroux!Raoul for his unceasiung crying, yes, but I don't hate him. I call him a fop simply because I feel like it, anf in fun. No, he isn't a fop (anymore than Erik is) but I feel he has at least earned "pansy", so I don't feel to bad about "fop".

I thought I'd quote myself on the subject of Raoul's sobbing since I don't like repeating myself.

And no Erin, he hasn't earned the title of pansy either. If he was a pansy he would've run away every time something dangerous happened.
But did he? No. He, like the typical hero of a book, went and put himself in danger and even nearly died just to save the woman he loved. A pansy would have run away saying she wasn't worth it.

It's fine if you don't like Raoul as a character, but don't pick on him for crying. I've explained it time and time again, but nobody cares enough to read previous posts to see if a point has been made.

True. Raoul isn't a fop. I've never called him one, personally. However, I have called him a wimp on more than one occasion. Granted, I've only seen ALW's movie and play versions, but at least in those Raoul doesn't seem to do much in his role as 'hero' to Christine. If they hadn't added the fight scene to the movie, Raoul would have done pretty much nothing to 'save' Christine.

Fuoko's correct. Mr. Lloyd Webber was only interested in the dark love story between Christine and the Phantom since he was writing the musical for his wife-at-the-time (or to-be at the time) Sarah Brightman. Raoul to him was simply just another character he had to deal with and didn't pay all that much attention to him, making the man a bit 2-dimensional.

And as Fuoko already mentioned Raoul is more observant, more urgent in finding out what's going on with Christine and who her mysterious angel is in the book. But also, musicals have less elaborate a plot than regular plays or movies because there has to be room for singing, dancing, and the like.

If fuokohopin doesn't mind, I'd like to add my own little rant to his, or at least some of my own points as it were.

To begin with, I'll start off by saying I'm a huge Erik fan. I think that should be quite obvious. However, I believe Raoul is by far a much more important character than he is given credit for. My reason for this is simple, a large part of the original book is told or at least viewed from Raoul perspective. We, as the reader, learn most of the crucial bits of the story thru Raoul's eyes.

Now, to answer to those fop/wimp callers out there. Raoul was going to serve as a navy officer aboard a ship going to Antartica before staying to be with Christine. Even in this day and age, that's a very dangerous and courageous thing to do. I could have been throwing his life away on such a voyage. The reason he stayed was because he loved Christine. A very noble thing indeed. And because he felt the need to protect her from Erik, who is a very frightening character when it all boils down. It took a lot of guts to do what Raoul did.

Raoul is brash. He does jump into things headfirst and with out thought. He does this in the name of love, though. Don't all the great lovers in history tend to act with their heart, not their heads?

As for the girly aspect. Raoul does at times come off as a bit feminine, but even Leroux explains this. Raoul's parents died young and he was raised by his Aunts (and sisters? can't remember completely). He was basically surrounded by women all his life and coddled by them. This, however, gave him a deep respect for women and made him a far noblier personage then his womanizing brother.

Raoul stood up to his brother as well as all of high-class Paris by confessing his undying love for Christine and his wishes to marry her although she was of lower breeding. He defied his family and society for his love. I'd say that again is pretty brave.

Moving on. If you are only a phan of the ALW musical, then you've really missed alot of what Raoul stood for and his purpose. Even so, look at the new movie. I'd have to say what I missed most in the moive compared to the musical version is the lack of Raoul's lines. Some of my favorite parts in the musical deal with Raoul. For instant, in Wandering Child, Raoul's singing is so heartfelt and distraught. Replacing it with the sword fight just doesn't have the same effect for me. The swordfight which I might add, Raoul wins. He is a nobleman after all and would be well trained with a sword.

So, there's my two or more cents.

Ah thank you. You reminded me about something I left off, which tends to happen when I get going.

I was going to say that Raoul is very childlike. Partially because of being raised by women and because he is so innocent when it comes to love. He has a childlike nature becasue he has been away from society and hasn't really ever forgotten his first crush. His starts as a puppy dog love that grows into full affection for Christine. His love is true and pure. Erik's love is drawn from obsession and ownership. Erik wants Christine to be his body and soul. He has major issues of thinking of her almost as property. Raoul's love is the truer and more heart driven of the two.

FINALLY!!!!! SOMEONE SAID IT!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, fuokohopin.

This has been my opinion all along.