Vicomte Raoul de Chagny

Raoul de Chagny is a young French aristocrat and the younger brother of the Comte de Chagny in Gaston Leroux’s Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. He is about twenty-one years old and is described as delicate and youthful in appearance, with fair hair, large blue eyes, and an almost feminine softness to his complexion. Despite his noble birth, Raoul is considerably less worldly and self-assured than his older brother, Philippe. (The Comtesse de Chagny, nee de Moerogis de La Martyniere, had died in giving birth to Raoul, who was born twenty years after his elder brother. At the time of the old count's death, Raoul was twelve years of age. Philippe busied himself actively with the youngster's education. He was admirably assisted in this work first by his sisters and afterward by an old aunt, the widow of a naval officer, who lived at Brest and gave young Raoul a taste for the sea. The lad entered the Borda training-ship, finished his course with honors and quietly made his trip round the world. Thanks to powerful influence, he had just been appointed a member of the official expedition on board the Requin, which was to be sent to the Arctic Circle in search of the survivors of the D'Artoi's expedition, of whom nothing had been heard for three years.) Raoul is deeply emotional, idealistic, impulsive, and intensely devoted to Christine Daaé. He first knew Christine as a child in Perros-Guirec, where they formed a tender childhood attachment. (care of her frock and her little red shoes and her fiddle, but most of all loved, when she went to sleep, to hear the Angel of Music." While the old man told this story, Raoul looked at Christine's blue eyes and golden hair; and Christine thought that Lotte was very lucky to hear the Angel of Music when she went to sleep. The Angel of Music played a part in all Daddy Daae's tales; and he maintained that every great musician, every great artist received a visit from the Angel at least once in his life. Sometimes the Angel leans over their cradle, as happened to Lotte, and that is how there are little prodigies who play the fiddle at six better than men at fifty, which, you must admit, is very wonderful. Sometimes, the Angel comes much later, because the children are naughty and won't learn their lessons or practise their scales. And, sometimes, he does not come at all, because the children have a bad heart or a bad conscience. No one ever sees the Angel; but he is heard by those who are meant to hear him. He often comes when they least expect him, when they are sad and disheartened. Then their ears suddenly perceive celestial harmonies, a divine voice, which they remember all their lives. Persons who are visited by the Angel quiver with a thrill unknown to the rest of mankind. And they can not touch an instrument, or open their mouths to sing, without producing sounds that put all other human sounds to shame. Then people who do not know that the Angel has visited those persons say that they have genius. Little Christine asked her father if he had heard the Angel of Music. But Daddy Daae shook his head sadly; and then his eyes lit up, as he said: "You will hear him one day, my child! When I am in Heaven, I will send him to you!" Daddy was beginning to cough at that time. Three years later, Raoul and Christine met again at Perros. Professor Valerius was dead, but his widow remained in France with Daddy Daae and his daughter, who continued to play the violin and sing, wrapping in their dream of harmony their kind patroness, who seemed henceforth to live on music alone. The young man, as he now was, had come to Perros on the chance of finding them and went straight to the house in which they used to stay. He first saw the old man; and then Christine entered, carrying the tea-tray. She flushed at the sight of Raoul, who went up to her and kissed her. She asked him a few questions, performed her duties as hostess prettily, took up the tray again and left the room. Then she ran into the garden and took refuge on a bench, a prey to feelings that stirred her young heart for the first time. Raoul followed her and they talked till the evening, very shyly. They were quite changed, cautious as two diplomatists, and told each other things that had nothing to do with their budding sentiments. When they took leave of each other by the roadside, Raoul, pressing a kiss on Christine's trembling hand, said: "Mademoiselle, I shall never forget you!" And he went away regretting his words, for he knew that Christine could not be the wife of the Vicomte de Chagny.) Years later, when he encounters her again at the Paris Opera, his old affection quickly returns and develops into passionate love. (The first time that Raoul saw Christine at the Opera, he was charmed by the girl's beauty and by the sweet images of the past which it evoked, but was rather surprised at the negative side of her art. He returned to listen to her. He followed her in the wings. He waited for her behind a Jacob's ladder. He tried to attract her attention. More than once, he walked after her to the door of her box, but she did not see him. She seemed, for that matter, to see nobody. She was all indifference. Raoul suffered, for she was very beautiful and he was shy and dared not confess his love, even to himself.) He is fundamentally romantic and sincere, but his emotions often overwhelm his judgment. His love for Christine makes him jealous, frightened, and occasionally rash. He struggles to understand what is happening because Christine herself is torn between her affection for Raoul, her faith in her father's Angel, and her terrifying connection to Erik. Raoul is brave but not fearless. Unlike the stereotypical fearless hero, Leroux's Raoul frequently experiences terror, confusion, and despair. Nevertheless, he repeatedly acts despite those emotions, especially when Christine's safety is at stake. His determination to rescue her ultimately brings him into direct conflict with Erik. One of Raoul's most important characteristics is his youthfulness. He can be jealous and possessive, but this is intertwined with genuine vulnerability (He cries a lot). He does not possess Erik's extraordinary knowledge or experience, nor does he have the worldly sophistication of Philippe. Raoul is essentially a young man desperately trying to protect the woman he loves from a situation he barely understands. His relationship with Christine is also rooted in shared childhood memories. This gives his love a particularly nostalgic quality: Christine represents not merely his romantic future, but a precious connection to his innocent past. Their reunion awakens feelings that had been dormant for years. Personality at a glance • Age: 21 • Social position: Young French aristocrat, Vicomte de Chagny; Sailor at the French Navy • Appearance: Blond/fair hair, large dark or deep-blue eyes, delicate youthful features, unusually soft/fair complexion • Temperament: Sensitive, passionate, romantic, impulsive, protective • Strengths: Courage, loyalty, sincerity, determination, capacity for deep affection • Flaws: Jealousy, impulsiveness, emotional volatility, naivety • Greatest motivation: Protecting and being reunited with Christine • Greatest fear: Losing Christine to Erik or being unable to save her • Relationship with Christine: Childhood companion → beloved → desperate protector • Relationship with Erik: Suspicion, rivalry, fear, hatred

As an adult, Raoul is skeptical and not at all superstitious.