The Phantom of the Opera

As the narrative builds towards the climax—the confrontation with Erik—the text reveals more of Erik's backstory through the Persian's memories. The Persian, a retired chief of police, knew Erik in Mazenderan (Persia) where he built a palace with hidden features much like the Opera and where he was dubbed the "trap-door lover" (185). Erik was also a contractor during the Opera House's construction, adding in the passages “where you could not utter a word but it was overheard or repeated by an echo” (214), secret hiding spots, and the torture chamber from his own designs while the owners were distracted with war and conflict. The Persian’s memories help explain how Erik knows the Opera so well, and why he has a home in its cellars without anyone knowing. This information also further develops Erik's connection to architecture, where he uses his talents to express the cruel side of his soul.

As the text builds the connection between Erik and architecture, it expands the description of Erik's sinister domain in the cellars. The Persian and Raoul see firsthand how Erik easily watches and hears the goings on of the Opera in secrecy when they overhear Mifroid's investigation in the organ room from a secret backroom. A “wooden partition” (189) easily conceals them from the others, though Raoul and the Persian can see all that is going on. Chapter 20 takes the men through "that extraordinary labyrinth" (192) of cellars. Their travels show how easy it is to get lost in the darkness, even when someone like the Persian—who is familiar with the cellars—is leading the way. Erik “never comes to this part” (198) of the fifth cellar where the men end up, illustrating how massive the underground tunnels are. This setting contributes to the building tension of these chapters, as Raoul and the Persian must find Christine as soon as possible, but the confusing underground world prevents them from using a direct route.

In the cellars, Raoul and the Persian confront several apparitions who test their belief in logic and reason. The first is the "shade in the shade" (194) with a cloak and felt hat that passes over the men as they are lying down. This figure patrols the cellars to find those who “venture to stray away from the stage” (195). The Persian himself has been caught lurking twice and the shade brought him to the managers’ office. Although there is relief that this figure isn't Erik, the Persian claims it is something "much worse" (195). The narrator, in his footnote, notes that he has no further explanation for this apparition, which infusing the "historical" investigation with a true supernatural occurrence. The rat-catcher, with his “whole fiery face […] with no body attached to it” (195), is so surprising an apparition that even the Persian—who “know[s] most of [Erik’s] tricks” (196) is left unsure whether the figure is real or supernatural. This apparition shows that when a character is unprepared for a strange event, often the first response is to assume the fantastical—no matter how reasonable the character is usually.

These chapters explain more of Erik's powers for what they really are: clever illusions that make the victim question their reality. As the chase for Erik begins, the Persian reveals to Raoul how Christine once disappeared through the mirror. Rather than moving “by enchantment” (186), as Raoul's desperate mind believed, the glass moves on a counterbalance spring and pivot, “like one of those revolving doors which have lately been fixed to the entrances of most restaurants” (187). To Raoul's unsuspecting mind, the trick looked like magic, but the Persian knows Erik's talent for engineering. The "siren" that guards the lake—introduced as a mythic being who almost kills the Persian—is really Erik below the water using a reed to sing and breathe through. Erik makes his intruders believe that “the singing came from the water itself” (203), when he is there the whole time. The Persian claims to know that the whole event was a trick, but it still frightens him enough to want to avoid it. Erik also reveals to the Persian that he wasn't responsible for the chandelier falling. The timing of the snapping ropes that were “very old and worn” (205) was pure coincidence—though Erik delighted in the event. These tricks all connect to the theme of illusions and distorted reality.

Alongside revealing Erik's tricks, these chapters also develop his character beyond the static monster that Raoul believes him to be. Erik's illusions and his taunts can be dangerous, but he is under a promise to the Persian to enact “no more murders” (205). Erik claims to not honor oaths, but these chapters show he is not responsible for any deaths while at the Opera, proving that he really did change “since he was loved for himself” (207) by Christine. The chandelier which killed a woman was not his doing, and the dead-looking gasman and his assistants were not actually dead—they were only sleeping. Raoul's instant belief in the death of these men shows that he perceives Erik as a murderous monster. Much like Raoul, Erik is emotionally immature. The Persian describes Erik's understanding of his illusions as like “a regular child” (204). He likes fooling people with his tricks and then revealing “all the really miraculous ingenuity of his mind” (204). Erik doesn't consider himself part of humanity because he has been rejected by people all his life for his appearance, so he has little remorse for toying with people's emotions. Erik's ultimate desire to be "loved for [his] own sake" (209) paints him as a tragic figure, as his disfigured appearance—which is out of his control—has prevented him from forming deep emotional connections with anyone in his life.

Chapter 21 in this section and Chapters 22 to 25 in the next section are all "verbatim" from the Persian's personal written manuscript of the Opera's strange events. The perspective of these chapters therefore switches from the narrator to the Persian, who relates the events in first person. The narrator does include his perspective during these chapters through footnotes, where he offers extra information that the Persian leaves out. For example, the narrator explains Erik’s use of the Persian word daroga, which means “chief of police” (206). As footnotes are common to nonfiction texts, this structure reaffirms the text's purpose as a “true” investigative account and reasserts the narrator's position as the ultimate purveyor of truth who comments on and judges the veracity of other accounts of the same event.