© Pearson Education Limited 2002

Penguin Readers Factsheets

The Phantom of the Opera

by Gaston Leroux

Teacher’s Notes

This famous classic about a man with a terribly deformed face whofalls in love with the beautiful French opera singer, Christine Daaé,is told long after the events happen. A historian researches theevents surrounding the mysterious disappearance of ViscountChagny and Christine Daaé and this is his story. He learns from hisresearch that this man’s face was so monstrous that even hismother could not look at him when he was a child, and his hope ofever finding love was an impossible dream. Much of what we learnabout this man, Erik, who almost everyone at the time believes isa ghost, comes at the end of the story when all is revealed by thePersian who knew him better than anyone. The story begins whenthe ghost is seen in the Opera on the evening of the retirementparty for the managers. There is a death in the Opera that night aswell. The retiring managers inform the new managers that there isa ghost who can bring disaster to the Opera if he does not get whathe wants. The new managers laugh and do not believe this storyuntil they make the mistake of going against the wishes of theghost. The ghost is in love with Christine Daaé and manages tocarry her away to his underground house on the lake below theOpera. She believes he is the Angel of Music, who her fatherpromised to send to her after he died. To her horror she discovers,when she sees him for the first time, that she is in the grips of aterrible monster. Count Chagny’s brother Raoul, the viscount, isalso in love with Christine but she cannot return his love for fear ofwhat the monster will do if he finds them together. The monster andthe viscount are jealous of each other but the monster is farcleverer and Raoul ends up in Erik’s torture room with the Persianwho is trying to help him find Christine. When it seems that there isno hope and they will die in the torture room, the Persian remindsErik that he saved Erik’s life once. This saves the two men. WhenChristine touches the monster’s hand, mixes her tears with his, andallows the monster to kiss her, he has his first and last taste ofhuman affection and love. He can now allow Christine to go withRaoul. We learn toward the end of the story that Erik was born withno nose and yellow eyes. In fairs all across Europe he learnedmagic. He sang beautifully, was the world’s first ventriloquist, andcould perform unbelievable tricks. When a Persian Princess heardabout him, she instructed her chief of police, known as the Persianin the story, to bring him to her palace in Mazenderan. The kingused Erik’s skills for political murders. Erik built a palace full oftrap doors and secret passages for the king. It was a work ofgenius and the king ordered Erik’s death so that no one else couldhave such a palace. The chief of police saved Erik from death andErik escaped. Finally, he went to Paris, where he worked for

Philippe Garnier, the architect of the Paris Opera. During the war,work on the Opera stopped but Erik continued working alone,building trap doors and secret passages. It is his genius, histalents, and his personal tragedy that lead him to a life as thephantom of the opera.

Gaston Leroux, born in Paris in 1868, was trained in law, but chosea career in writing. He wrote stories, plays, poems, novels andscreenplays. His own extensive travels around the world and hisknowledge of the layout of the Paris Opera are cleverly interwoveninto The Phantom of the Opera. He was intrigued by the design ofthe opera house and thought it would be the perfect setting for adetective story. The story remains as popular today as it was whenhe wrote it.

This story is about the great misfortune which can come tosomeone when they are different from everyone else, when thatperson is not accepted for who they are. When people do not lookinto the heart of the man but look at appearances only, they quicklymisjudge that person. This is what happens to Erik. In spite of hisenormous musical talent, his skillfulness as a magician,ventriloquist, architect, and inventor, he cannot join the human racebecause of his terrible face. He wants nothing more thanacceptance, especially acceptance from a woman. He wants a wifeand a normal life in a normal house like other people. He will neverhave these things and he knows it. So he becomes revengeful andtortures those who do not allow him to do as he wishes. He useshis genius to create a mysterious world where he can torturepeople he dislikes. While this is a work of fiction, the character ofErik is sadly all too recognizable. We see in society today terriblecrimes committed by people who have lived as outsiders, whohave not had friends, who live in a world of their own. Vulnerableyoung people, like Christine Daaé and Raoul Chagny, can easilybecome victims of such people. Because they are afraid, they donot go to the police. But it is also the story of the class system,whereby uneducated, poor people are used and discarded by theirsuperiors, as in the case of the servant of Monsieur Moncharmin.It is a story of good and evil, love and hate, jealousy and greed.And, in the end, good conquers evil.

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Summary

About the author

Background and themes

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Published and distributed by Pearson EducationFactsheet written by Coleen Degnan-VenessFactsheet series developed by Louise James

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

1 Find out how many of your students have seen the play orthe movie The Phantom of the Opera. Did they like it? Why?Ask them to look at the cover of the book and read the blurbon the back. They should work in pairs to write a list ofquestions that they hope to find answers to when they read.

2 Ask students to read the Contents and to look up any newwords in their dictionaries. They can write these words in theirnotebooks with the definitions and add any other new wordsas they read the story.

3 Tell the students that the story is told by a man who wants toknow the true story of the phantom in the Paris Opera longafter the events happened. Some of the story comes to himfrom books and letters, some from people he spoke to. Askthem if they have ever read a book told in this way. Whatadvantages are there to writing in this way, do they think?

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION

Chapters 1–3

1 Put students into small groups and ask them to discuss whatthe historian finds strange about these things in the story.

(a) the rope(b) Christine Daaé’s divine voice(c) the ghost at the supper table

2 Ask students to work in pairs and to discuss the effect thesepeople had on Christine’s early life:

(a) Monsieur Daaé (c) Madame Valérius(b) Monsieur Valérius (d) Raoul Chagny

3 Put students into pairs and ask some pairs to role play thescene when Raoul finds Christine in the sitting room at theSetting Sun. Ask other pairs to role play their meeting in thegraveyard. Give them enough time to prepare and help themwith pronunciation and intonation. Then allow each pair toperform for the rest of the class.

Chapters 4–6

1 Ask students to work in pairs and to write the letter Christinewrote to Raoul after that night in Perros (page 28). Then askthem to exchange letters and compare what they wrote. Letthe class decide which letter is the best.

2 Ask the students to work in small groups and to think aboutthe events in chapters 5 and 6. Ask them to discuss thechoices Christine makes and whether they think she hasdone the right thing? Then have a whole class discussion.

3 Put students into pairs and ask them to role play theconversation between Raoul and Christine from the pointwhere they come to the eighth floor and see the Persian towhen they look for the ring but cannot find it. After they performtheir role-plays, ask the students what they think Raoul andChristine should do at this point in the story and why.

Chapters 7–9

1 Write these events on the board. Ask the students to discussin small groups how Philippe and Raoul feel when theseevents happen.

(a) Raoul takes his gun and shoots the eyes.(b) The newspaper reports the marriage of Viscount Chagny

and Christine Daaé.(c) Christine disappears from the stage.

2 Put students into groups of three. Ask them to prepare a role-play of the conversation between Madame Giry and themanagers when they suspect her of stealing the 20,000francs on pages 54–55. After they perform their role-plays,ask the students what they think happened to the money.

3 Put the students into small groups and ask them to discusswhat Mifroid meant when he said, “This is, gentlemen, the artof the police.” Do they think he is very clever? What doesMifroid think of Raoul, the managers and the Angel of Music?

Chapters 10–12

1 Put the students into small groups and ask them to make alist of all of Erik’s clever tricks and inventions that he uses forhis torture room. Where did he learn these things? Then askthe groups to compare their lists. Ask the class whichinvention they think was his most clever.

2 Elicit from the class the events from Erik’s life in chronologicalorder, and write them on the board. What do these events tellus about the man? What adjectives would the students use todescribe Erik? Make a list. Do they think he was evil?

3 Ask the students to look at the Contents page again and towrite new headings for each chapter. They may prefer towork alone or in pairs. Then let them compare their headingsand discuss their choices.

4 Ask the students to look at the list of questions they hadbefore they read the book. Can they now answer thesequestions? Have any been left unanswered? If so, what dothey think the answers probably are. Have a class discussion.

Teacher’s Notes

Penguin Readers Factsheets

Communicative activities

Chapters 1–3

allowance (n) money providedregularly for a special purpose

angel (n) a messenger and servant ofGod

ballet (n) a theatrical performance inwhich a story is told using artisticdancing and music

box (n) a very small room with an openside which is in the theatre. People cansit in them to watch the performance

box office (n) a place in the theatrewhere tickets are sold

cellar (n) an underground room,usually without windows and used forstoring goods

count (n) a man who has a high socialposition in Europe because of thefamily he comes from

divine (adj) having the qualities of God,or coming from God

franc (n) the former unit of money inFrance

genius (n) a person with great talent

memorandum (n) a note from oneperson to another within the sameorganization

opera (n) a musical play in which manyor all of the words are sung

phantom (n) a ghost

skeleton (n) the complete set of bonesin a human body

skull (n) the bone of the head

superstitious (adj) believing that someobjects or actions are lucky or unlucky

tremble (v) to shake uncontrollably,usually with fear

triumph (n) a complete victory orsuccess

viscount (n) a man with a socialposition below a count

Chapters 4–6

carriage (n) a vehicle with wheels thatis pulled by a horse

chandelier (n) a large decoration madeof pieces of glass that holds lights(electric or flame) and which hangsfrom the ceiling

mask (n) something that covers all orpart of the face to protect or hide it

toad (n) an animal like a large frogwhich has a brownish colour

torture (v) to cause great pain orsuffering to someone to punish them ormake them give you information

trap door (n) a small door that coversan opening in a floor

Chapters 7–9

monster (n) a strange, frighteningcreature or someone who is extremelycruel and evil

safety pin (n) a wire pin that is used tohold two pieces of material together

Chapters 10–12

grasshopper (n) an insect that jumpswith its long back legs and makes shortloud noises

scorpion (n) a tropical creature like alarge insect with a curving tail that hasa poisonous sting

ventriloquist (n) a person who useshis voice without moving his lips so that the sound seems to come fromsomeone else

Glossary

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Student’s activities

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lePenguin Readers Factsheets

The Phantom of the Opera

by Gaston Leroux

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

1 Read the Introduction and answer these questions.

(a) What has the opera ghost done to make the managersdecide to leave their jobs?

(b) Who is telling the story?(c) Why did the man telling the story go to the National

School of Music?(d) Why did he speak to the Persian?(e) What was the Paris Opera built over?( f ) Why did Leroux know so much about the Opera

building?(g) How many floors are underground?

2 Put these events from Leroux’s life in the correct order.

■■ (a) In Morocco, he learned about France andGermany’s struggle for power there.

■■ (b) He formed his own production company.■■ (c) He studied law and received a law degree.■■ (d) He wrote his first successful novel which introduced

the detective Rouletabille.■■ (e) His father died, leaving him a large amount of

money.

ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK

Chapters 1–3

1 Which character in the first chapter…

(a) is in charge of moving scenery?(b) is the singing master? (c) has a private box in the Opera? (d) is in charge of Box Five? (e) is found hanging in the third cellar? ( f ) is the scenery manager? (g) gives a surprisingly talented performance and then

faints? (h) is sick and cannot perform? ( i ) has just returned from a trip around the world and is

going to the North Pole? ( j ) tells Christine, “The angels in heaven cried tonight”?

2 Put the sentences into the correct order.

■■ (a) The retiring managers and the new managers leavethe guests and go to the office.

■■ (b) The managers tell the inspector they no longer wantMadame Giry working for them.

■■ (c) Jammes sees the Opera ghost for the second timeand screams loudly.

■■ (d) Monsieur Richard receives a letter from the operaghost asking him not to sell Box Five.

■■ (e) The managers go to Box Five to inspect it.

■■ ( f ) The new managers are told there is a ghost and thatdisaster strikes when the ghost does not get what hewants.

■■ (g) The managers receive an inspector’s report about aproblem in Box Five.

■■ (h) The man with the Face of Death tells the guests thatBuquet was found hanging.

■■ ( i ) Madame Giry tries to explain to the new managersthat the opera ghost spoke to the people who weresitting in his box.

■■ ( j ) Monsieur Poligny shows the new managers thememorandum book with the strange handwriting inred ink.

3 Are these sentences true or false? Correct the false ones.

(a) As children, Christine Daaé and Raoul played together inthe graveyard at Perros-Guirec.

(b) Christine’s father was a poor farmer, a widower and atalented violinist.

(c) Monsieur Valérius took Christine to Perros-Guirec, whereshe met Raoul for the first time.

(d) Christine’s father told her that the Angel of Music bringsgreat talent to those he visits.

(e) When Monsieur Valérius died, Christine lost her voice,her soul, and her genius.

Chapters 4–6

1 What happened when

(a) Madame Giry told the managers that she had received aletter from the ghost?

(b) Carlotta received a letter threatening her if she appearedon stage that night?

(c) Carlotta sang her only two lines for the second act?(d) the managers returned to Box Five for the third act?(e) the managers returned and found the opera glasses and

remembered Madame Giry’s words?(f) Christine saw Viscount Chagny as she began to sing?(g) Carlotta sang in the third act?(h) the ghost says to the managers,”She is singing tonight to

bring the chandelier down!”

2 After the chandelier fell, what happened to

(a) Carlotta?(b) Christine Daaé?(c) Madame Giry?

© Pearson Education Limited 2002

Penguin Readers Factsheets

Student’s activities

3 Who speaks, writes or sings these words and to who?

(a) “But you know as well as I do that Christine couldn’tmarry, even if she wanted to!”

(b) “The genius gives her lessons? Where?”(c) “Go to the masked party at the Opera on the night after

tomorrow.”(d) “Dear, it is a tragedy!”(e) “Our lives are joined forever and a day!”( f ) “Who is this Erik?”

Chapters 7–9

1 Who is described in these sentences?

Viscount Chagny the Persian Monsieur Richard ErikMonsieur Moncharmin Raoul Christine Daaé Philippe

(a) He is always in the Opera.(b) His eyes only show in the dark(c) He took out his gun and aimed at the two eyes.(d) The report in the Epoque said he intended to prevent the

marriage.(e) When the lights came back on, she was no longer there!( f ) He continued shouting for a safety pin until a boy brought

him one.(g) He put his hands together and lowered his head, and left

slowly, walking backwards!(h) The face was so white, so full of pain, that they were

seized with pity.

2 Write the missing word in each sentence.

horror torture gun cellar mirror

(a) The Persian told Raoul to hold the __________ in frontof his face at all times.

(b) The Persian and Raoul left Christine’s dressing roomthrough the __________.

(c) The Persian took Raoul down to the third __________.(d) It was the Punjab rope. He threw it down in __________.(e) We have dropped into the __________ room!

Chapters 10–12

1 Answer these questions.

(a) Where did the Persian meet Erik?(b) What was the Persian’s job?(c) Where did Erik learn to throw a rope and kill men with it?(d) Who did Erik work for after he returned to France?(e) What did Erik do during the war?( f ) What could Erik do with his voice that no one before him

could do?(g) Erik was the first person in the world to build something?

What?(h) What did Erik plan to do if Christine refused to marry

him?

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK

1 Imagine you were at the Opera on the night the chandelierfell. Write a letter to a friend telling about the strange eventsthat happened in act 3 of Faust that night.

2 There is a musical of The Phantom of the Opera. Imaginethat you have just read in the newspaper that you can wintickets to see it. All you have to do to win is write in 300-400words “Was the phantom really in love with Christine or didhe love only her voice?”

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Published and distributed by Pearson EducationFactsheet written by Coleen Degnan-VenessFactsheet series developed by Louise James