15) "All I Ask of You" -- scene summary

[honeyphan]

The Hidden Plot


SUMMARY OF “All I Ask of You”

Paragraph summary: Christine turns from Erik, who calls to her, Raoul reveals to her who he is (the pageboy sheds his disguise) She then asks Raoul for safety and protection and accepts his offer. But a number of clues seem to show that she’s really in love with Erik and not Raoul.




Raoul pulls Christine away from the darkness, into the light. She looks at him in some confusion. He is about to shed his disguise . . .
As he pulls her away, on the left side of the screen, next to her, a hazy but thick line of blue light flickers near her shoulder (by her heart but not through her)—perhaps like a message from Erik, calling her back to him (since they always show the line of blue light with him through his chest/heart/spirit). . .She drops the red rose w/ribbon—symbolic of her and her relationship with Erik, (red is his color and she is the rose—symbolically) as if to say she’s going to try and forget him. On DVD you can see blue light flickering and can tell it’s not part of background:





Now, to see what this song is saying. I capped what she says (not trying to shout but trying to differentiate between the two) and I underlined important things he says. Also, note she never tells him she loves him, but she asks him to love her (as if to reassure).

RAOUL: "No more talk of darkness
Forget these wide-eyed fears
I’m here, nothing can harm you
My words will warm and calm you

Let me be your freedom
Let daylight dry your tears
I’m here, with you, beside you
To guard you and to guide you"

In the companion book, it says the Phantom's shadow replaces Raoul's, right before he sings "I'm here with you beside you, to guard you and to guide you." It also says the Phantom mouths Raoul's "words of love" right after "Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..." and before "Say you need me with you here beside you..."
We think this is because Erik sings these similar lines in PONR. With the shadow replacing Raoul's, it could it be foreshadowing that Erik will take Raoul’s place in Christine’s life.
While Erik does appropriate this AIAOY song for his own use later and it becomes all about him, here by his tortured expressions upon seeing her with Raoul, he’s not thinking that way. He’s not at all happy to hear what she sings to Raoul; therefore I don’t think he’s singing through her, for him to be freed, as some have asked. Just my thoughts. Also, a priest guides and guards—she is the intended queen, Raoul is her confidante, her guide, her priest. More on that further below.

CHRISTNE: "SAY YOU”LL LOVE ME every waking moment. . .TURN MY HEAD with talk of summer time" (IOW, make me forget with talk of the light). . ."Say you need me with you now and always. . .PROMISE ME THAT ALL YOU SAY IS TRUE. . .THAT’S ALL I ASK OF YOU"

RAOUL: "Let me be your shelter, let me be your light. . .You’re safe, no one will find you, your fears are far behind you"

CHRISTINE: "ALL I WANT IS FREEDOM. . .A world with NO MORE NIGHT, AND YOU, ALWAYS BESIDE ME . . .TO HOLD ME AND TO HIDE ME"

She doesn’t want darkness, she wants freedom from it—and for Raoul to hide her and keep her safe from it.

RAOUL: "Then say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime" (when "one love" is sung, a light flames in the glass of the door--perhaps showing that "one love" is light.) see pic below:



RAOUL: "Let me lead you from your solitude"

He feels she’s in solitude since he doesn’t yet know of Erik’s existence and doesn’t believe what she says about Phantom. But in later Spanish subtitles of AOM at cemetery—she and Erik both sing to each other that they each lessened their sad memories and solitude—with Erik, she didn’t feel alone.

RAOUL: "Say you need me with you here, beside you. . .anywhere you go, let me go too" (IOW, Let the light be with you) "Christine, that's all I ask of you" (as he holds her, she has a sort of resigned look on her face—her mouth quirks a bit, she looks at him, then looks away.)

This is for later scene, but notice the verse that follows what was just sung. It's very important. . .

CHRISTINE: "Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime. . .SAY THE WORD AND I WILL FOLLOW YOU"

Notice here that she sings this--this is also very important for later scene. Here she is the follower, he is the leader.

BOTH: "Share each day with me, each night, each morning"

CHRISTINE: "SAY YOU LOVE ME" (reassure me)

RAOUL: "You know I do"

Here Christine gives a faint smile, almost as if to say, "that's nice." But not a happy one--her eyes don’t show it, nor does her expression. This does not look like a woman who has just heard desired love professed, as if she really returns his feelings.

BOTH: "Love me, that's all I ask of you"

Again, Christine is only asking for his love-—not vowing that she will love him in return.


Before Raoul spins her around, after he first kisses her, she gives him a happy kiss that’s deeper—her only one like this toward him. This is her first ever kiss, and I feel she was experimenting—but after he spins her around, when he tries to deepen their kisses, hers are all close-mouthed and aimed at his upper lip. Play it slow-mo to see it well. Also, before they sing that last line, and she has again avoided him deepening the kiss, his expression for an instant seems a little unhappy, frustrated. All those last kisses were like “first love” girlish kisses— nothing like how she kissed Erik at the end. Also, Raoul instigated every kiss with her, and she reciprocated. With Erik in DOM, she instigated both of them (three actually). The best way I can describe this--In AIAOY she was kissing with her lips only, but in DOM she was also kissing with her heart. JS even said that her love for Raoul was a teenage awakening to first romance, but her love for the Phantom was a darker, sexual, passionate, obsessional love. (more on that later)

Please note - I am not saying her kisses with Raoul weren't heartfelt- just that they were girlish. Below are four pictures showing her close-mouthed kisses aimed at Raoul’s upper lip while Raoul appears to be kissing her chin—this was the extent of all their kisses, except for that brief moment—a slip of the tongue when Christine experimented during her first kiss. At a few points it did look as if she slightly opened her mouth, but it was always aimed for his upper lip, while he kissed BELOW her lips. If you look carefully, you can see that her mouth is closed. This is not the way you kiss a man who you have just agreed to spend your life with—these are “sweet” kisses, noncommittal, and reserved on her part--but not how you would kiss a lover (meaning boyfriend/fiancé) Upper lip has always been known in literary terms as reserved, stiff, unbending--thus the term “stiff upper lip”. Remember this, because it’s important for later:










BOTH: "Anywhere you go, let me go too. Love me, that's all I ask of you" (Christine again asks this of him, but doesn’t give her vow of love in return.)

We feel they showed a lot of clues as to HP and how characters really felt with clothes/makeup/hair. I brought up her tightly pulled back hair in earlier summary, now that she’s with Raoul, compared to how wild it was in WHYBMH as they were running up the three staircases.

When he spins her around, you can see purple inside and at the edges of her red cloak—the phoenix’s colors. (and Erik is symbolic of the Phoenix).

Notice her dark pink lipstick is gone after one kiss with Raoul and her lips are pale--which doesn’t make sense. Because in later lair scene with Erik she kisses him much more passionately—(tongue involved with all of them)--and her lipstick is just as glossy and bright afterward.
But her pale lips, uptight hair, etc. are clues pointing to the fact that she doesn’t feel “alive” with Raoul--IOW, her heart really isn’t with him. Remember also, the more time she spent with her Angel in MOTN, the more her gown sparkled and the more beautiful she appeared. (her hair, face, clothes, etc.)

Before:

After (and there is none of her lipstick on his mouth either)

Here she is earlier—before their kisses—in same type of lighting:

It reminds me of the Christine mannequin in Erik’s lair (when it was actually Christine (Emmy) in the bridal gown). When they first saw it in MOTN, her face glowed and looked more alive. In STYDI, it began to look grayer—lackluster, and a bit more lifeless though the lighting was exactly the same in the alcove. Now, with the paler face and bloodless lips it’s as if to say Christine is slowly dying inside because of her absence from her Angel, and because she has now chosen to be with Raoul.

Just to compare to above—here she is before her kiss with Erik in Lair scene: (and this is the same glossy lipstick she suddenly has when she’s with him all through the movie—as she stepped through mirror it magically appeared in POTO, and it appeared later after PONR in DOM. This clue seems to point to her feeling fully alive with Erik, and a woman who loves and desires him.)





After she kisses him—her face glows like it never has before—pearlescent—and though her kisses were much deeper here with Erik than they were with Raoul—(and I’ll go into them when we get to DOM)--her lipstick is as glossy as always—to me showing that she comes alive when she is with Erik, because he is whom she really loves.






Raoul is from the light and his hidden role is the hidden plot seems to be a priest and protector of those who choose the light. This is hinted at in “Let DAYLIGHT dry your tears”--and he uses his thumb to wipe her tears away as he’s singing this--“Let me be YOUR LIGHT”—“My words will WARM and calm you”—etc. They are both for the light, and bringers of light. I believe Raoul was sent there to help the opera house out of darkness, not knowing Christine would be there. Raoul is protector/priest, but Christine also acts as a messenger of light—she brings it to Erik, or tries to, because she deeply cares for him. Raoul made his mission a personal one when he found Christine there, and he serves her/protects her, later fully realizing she is the king's intended queen, etc.

Also, the symbols on Raoul’s crest--the sun over the moon (light over darkness) and the strong tower (symbolic of protection) point to who he is. But that sun and moon in the bottom right hand corner mean so much more, symbolically, and one of our sleuthers found the key from an expert in the field who didn’t know she was questioning him about POTO: He said: "The bottom crescent of a moon is symbolic of a woman, because it is in the shape of a cup, or womb. The rising sun over the line that separates it from the moon is symbolic of a young man trying to dominate the woman—but not succeeding." This is on Rauol’s crest.

In his lair, Erik also has a symbol of the sun and that same bottom crescent moon—his is at the top of a candlestick and is a full-blown mature sun, with that same crescent moon INSIDE it. It’s meaning according to the expert? “Unity—the man and woman are one, combined.”


Raoul’s crest:

Erik’s candlestick:

Christine breaks away from Raoul's kiss--and sings: "I must go, they'll wonder where I am. Come with me Raoul..." (Even Raoul thinks it odd because you see his confusion and see him start to say “What?” After all, she’d just been racing like a wild woman up the stairs fearful and anxious for them to escape the very thing she says they must now go back to. I believe there are two reasons for this in hidden plot—

1) she now knows Raoul’s true role—as protector and priest of the light.
2) Her heart just wasn’t with him.

I’m not saying she didn’t like his kisses, but from her expressions at times during this song you could tell he wasn’t who she really wanted. Her body language and facial expressions said so much. Yet now that she has his promise to take care of her, guide her, hide her, etc., she’s satisfied they’ll both be safe.

RAOUL: "Christine, I love you..."

She smiles and he draws her to him to kiss her. But again, she breaks away. Again, she doesn’t say she loves him in return.

CHRISTNE: "Order your fine horses, be with them at the door!"

RAOUL: “And soon you'll be beside me...”

”CHRISTINE: "You'll GUARD ME and you'll GUIDE ME..."

She only asks for his protection.

**COMPANION BOOK CLUES**

I brought this up earlier, but this is how it is written in the companion book:

All on p. 108:
Snowlfakes begin to fall on the opera roof. And, as the snow slowly covers the roof and the statues, we INTERCUT between the lovers, their shadows, and the PHANTOM and his shadow to the point where the PHANTOM’S shadow replaces RAOUL’S.
The PHANTOM silently mouths RAOUL’S words of love, his heart broken.

(sidenote: It could show that the whole scene of AIOAY will be Erik taking over Raoul's place in her life, for that song. Since later Erik uses it in PONR to propose to her, and still later, she answers him (more in upcoming summaries)




**SPANISH SUBTITLE TRANSLATIONS by Promiseme & PMA**

This is all I have—I’ll get line by line ones up as soon as I get them.

Raoul: "I'm here, nothing can harm you, my words will warm and calm you"
At last everything has passed, and I'm at your side
"Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears"
Take my hands

From me: the danger is gone, and he’s telling her to trust him

Christine: "Say you'll love me every waking moment"
If you return from loving me
"Turn my head with talk of summertime"
Tell me that my dreams will sleep
"Promise me, that all you say is true, that's all I ask of you"
Show me that there is no more enslavement

From me: Another word for “return” is go back. She’s not saying return to loving her—but from loving her. It’s as if she’s saying if you stop loving me, still promise me the dreams will go away and that I won’t be chained to this anymore.

Raoul: "You’re safe, no one will find you,"
(repeats this)
"your fears are far behind you"
forget this false deception

From me: MOTN also used the word deception in other lyrics—“Music is deceiving” (Angel/Erik is music)—also the Phantom spirit is deceiving both Erik and Christine. It’s as if Raoul is saying forget what Erik offered you.

Christine: "All I want is freedom, a world with no more night"
I leave behind my sorrows and embrace freedom)
"And you, always beside me, to hold me and to guide me"
If you're going to kiss me, take care of me and help me

From me: I would say that she’s making a choice here—a HEAD choice to do what she knows she should—walk away. Go toward the light. Also, it’s as if she’s telling him, all right I give you permission to kiss me, but only if you promise you will help me out of this mess and protect me. That doesn’t sound like a woman in love with a man.

Raoul: "Let me lead you from your solitude"
Tell me to free you from your cross
"Anywhere you go, let me go too"
Let me show you the light

From me: The cross she bears (or burden) seem to be her chains to the Phantom spirit, though she loves Erik. He’s asking her to make the choice to come with him instead. He’s a priest of the light, and wants to show it to her. After having just heard of the murder, Christine agrees to all he offers, at this point only wanting escape.

Christine: "Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime"
Say that in our life there will be hope
"Say the word, and I will follow you"
That there is laughter in our youth

From me: (She needs reassurance.)

Together: "Share each day with me, each night, each morning"
If you're with me, nothing else matters
"Anywhere you go, let me go too"
Say that I'll forget all my worries

From me: Again, all she asks for is reassurance.

Rauol: "Christine I love you"
Christine, I adore you

From me: “Adore” is a word used in reference to a queen/deity. Also it’s a word for love.
But notice again, all she asks for is protection—nothing about loving him in return. Interesting note: Erik sings these exact same words to her later in DOM, but the word they use for “love” in Spanish when Erik sings it means a deep, romantic love, whereas what Raoul is singing is not.


**SOUND SIMILARITIES by Redrose**

AIAOY
Lead-in is the same as when Meg finds the mask at the end
Title segment is shared with title segment of MOTN; also harmonizes with Masquerade
Notes (Mme Giry/Meg’s part) when Christine and Raoul head back in


**MUSICAL ANALYSIS by Phantom’s Star**

note: I cannot find the full summary—if someone could send it, please do. It’s not in what Star sent me. Here’s all I have. . .

Note: I think this is what the sounds stand for.
Flute: a calling
Harp: thinking of Angel (Angel of Music)
Cymbals: Angel is there, or near (brush of cymbals)—loud crash—he is fully there.


When Raoul starts to sing "Then say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..." and he finishes his verse, you hear cymbals. Then Christine sings her verse, they join in singing together, and they kiss and you hear the cymbals again. Their first kiss lasts literally one second, and the next shot is of Angel. If it was their first kiss together, you would think they would make it longer, like Christine's first kiss with Angel. But I think there's a reason for this. I think the cymbals here mean something, like a foreshadowing because this is the only kiss between Christine and Raoul when we hear the cymbals. Every other one, including the one in Masquerade, we hear no cymbals. In PONR, Angel sings AIAOY, the verse Raoul sang (yet he changes some of the words, which is important). That's why I think we heard the cymbals after Raoul sang it in AIAOY, to show that this part of the song Angel will be referring to sing later on (yet we don't know that at this point. Why we hear them for their first kiss I think means something too but I'll save it until we get to DOM.)



LINK to AIOAY REPRISE:

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