I was asked to explain the concept of True Will using the next work of fiction I watched or read. Well, I just saw Phantom of the Opera, so let’s have at it.
The supporting characters in the story, from dancers to managers, represent the mundane individuals inhabiting our world. They see strange things around them but always remind itself its nothing or jump to outrageous superstition, such as that a malevolent ghost is the cause of the problems (although the Phantom is seen as much more a demon than simply a ghost). They are surrounded by the occult goings on but essentially oblivious to it.
Christine represents the practitioner. She was another mundane individual until she began interacting with hidden forces (the Phantom) and gained the power of music. The story of Phantom, both book and movie/show, treats music in a magical way. It is comparable to the idea of uttering a Word or to there being magical components to language and music itself – not exactly a complex idea for us. She is divided between the normal world of light and the hidden world of darkness, and as an obviously conservative and traditional individual she fears the darkness up until the very end.
Raoul represents the light and conscious aspects of the individual. He is Christine’s tie to the external, real world and the force that fights back against the Phantom. He first tries to convince Christine her Angel is a delusion, but once he has evidence of the Phantom’s existence he helps to balance the scales of power. This is the conscious will aspect of True Will. We have to control and understand the dark aspects of ourselves to find our True Will, and Raoul represents exactly that. He is weaker than the Phantom but uses the outside world to help fight against him.
Obviously, then, the Phantom is the subconscious/occult mind. This can be compared to the myth of Horus and Set. It is beyond clear from songs such as “Music of the Night” that the Phantom represents lust, dark desire, taboo, and all related things the mundane world consciously tries to cover up. However, as we see both in life and in the play/book, ignoring this aspect of the mind simply causes death and destruction.
The plot is the attainment of True Will, the journey through the Tree of Life. Christine’s contact with the Phantom is the Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel. Her reception of his teaching and victory in the theater represent the splendor and victory of Hod and Netzach. Christine being taken to the Phantom’s lair fits with the sphere of Tipharet – being right in the heart of all things but being neither in the mundane realm nor in the realm of magic because Christine does not submit. Geburah and Chesed are represented by the very love triangle as the heart of the story. Christine must show strength and restriction not to give into the Phantom and his magical music, because to give in completely to our hidden desires will lead to disaster. Her salvation through Raoul represents the vision of Love and the loss of individual self which takes place before the crossing of the abyss. The subconscious desires are recognized and understood, and both Raoul and Christine ascend to a new life together, a mastering of conscious will. Finally, the understanding and wisdom of the Tree of Life are used to find and confront the Phantom in the final act. They experience the vision of Sorrow with Christine’s capture and the final murder(s) (depending on the version), and the vision of “God” face to face when Raoul finally is captured in the Phantom’s noose. Only by balancing the conscious and subconscious mind (love for Raoul and the Phantom’s madness) – done by recognizing the Phantom as more a sad angry child than murderous monster (how we must understand our “sinful” desires) and kissing him – is Christine finally freed from her struggle to follow her True Will.
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