“You will understand in time…”
I find Christine’s impassioned warning to Raoul during the Masquerade scene to be the single-most important lyric in the entirety of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical. On its own, perhaps a generic plea for patience but in the context of her evolution as a young woman, it is far from innocuous. While those around her rejoice in celebration that the Company is at long last free from the Phantom’s reign of terror, Christine intuitively knows that it is merely a reprieve. Far from the virginal maiden she was upon her Opera Populaire debut - both of body and mind - her Angel of Music has revealed his dark soul and while a hidden, even untouched part of her subconscious remains intrigued by his existence and all of its ramifications, she is wisely wary of that very existence and how it will entwine with her own. The lyric is much more than cautionary; it is a precursor to that which she knows is inevitable - the crossing and burning of the bridge to her past, present and even her future as machinated in the mind of a madman.
Its significance is three-fold with the surface level implication being Christine’s growing awareness that her revered Angel of Music is in essence merely a man. She now understands that she has been deceived, and that the promise of Papa Daae has not been realized in the manner she had always been led to believe would transpire. It is a promise that has instead been choked and shattered through illusion, through the duplicity of smoke and mirrors. It is also indicative of a rite of passage from a young and naïve child who once embraced her Angel of Music as a binding link to her father to a more mature and stronger young woman who has empowered herself through the cultivation of her talent and the emergence of her love for the Vicomte. Christine’s suggestion to Raoul within the context of this lyric that he must exercise trust in her is a testament to her emotional growth and dawning sense of self which will be paramount to her spiritual, perhaps even physical survival in the days to follow.
However, on a much deeper level, the lyric authenticates the pure and true nature of her relationship with Raoul. Flying in the face of the majority of fan fiction and unrelenting E/C worshippers, ALW Christine knows that the misleading atmosphere of peace is in fact ripe with threat, and yet she wholly commits to Raoul in spite of that threat. There is great courage in that commitment as she is willing to frustrate, perhaps even alienate him by insisting that their engagement remain a secret, but her very willingness to take that risk demonstrates her intent to protect and preserve the sanctity of their relationship, if not his safety. It is a selfless overture to the unrevealed scenes yet to be played out, and she holds to her faith in Raoul that he will not only endure the battle that looms, but that he would have done so of his own accord even absent the ring she wears around her neck and so close to her heart, even without the full disclosure from her of which he so earnestly seeks. Yes, he is anxious over Christine’s decision to hide their intended vows, but he accepts that decision in the hope that he will understand in time as she believes. Their trust in each other quietly transcends all uncertainty and confusion because Christine has poured an abundant measure of confidence into their love, and also because she has engineered the same level of confidence within herself through the passage from child to woman.
They are bound not solely by the remembrance of their childhood days of past but of their mutual dream to create memories in a shared future. Likewise, there is never apprehension in Christine’s soul that that their love will be tested but rather their perseverance, and “perseverance” by its literal definition means to stay the course in spite of difficulties and obstacles to achieve the desired end. “You will understand in time…” effectively strips the veneer from that end of which is so often speculated and even reviled by those who desperately want a different pairing, and having remarkably withstood the exposure to both positive and negative elements without that protective veneer leaves no room for further argument on the appearance and construction of that end.
Most notable and vital is the third fold of the lyric: Christine’s arrival at the crossroads where all routes lead to the Lair. Once caught up in the superstition of the Opera Ghost, her irrational fear has transformed into circumspect horror as she has now accepted that her once otherworldly tutor is no more than incarnate and capable of heinous acts for selfish gain. While those around her remain optimistic that the shroud has lifted, Christine astutely recognizes that the unpredictability of a Phantom is irrelevant in contest against the predictability of an obsessive man; a predictability which ultimately indicts him in her judgment. Recognizing him for what he truly is serves as the catalyst to pull her free from the mysterious aura which cloaks his mortality and which, in turn, removes any guesswork about his future agenda. While others foolishly assume that the Phantom is gone from their midst, Christine makes the only correct assumption that his return is inevitable, and that he will have well-planned his anticipated outcome. This exercise of forethought evidences the accumulation of wisdom, and this accumulation of wisdom evidences the presence of emotional growth. This, in itself, is why I have always found ALW Christine to be the strongest of all her representations.
It may seem a shallow, even inconsequential lyric in comparison with the majority of others found in the score, but on further scrutiny there is a wealth of depth in connotation and importance. It is not only a subtle segue within the plot progression toward the inevitable point of no return, but it also renders a powerful statement as to Christine’s ability to not only confidently cross that bridge when led there by scrupulous means, but to burn it of her own volition as well. She had made her choice well before she was mandated to do so in the Final Lair scene because she had already understood in time that to which everyone else remained oblivious. Christine had understood that while eviscerating the specter of her Angel of Music and even of the Opera Ghost by identifying both as merely a man, she could still see straight through him,…his transparency being his ultimate undoing.
Poetic irony at its best which, again, is why I place such significance on this particular lyric as both understanding and time - when combined - have a way of etching the unknown onto the face of reality.
I find Christine’s impassioned warning to Raoul during the Masquerade scene to be the single-most important lyric in the entirety of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stage musical. On its own, perhaps a generic plea for patience but in the context of her evolution as a young woman, it is far from innocuous. While those around her rejoice in celebration that the Company is at long last free from the Phantom’s reign of terror, Christine intuitively knows that it is merely a reprieve. Far from the virginal maiden she was upon her Opera Populaire debut - both of body and mind - her Angel of Music has revealed his dark soul and while a hidden, even untouched part of her subconscious remains intrigued by his existence and all of its ramifications, she is wisely wary of that very existence and how it will entwine with her own. The lyric is much more than cautionary; it is a precursor to that which she knows is inevitable - the crossing and burning of the bridge to her past, present and even her future as machinated in the mind of a madman.
Its significance is three-fold with the surface level implication being Christine’s growing awareness that her revered Angel of Music is in essence merely a man. She now understands that she has been deceived, and that the promise of Papa Daae has not been realized in the manner she had always been led to believe would transpire. It is a promise that has instead been choked and shattered through illusion, through the duplicity of smoke and mirrors. It is also indicative of a rite of passage from a young and naïve child who once embraced her Angel of Music as a binding link to her father to a more mature and stronger young woman who has empowered herself through the cultivation of her talent and the emergence of her love for the Vicomte. Christine’s suggestion to Raoul within the context of this lyric that he must exercise trust in her is a testament to her emotional growth and dawning sense of self which will be paramount to her spiritual, perhaps even physical survival in the days to follow.
However, on a much deeper level, the lyric authenticates the pure and true nature of her relationship with Raoul. Flying in the face of the majority of fan fiction and unrelenting E/C worshippers, ALW Christine knows that the misleading atmosphere of peace is in fact ripe with threat, and yet she wholly commits to Raoul in spite of that threat. There is great courage in that commitment as she is willing to frustrate, perhaps even alienate him by insisting that their engagement remain a secret, but her very willingness to take that risk demonstrates her intent to protect and preserve the sanctity of their relationship, if not his safety. It is a selfless overture to the unrevealed scenes yet to be played out, and she holds to her faith in Raoul that he will not only endure the battle that looms, but that he would have done so of his own accord even absent the ring she wears around her neck and so close to her heart, even without the full disclosure from her of which he so earnestly seeks. Yes, he is anxious over Christine’s decision to hide their intended vows, but he accepts that decision in the hope that he will understand in time as she believes. Their trust in each other quietly transcends all uncertainty and confusion because Christine has poured an abundant measure of confidence into their love, and also because she has engineered the same level of confidence within herself through the passage from child to woman.
They are bound not solely by the remembrance of their childhood days of past but of their mutual dream to create memories in a shared future. Likewise, there is never apprehension in Christine’s soul that that their love will be tested but rather their perseverance, and “perseverance” by its literal definition means to stay the course in spite of difficulties and obstacles to achieve the desired end. “You will understand in time…” effectively strips the veneer from that end of which is so often speculated and even reviled by those who desperately want a different pairing, and having remarkably withstood the exposure to both positive and negative elements without that protective veneer leaves no room for further argument on the appearance and construction of that end.
Most notable and vital is the third fold of the lyric: Christine’s arrival at the crossroads where all routes lead to the Lair. Once caught up in the superstition of the Opera Ghost, her irrational fear has transformed into circumspect horror as she has now accepted that her once otherworldly tutor is no more than incarnate and capable of heinous acts for selfish gain. While those around her remain optimistic that the shroud has lifted, Christine astutely recognizes that the unpredictability of a Phantom is irrelevant in contest against the predictability of an obsessive man; a predictability which ultimately indicts him in her judgment. Recognizing him for what he truly is serves as the catalyst to pull her free from the mysterious aura which cloaks his mortality and which, in turn, removes any guesswork about his future agenda. While others foolishly assume that the Phantom is gone from their midst, Christine makes the only correct assumption that his return is inevitable, and that he will have well-planned his anticipated outcome. This exercise of forethought evidences the accumulation of wisdom, and this accumulation of wisdom evidences the presence of emotional growth. This, in itself, is why I have always found ALW Christine to be the strongest of all her representations.
It may seem a shallow, even inconsequential lyric in comparison with the majority of others found in the score, but on further scrutiny there is a wealth of depth in connotation and importance. It is not only a subtle segue within the plot progression toward the inevitable point of no return, but it also renders a powerful statement as to Christine’s ability to not only confidently cross that bridge when led there by scrupulous means, but to burn it of her own volition as well. She had made her choice well before she was mandated to do so in the Final Lair scene because she had already understood in time that to which everyone else remained oblivious. Christine had understood that while eviscerating the specter of her Angel of Music and even of the Opera Ghost by identifying both as merely a man, she could still see straight through him,…his transparency being his ultimate undoing.
Poetic irony at its best which, again, is why I place such significance on this particular lyric as both understanding and time - when combined - have a way of etching the unknown onto the face of reality.
