I’m putting forth a theological question here. If such things offend you, turn back now.
Could it be that Erik’s attraction and power over thousands of minds if not hearts, comes from a much older source? Think about it, you’ve heard this story many times before. Thousands of years before Leroux ever lived many Gods and Goddesses played out the same exact story.
Think of Hades, Pluto or any of the many other Gods that ruled the underworld. All were good and essential to life. They could be seen as both fertile, having many talents, and very masculine. Hades fought in the great war of the Gods and had a helmet of invisibility. He also was a bit of a trickster, ensnaring his wife as his counterpart Pluto did.
He would allow the living to enter his underground lair, but they had to play by his rules. (Once upon a time Gods were revered, remember?) Those trying to disobey or cheat him found the very laws of nature turning against them.
Lest we forget, poor Hephaestus was considered the ugliest of all Gods. So much so that his own mother, Hera, threw him out of the Heavens. He could only return as an excellent blacksmith whose creations marveled even the Gods.
Things seemed to turn out well when Beauty and Love personified, Aphrodite married him. But alas, the Gods were then in a decline and it is said his wife wandered to a younger, more handsome God. He of course caught the pair in his magical net, and would have possibly killed them if the other Gods had not interfered.
Instead, he puts the pair on display for all the Gods to mock. Sort of the punishment fitting the crime. In the end he ends up being all the more loved for out-witting the pair. Hmm, now where I have I heard that plot before?
