Quesiton about the Grasshopper and the Scorpian

[TheSlateReaper]

Okay, I'm writing an essay on my favourite book of all time, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! omg, yay! I can't believe my teacher is crazy enough to let me do this, and the essay has to have a basic point. Obsession and Love.
I read the story, watched the ALW musical, to make sure I had everything right, jotted down some basic notes from both to look at while I wrote my essay, but realised one thing when it came to the book. I didn't fully grasp the concept of the Grasshopper and the Scorpian. Shock, Horror! I know! me, a dedicated Phan and a Fop-Basher! Not understnading the concept of the Grasshopper and the Scorpian. I know one of them is connected to gunpowder, but can someone fully explain this for me?

Fun thought/s: Christine never says 'I Love you' to either Erik or Raoul in the musical. Christine also never blinks.

[BleuUnicorn]

It's sort of like The Lady or The Tiger. We know that the scorpion was the handle to the water faucet that filled the chamber where the Persian and Raoul were. The Persian surmised that the grasshopper was connected to a charge that would set off the gunpowder because Erik used the phrase "hop" when referring to it but was it really? It may have just been a set up to see which one she would choose, to see where her heart was.

[mungojerrie247]

Actually, the reason the grasshopper makes the opera house explode is that in french hop and explode are the same word so it makes sense but when you translate it to English it makes no sense.

[BleuUnicorn]

Thanks. I never took French.

[Amourdelafantom]

well, good show folks et le francais est bien! but it's also a reference to an Aesops fable......the grasshopper did no work! also a reference to the zodiac but not the conventional english variety (hint chinese!) good luck with your paper!

[avari]

also, 'hop' is also a french euphemism for 'die', much like we say (in english) 'he kicked the bucket' or 'he croaked'. part of the tension is that either way she chooses, she could end up dying.

I've actually written an essay on this, too! I blogged about it, because it's just easiest to get my ideas out that way, and here's a section of what I wrote.

"a scorpion symbolizes sex (and the kidneys, strangely enough. not so sure the organs that produce urine are sexy things but...) and mean, I assume, that christine will marry erik and perform her duties as a wife on their wedding night... did I mention leroux erik is pretty much a cold corpse whose skin peels off and is said to smell like death? mmm! have fun chrissy! the grasshopper is used because it 'hops', as explained. also, it could have something to do with a passage in Revelations that deals with the Angel of Doom and grasshoppers (translated from original Hebrew(?) as 'sauterelle' in French, which also means 'locust', the more Biblical bug, but we don't really think of locusts 'hopping' so...) and this all has to do with erik playing God, or at least the Angel of Doom. which he's quite good at..."

I hope that helps and good luck!

[Phangirl7]

The grasshopper and the scorpion. I always get confused when I'm reading this part. (Always!) Leroux didn't really do a great job of explaining the whole, "Ok, the grasshopper blows up the opera house and the scorpion almost drowns Raoul and the Persian" thing.
P.G.7.

[lillottezobel]

Okey. Erik had two dozen barrels of gunpowder under the opera house. A fuse connected to the bronze grasshoper would make all of that explode if it was chosen by being turned. Represents Raoul.
The scorpion turned an orb that released some of the water from the underground lake into the place where the powder was kept. Represents Christine becoming engaged to Erik.
Any questions?

[lillottezobel]

Also: pretty sure Revelations was written in Greek. Old Testiment Hebrew, New Testiment Greek.