no more talk of darkness...

so goes the first line of "all i ask of you" written by andrew lloyd webber and charles hart. it accurately sums up raoul's comfort words for christine in the film adaptation of webber's the phantom of the opera.

metaphorically, raoul meant for christine to forget the phantom who represents abomination, eternal pain, fear, risk, and unconventional romantic love. he failed to understand, however, that christine unknowingly becomes a champion of the underdog in the story. she falls for a possessive musical genius who has a pure but marred heart. now, she is torn between the angelic count who offers comfort, security and wealth; and the phantom beast who has passionate, raw emotions and shows the road-less-travelled.

in a real world, who would you rather choose? it's difficult to say. but unlike the objectives of raoul, i would also belt out "no more talk of darkness..." "all i ask of you" and choose who will share the same intensity for life that i have. i saw the the film version of this classic last saturday. it is entrancing but i could not wait to scour for its original book by gaston leroux.