Kiss of Death?

ya-chai 2 Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:51 pm

Near the end of the novel, Erik relates the following to Daroga:

"Yes, she was waiting for me...waiting for me erect and alive, a real, living bride...as she hoped to be saved....And, when I...came forward, more timid than...a little child, she did not run away...no, no...she stayed...she waited for me....I even believe...daroga...that she put out her forehead...a little...oh, not much...just a little...like a living bride.... And... and...I...kissed her!...I!...I!...I!...And she did not die!..."

The way I first interpreted this passage was that Erik looked at himself as the bridegroom and so, planted a chaste kiss on Christine's forehead. I'm not sure that's correct though because I looked through the on line version of the book and the closest man to a bridegroom, Raoul, does not kiss Christine on the forehead. The only one who does this is Erik.

I have kissed my children on the forehead in the past when telling them good night, but they have never kissed me on the forehead in return. I thought there might be a mother angle there since Erik mentions his mother, but that doesn't fit at all. I know there are some history buffs out there. Does anyone know if kissing the forehead of the bride was Victorian custom?

There's also another part of this passage I wanted to ask about. Erik says that he kissed Christine and she did not die. Now this is a very sad part of the story so I can't believe that Leroux put this in as proof Erik was exaggerating. It also doesn't make sense to me that he'd put it out there as a sarcastic remark to Daroga.

Was Erik really under the impression he had the power to kill with a kiss? What do you think?