

Although seen as a sublime, irresistible singer capable of expressing his emotions in heart-wrenching ways, Erik has grown up in an environment marked by rejection and manipulation-in particular because people are so horrified by his appearance-and proves violent himself. Although the narrator asserts that Erik is a human being, he displays characteristics that suggest he might be more supernatural than purely human: his appearance as a skeleton covered in rotten skin, his extraordinary singing abilities, and his capacity for ventriloquism, which allows him to project his voice anywhere he pleases, making it seem as though he is in various places at once.

of the Opera,” “the ghost,” “the Voice” and “the Master of the Traps,” Erik is the antagonist of the novel and a tragic, violent, and ultimately mysterious figure.
