Phantom of the Opera - The Stairway to the English Free Realm (3) (5000-word Bedside English Learning Reader) (English-Chinese Contrastive Translation)

Author: Wang Ruoping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The Phantom of the Opera is a story of a couple who overcomes adversity to finally come together, but it is also a tale of a man with a twisted and dark heart who seeks happiness throughout his life and ultimately achieves an angelic, pure soul. The rural child Erik is abandoned by his parents due to his naturally deformed appearance and suffers from indifference, discrimination, and exploitation. After numerous creations, he becomes disillusioned with the world's deceit and harbors deep resentment, turning cruel and violent. Later, he retreats to the basement of the Paris Opera, becoming the feared "Phantom." The fear of the world does not bring Erik satisfaction; he yearns for his own happiness and joy, so he composes the masterpiece Triumph of Don Juan, expressing his lifelong frustrations and hopes.
By chance, he meets the innocent Christine and falls deeply in love with her, realizing that winning her love is the only way to attain happiness and joy. However, due to his twisted psyche, Erik's love for the girl is filled with violence and domination, which Christine, already in a relationship, cannot accept. The cruel Erik then begins to retaliate, but Christine refuses to yield even to death. Yet, when Erik threatens to destroy Paris, the kind-hearted girl bravely chooses to sacrifice herself to save the innocent. This noble act makes Erik realize that in the world, apart from the base falsehood, evil, and ugliness, there still exist the noble truth, goodness, and beauty. His once dark heart is instantly illuminated—he returns Christine her freedom, fulfilling her love with Raoul, truly granting her a lifetime of happiness as if blessed by an angel. Meanwhile, he silently endures all the blows of losing Christine, dying in extreme loneliness and despair.
A few days later, Christine quietly buries Erik, granting his soul eternal peace.