The Phatom Vs Ravana; Christine Vs Sita

Today, I watched The Phantom of the Opera. In the middle of the story, I suddenly remember Ravana from Ramayana.

Life has never been fair to the Phantom. The-Devil's-child-turn-Phantom has lived his whole life in the darkness. The torture by the show owner and the humiliation of the audience led him to hide in the secret cellar. Erik (the Phantom) who was the genius, architect and designer, and the composer had turned to madness when he felt insecure of his love for Christine. The Phantom threatened Christine that say No to his proposal and he will destroy the opera. Or Christine could chose to marry him. That's where I suddenly remember Ravana.

In Myanmar version of the Ramayana, Rama and his younger brother Lakshmana as well as Ravana came to take part in the bow lifting competition. It was in response to the announcement of Sita's father. Rama won the contest and thus got Sita as his wife. On the way back to Rama's country, Ravana kidnapped Sita with his sister's help.

Ravana was the strong and rough king while the Phantom was the child turned into devil by the unfair treatment of the world. Through their attempt to get a woman, both the Phantom and Ravana caused some damages and death. At the end, both had to pay a high cost, their lives, for their love. In Ramayana, Sita demonstrated the loyalty of an ideal wife by jumping into the flame and causing no harm to herself. In the Phantom of the Opera, Christine portrayed more emotion and dilemma as a woman. Christine was emotionally manipulated and also brought to the lime light of the opera by the Phantom. It was Christine who made the decision to marry the Phantom to save the people including his lover, Raoul. I do not know what was written in the original script, but Emmy Rossum's actions made me believe that she sincerely decided to stay with the Phantom, and she kissed him. It appeared that the Phantom had never received love from anyone else in his life. Christine's kiss made him changed his mind. He cried and let the two go off.

The question in my mind was "Why did he do that?". Hadn't he been trying all these years, to get Christine's love? Now Christine decided to be with him, then why he let her go? Is it "love" that made him understand the two lovers? Is it because he didn't want Christine whose heart could be with Raoul? Anyway, I love the twist.

I am also wondering the success of these two stories - the Ramayana and the Phantom of the Opera. Here, I am not taking Ramayana as part of the Hindu history or any religious point of view. I am just appreciating them as a form of art - the stories with a hero, a woman and a villain with power to cause damage to others. Probably the argument whether Ravana and the Phantom are the villains or the heroes is controversial and that could be the attraction of these stories.