What most of these reviewers haven't realised is tyhat this is a sequel to the 2004 movie with Gerik, not Erik. What she's trying to say is that Gerik has no reason to whine about being "hideously deformed". She is not saying that the real Erik would be able to say "it could have been worse", because for him it was worse. Not only was his face and head deformed, so was his whole body *and* he smelled like Death, looked like Death, and was as he said, "made up of Death from head to foot".

What she is trying to say is that the recent movie fans of Gerik should really shut up and read the book. Gerik is hardly deformed at all.

Great - nothing like someone else to make you feel better or worse.
Wendy

Love. This is something I think about a lot too. I mean, back then people who survived war or childhood illness were often disfigured. It wasn't THAT rare, you know? So, either Christine is really sheltered or Erik is really ugly. But he's not the Elephant Man-I mean, its just his face. I just have a hard time believing that his life was *that* awful.
And there's also the fact that yes, it could be so much worse. Again, not the Elephant Man (that's kind of my gauge of the most awful disfigurement ever).

M, but not very realistic. Erik after all looks *supernatural*, which is different from *disabled veteran*. Disabled veteran (a) did not spend his formative years looking repulsive (let alone supernaturally so) and also (b) almost certainly was already married or at least engaged at the time he became disabled.

Did Leroux think people put more emphasis on appearance than they actually do? Maybe. Depends how much you want to believe him when he says Erik looked like an actual corpse, supernaturally repulsive, evoking people's fears of evil...etc.

Absolutely, positively MAGNIFICENT! A point well made without being preachy or condescending at all. GREAT job. Sure, the phantom's life's been bad (worse for book Eriks than movie Erik, certainly, but bad for all of them all the way around) but it could be WAY worse, as your title points out. And if that man can make it--and has a wife even, then our phantom needs to stop pouting and get out there. Wonderful. I can't say it enough. GREAT. JOB.

Beautifully written, as always, and very thought-provoking in so few words.