Oh, I hadn't even thought about it in terms of shipping. Leroux doesn't mention if he found a heart scratched around the initials or not ;-D
Oddly enough I can imagine Raoul setting out in the dark to carve his and Christine's initials in a desperate hurry if he thought he was about to die, as a defiance of the future, whereas I can't really see him sitting down to do an "I woz ere" under the circumstances!
The other interesting thing about Leroux' reference to the initials is how it relates to the particule question -- to a Frenchman, Raoul's initials are self-evidently RC, not (as I've seen in fanfics where a handkerchief embroidered with Raoul's initials forms part of the plot) RdC, or even R.D.C. (I wondered if I ought to drop the particule on typing up, but having now done five chapters -- 15,000 words/31 pages of manuscript/Plot Point Four -- I've stuck with having Lancard refer to him as 'de Chagny". Having him address Raoul as 'Chagny' just seemed rude and weird when I was typing it....)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2020-04-15 01:58 pm (UTC)Leroux doesn't mention if he found a heart scratched around the initials or not ;-D
Oddly enough I can imagine Raoul setting out in the dark to carve his and Christine's initials in a desperate hurry if he thought he was about to die, as a defiance of the future, whereas I can't really see him sitting down to do an "I woz ere" under the circumstances!
The other interesting thing about Leroux' reference to the initials is how it relates to the particule question -- to a Frenchman, Raoul's initials are self-evidently RC, not (as I've seen in fanfics where a handkerchief embroidered with Raoul's initials forms part of the plot) RdC, or even R.D.C.
(I wondered if I ought to drop the particule on typing up, but having now done five chapters -- 15,000 words/31 pages of manuscript/Plot Point Four -- I've stuck with having Lancard refer to him as 'de Chagny". Having him address Raoul as 'Chagny' just seemed rude and weird when I was typing it....)