The particule question

[igenlode]

(Cross-posted from a comment on vicomte_de_chagny, since I know I'll never look for it there, and had enough trouble finding the reference to material that only existed in an untagged comment in my own blog...)

One interesting thing about Leroux's reference to the initials RC carved into the wall of the Communards' dungeon is how it relates to the particule question -- it implies that, 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....)

Comments

[pedanther]

Tangentially, have you heard about the streaming of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom this weekend?

(Other questions I'm not sure of the answers to include: Do you have an internet that can take advantage? and Do you care about Andrew Lloyd Webber's version as opposed to Gaston Leroux's? But I figure it can't hurt to ask.)

If you haven't heard about it, each weekend one ALW musical is available to watch on Youtube for free (but audiences are encouraged to show appreciation by making a donation to a theatre-related charity), from 7pm BST Friday to the same time on Sunday. This weekend is the 25th anniversary Albert Hall version of The Phantom of the Opera with Ramin Karimloo as Erik and Sierra Boggess as Christine. Here's a link to the trailer; the performance itself will be on the same channel in due course.

[erimia]

It actually didn't occur to me that Raoul can be addressed as just "Chagny", even though I know it can be done with such names (after all, de Sade is often referred to as "Sade"). Probably it is an influence of fics - I remember seeing him addressed as "Chagny" mostly by characters who are being rude/negative towards him, or at least deliberately unceremonious. It's strange that I developed the habit of clinging to the particule so much when it comes to Raoul, considering that I try to de-emphasize aristocratic status when referring to people as much as possible (I even prefer to use "George Byron" and "Edward Dunsany" instead of "Lord Byron" and "Lord Dunsany").

[igenlode]

In fact, just to muddy the waters even more, it turns out that in the original serialised text the initials on the wall were "R D C"
https://fdelopera.tumblr.com/post/107546433753/welcome-to-the-68th-and-final-installment-of-15

So Leroux changed his mind on this one -- he was of course writing historical fiction even in his own era and was no aristocrat, so it's just possible he was correcting his own usage after discovering that it was wrong ;-p)