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The Persian is a major character from the 1910 Gaston Leroux
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
'' The Phantom of the Opera''. In the book he is the one who tells most of the background of Erik's history. Erik refers to him as the "
daroga Darogas (also spelled darogha or daroghah) were police officials in the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. In the Mughal Empire, a daroga was superintendent of the "slaves" of a Mughal monarch. Duties performed by daroga The darogas served in the ...
" (,
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
for "police-chief") and his memoirs are featured in five chapters of the novel. He is also considered Erik's only friend. According to his account of himself in the novel, the Persian once served as the chief of police (daroga) in the court of the
Shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
of
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
during the years that Erik was there. The Shah ordered him to execute Erik after Erik provided his services in construction for the Shah. Being kindhearted, he helped Erik escape from Persia instead, a trick that involved presenting a body washed up on the shore as Erik's. When news of the escape spread, the Shah correctly suspected The Persian of being involved, and punished him by stripping him of his property and sending him into exile. However, as a distant member of the royal family, The Persian continued to be paid a small pension. The Persian later travels to Paris and takes up living in a small, middle-class flat in the rue de Rivoli, across the street from the Tuileries, and employs a servant named Darius. He becomes known as a fixture of the Opera, considered an eccentric Persian who is allowed to wander backstage where he pleases. Research into Leroux's sources has revealed that Leroux based this description upon a real-life Persian who frequented the
Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
in the 19th century, a mysterious exiled prince living on a pension from the British government.Shah, Raj. "No Ordinary Skeleton: Unmasking the Secret Source of Gaston Leroux's ''Le Fantôme de l'Opéra''", ''Forum for Modern Language Studies'' 50:1 (2014), 16-29 (17-18). He is described in the novel as having an "ebony skin, with eyes of jade", and he wears a short
Astrakhan cap A Karakul hat (Dari/Urdu/Pashto/ Uzbek/Kashmiri: ), sometimes spelled as Qaraqul hat, also called Uzbek hat and Jinnah Cap is a hat made from the fur of the Qaraqul breed of sheep. Karakul directly translates to black fur in the Uzbek language and ...
along with Western
dress clothes Informal wear or undress, also called business wear, corporate/office wear, tenue de ville or dress clothes, is a Western dress code for clothing defined by a business suit for men, and cocktail dress or pant suit for women. On the scale of fo ...
of the narrative's historic setting. Leroux writes that he has "a noble and generous heart" and is an upright man concerned for the fate of others. The novel does not ever specify The Persian's name.


Role in the novel

The Persian first appears during
Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...
and Raoul's flight from the rooftops and warns them to go a different way. He next makes himself known after Christine's disappearance when he suddenly appears to Raoul and warns him, "Erik's secrets concern no one but himself!" Raoul ignores this warning by telling the commissary the whole story, but the Persian intercepts him and tells him that it is Erik, not Raoul's brother Philippe, who has carried off Christine. He leads Raoul through the passages of the Opera House to Christine's dressing room, where they go through the revolving door hidden in Christine's mirror and travel down through the passages under the Opera. Raoul is very confused as to the purpose of the long pistol the Persian has given him, as he is only instructed to keep his hand as if he were ready to fire - and that it does not even matter whether he is holding the weapon. The Persian eventually reveals that keeping the hand at the level of the eyes is a defense against the Punjab lasso. No matter how expert the thrower is, the lasso cannot be tightened around a neck with a hand blocking its path. When they finally reach the back entrance to Erik's house, where Joseph Buquet was found hanged, they drop into what turns out to be Erik's torture-chamber. This chamber contains heat-reflecting mirrors that reach from floor to ceiling, with an iron tree in a corner, making its occupant feel like he or she is in an unending forest of trees made of iron. (Buquet had stumbled into this room and used a Punjab lasso hanging from a tree branch to commit suicide.) The Persian finds a hidden exit that allows him and Raoul to drop into a still-lower room filled with gunpowder; unless Christine agrees to marry Erik, he will blow up the Opera House. She accepts this offer and water floods into the powder room, nearly drowning Raoul and the Persian. The novel concludes 30 years after these events, with the Persian - now old and sick, and still attended by Darius - telling how he and Raoul were saved from the flood by Erik, who allowed all three captives to go free. He dies five months after giving this account.


Adaptations

In the 1925 silent film '' The Phantom Of The Opera'', his character was changed into an inspector for the secret police named "Ledoux" who had been investigating Erik for months. He still helps and accompanies Raoul to rescue Christine. Originally, the character was meant to be more like in the novel but his background was changed during the creation of the intertitles for the movie. He still appears to be of Persian descent in the final film, though. In the 1986 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, he does not appear, although aspects of his character are merged with
Madame Giry Madame Giry is a fictional character from Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel ''The Phantom of the Opera''. She is a fairly intermediate character in the novel, although her role is much increased in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical. Madame Giry is als ...
's. For instance, Madame Giry shows Raoul where Erik lives, although she does not accompany him to Erik's lair. There is also a monkey doll and music box, dressed as a Persian, on the auction at the opening scene of the musical.


Apocrypha

In
Susan Kay Susan Kay (born 1952) is a British writer, the author of two award-winning novels: ''Legacy'' and ''Phantom''. Biography Kay was born on 1952 in Manchester, England. She worked as a primary school teacher until leaving to bring up a family, an ...
's 1990 novel ''
Phantom Phantom may refer to: * Spirit (animating force), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phantom Ray, a stealthy un ...
'', the Persian's name is given as Nadir Khan. Distantly related to the Shah, he is assigned the office of chief of police in Mazenderan, where the shah and his court spend the summers. He is a widower, his wife Rookheeya having died while giving birth to their son Reza. Out of love for the memory of Rookheeya, Nadir has never had any other wife and occasionally avails himself of servant women rather than get remarried. He is very fond of Reza, who bears a great resemblance to his mother and is dying of Tay–Sachs disease. Nadir has a great dislike of cats, and they seem to know it. Unfortunately, the shah owns a number of favorite cats and Nadir considers himself lucky to get off with imperial displeasure and a deep scratch on the ankle when he accidentally steps on a cat's tail. In an earlier adapted novel by Theadora Bruns, his name is Oded. In the Caliber Comics graphic novel ''Adventure of the Opera Ghost'' by Steven Philip Jones and Aldin Baroza, a former
daroga Darogas (also spelled darogha or daroghah) were police officials in the Mughal Empire and the British Raj. In the Mughal Empire, a daroga was superintendent of the "slaves" of a Mughal monarch. Duties performed by daroga The darogas served in the ...
named Nadir Khan assists
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
, Dr. John H. Watson, the Comte de Chagny, and Raoul in their attempts to hunt down Erik in the
Paris Opera House The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
. In
Nicholas Meyer Nicholas Meyer (born December 24, 1945) is an American writer and director, known for his best-selling novel ''The Seven-Per-Cent Solution'', and for directing the films ''Time After Time (1979 film), Time After Time'', two of the ''Star Trek'' ...
's 1993 novel '' The Canary Trainer'', the role of the Persian is largely taken by an incognito
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and ...
. Kim Newman's short stories "Angels of Music" and "The Mark of Kane" from the '' Tales of the Shadowmen'' anthology series are a parody of ''
Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...
''. In the stories, Erik is the equivalent of Charlie Townsend, and the Persian takes the role of Bosley.


References

{{Phantom of the Opera Persian Persian Persian, The Persian Persian