Mamma Valerius
Mamma Valerius is the adoptive mother and benefactress of Christine Daae, a Swedish widow who, with her late husband Professor Valerius, discovered the young singer and her father at a fair, brought them to France, and provided for Christine's education and upbringing. She becomes a key figure in the novel as the keeper of Christine's secret about the Angel of Music, the one who reveals to Raoul the nature of Christine's mysterious 'genius,' and a witness to the tragic love triangle that drives the plot. Her simple faith in the supernatural and her deep affection for Christine make her both a source of comfort and a catalyst for the story's central conflicts.
Identity and Background
Mamma Valerius is introduced as the widow of Professor Valerius, a man who, at Ljimby Fair, heard the peasant fiddler Daddy Daae and his daughter Christine and recognized their extraordinary talents. He declared the father 'the first violinist in the world' and the daughter 'the making of a great artist,' and he took them to Gothenburg, where Christine's education and instruction were provided for. When the Valeriuses settled in France, they brought Daae and Christine with them, and Mamma Valerius treated Christine as her own daughter. After her husband's death, she remained in France with Daddy Daae and his daughter, living on music alone, wrapped in their dream of harmony. She is described as having a 'good, kind face,' with hair that has turned quite white but eyes that have grown no older, their expression bright, pure, and child-like. She lives in a little flat in the Rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, where she is attended by a maid and where portraits of Professor Valerius and old Daae hang on opposite walls.
Role in Christine's Life and the Angel of Music
Mamma Valerius is the only person, besides Christine herself, who knows about the Angel of Music. When Christine first hears the mysterious voice in her dressing-room, she tells Mamma Valerius, who immediately suggests it must be the Angel and advises her to ask him. This simple faith sets the course for Christine's secret lessons and her eventual captivity. When Raoul comes to inquire about Christine's disappearance, Mamma Valerius reveals that Christine is 'with her good genius,' the Angel of Music, and that the genius forbids her to marry, for if she did, she would never hear him again. She explains that Christine went to Perros with her good genius, who arranged to meet her in the churchyard at Daae's grave and promised to play The Resurrection of Lazarus on her father's violin. Mamma Valerius's unwavering belief in the Angel, whom she says lives in Heaven, baffles Raoul and deepens his despair, as he realizes the hold this supernatural figure has over Christine.
Relationship with Raoul and the Revelation of the Ring
Mamma Valerius is fond of Raoul, recalling how he used to bring her the story of little Lotte, which Daddy Daae had told him. She tells him that Christine used to speak of him every day and that she had made her a proposal, laughing at the memory. When Raoul, desperate, asks if Christine is engaged, Mamma Valerius insists she cannot marry because of the Angel of Music. Later, when Christine returns to her, Mamma Valerius is overjoyed, exclaiming, 'Her good genius has sent her back to us!' But Christine denies the Angel's existence, and Mamma Valerius is caught between her ward's secrecy and Raoul's warnings of danger. When Raoul points out the gold ring on Christine's finger, Mamma Valerius exclaims, 'That's what I said!' revealing that she too suspects the ring is a promise of marriage. Her loyalty shifts to Christine when the girl is pressed, and she tells Raoul that if Christine loves that man, it is no business of his.
Change and Significance
Mamma Valerius's character remains largely static, a figure of unwavering faith and maternal devotion. She is the one who, in her innocence, enables the Angel of Music's deception by encouraging Christine to believe in him, and she is the one who, in her love, tries to protect Christine from Raoul's accusations. Her simple, trusting nature contrasts sharply with the dark complexities of Erik's world, and her presence in the story highlights the tragic gap between the ordinary, loving home Christine longs for and the supernatural prison she is trapped in. In the end, Mamma Valerius disappears with Christine and Raoul, as the narrator imagines seeking their traces in Norway, suggesting that she remains a part of their hidden happiness. Her role is essential: she is the keeper of the secret, the voice of naive faith, and the embodiment of the domestic peace that Erik's obsession threatens to destroy.
