Mazenderan

Mazenderan, a province of Persia, is the setting for the most sinister and formative chapter in Erik's life, a period the Persian calls the 'Rosy Hours of Mazenderan.' It was here that Erik, already a monster of extraordinary ugliness and genius, was brought to serve the Shah-in-Shah, and it was here that he perfected the deadly arts—architecture, illusion, and murder—that he would later deploy beneath the Paris Opera House. The Persian, who was then the daroga, or chief of police, of Mazenderan, became both Erik's savior and his reluctant keeper, a relationship that haunts him throughout the novel and ultimately drives him to help Raoul de Chagny rescue Christine Daae.

Erik's Service at the Court of Mazenderan

Erik's reputation as a prodigious singer, ventriloquist, and conjuror preceded him to Mazenderan. A fur trader returning from the fair at Nijni-Novgorod told of the marvels performed in Erik's tent, and the daroga of Mazenderan was instructed to find him and bring him to the palace. Once there, Erik's will became law for a time. He was guilty of numerous horrors, seemingly without any sense of good or evil, and calmly participated in political assassinations. He turned his diabolical inventive powers against the Emir of Afghanistan, who was at war with the Persian empire, and the Shah took a liking to him.

Erik's most notable achievement in Mazenderan was architectural. He had very original ideas on the subject and thought out a palace much as a conjuror contrives a trick-casket. The Shah ordered him to construct such an edifice, and Erik did so, creating a building so ingenious that His Majesty could move about in it unseen and disappear without the trick being discovered. This palace, with its hidden passages and trap-doors, was the prototype of the house Erik would later build in the cellars of the Paris Opera House.

The Torture-Chamber and the Rosy Hours

It was in Mazenderan that Erik built the first torture-chamber, a hexagonal room lined with mirrors that could be transformed into a forest, a desert, or a mirage, and heated to unbearable temperatures. The Persian describes it as the most curious, horrible, and dangerous of Erik's inventions. Except in special cases, when the little sultana amused herself by inflicting suffering on some unoffending citizen, no one was let into it but wretches condemned to death. Even then, when these had 'had enough,' they were always at liberty to put an end to themselves with a Punjab lasso or bowstring left for their use at the foot of an iron tree.

The 'Rosy Hours of Mazenderan' refers to this period when Erik, with the little sultana's favor, indulged in his most extravagant and cruel entertainments. He would make them lock him into a courtyard with a warrior armed with a long pike and broadsword, and Erik, armed only with his Punjab lasso, would strangle the warrior before the sultana and her women. The little sultana herself learned to wield the lasso and killed several of her own women and friends. The Persian, who witnessed these horrors, later recognized the torture-chamber in Erik's house on the lake, and the Punjab lasso that had killed Joseph Buquet.

The Persian's Role and Erik's Escape

When the Shah-in-Shah realized the value of Erik's architectural genius, he ordered Erik's yellow eyes to be put out, fearing that Erik might build a similar palace for another sovereign. Erik's death was decided upon, along with that of all the laborers who had worked under his orders. The execution of this abominable decree devolved upon the daroga of Mazenderan, the Persian. However, Erik had shown the daroga some slight services and procured him many a hearty laugh, so the daroga saved Erik by providing him with the means of escape, nearly paying with his head for his generous indulgence.

A corpse, half-eaten by birds of prey, was found on the shore of the Caspian Sea and was taken for Erik's body, because the daroga's friends had dressed the remains in clothing that belonged to Erik. The daroga was let off with the loss of imperial favor, the confiscation of his property, and an order of perpetual banishment. As a member of the Royal House, he continued to receive a monthly pension of a few hundred francs from the Persian treasury, and on this he came to live in Paris.

Legacy and Significance

The Rosy Hours of Mazenderan left an indelible mark on both Erik and the Persian. For Erik, it was a time when he was feared and powerful, yet ultimately betrayed by the very court he served. It taught him to trust no one and to rely on his own ingenuity for survival. For the Persian, it was a source of guilt and responsibility; he had saved Erik's life, and he felt a moral obligation to prevent Erik from committing further atrocities. This is why, years later in Paris, the Persian watches over Erik, and why he risks his life to help Raoul enter the cellars of the Opera. The torture-chamber in Erik's house on the lake is a direct copy of the one in Mazenderan, and the Persian's knowledge of Erik's tricks—the Punjab lasso, the hand-at-eye-level defense, the springs and counterbalances—all stem from his intimate acquaintance with Erik's methods in Mazenderan. The region thus serves as the origin of Erik's most terrifying capabilities and the source of the Persian's unique ability to combat him.