Opera Ghost's monthly allowance

The Opera Ghost's monthly allowance is the financial cornerstone of Erik's secret dominion over the Paris Opera House, a demand so extraordinary that it defines the relationship between the phantom and every successive management. Written into the Opera's memorandum-book as a fifth clause in red ink, in a queer, labored handwriting resembling that of a child, the allowance stipulates that the manager must pay the Opera ghost twenty thousand francs a month, or two hundred and forty thousand francs a year, and that any delay of more than a fortnight would forfeit the management's privilege. This clause, presented to Firmin Richard and Armand Moncharmin by the retiring managers M. Debienne and M. Poligny, was initially dismissed as a practical joke, yet it soon proved to be a demand backed by the ghost's terrifying power to enforce his will.

The Clause in the Memorandum-Book

The allowance was first revealed during the farewell supper for the retiring managers, when the ghost himself appeared at the table and announced the death of Joseph Buquet. M. Poligny, in the managers' office, produced a copy of the memorandum-book that contained the standard conditions for running the National Academy of Music, but with an added paragraph in red ink specifying the monthly payment. The clause read: "5. Or if the manager, in any month, delay for more than a fortnight the payment of the allowance which he shall make to the Opera ghost, an allowance of twenty thousand francs a month, say two hundred and forty thousand francs a year." M. Poligny pointed to this clause with a hesitating finger, and when Richard asked if the ghost wanted anything else, Poligny revealed a further addition: Box Five on the grand tier was to be placed at the ghost's disposal for every performance. The two new managers laughed at what they took to be an elaborate joke, with Richard remarking that business was impossible with so unreasonable a ghost, and Poligny explaining that the loss over Box Five, which they could not sell, was itself a burden they could no longer bear.

The First Payment and the Magic Envelope

Despite their skepticism, the managers were soon compelled to honor the allowance. One morning, they found on their table an envelope addressed to "Monsieur O. G. (private)" accompanied by a note instructing them to put twenty notes of a thousand francs each into the envelope, seal it with their own seal, and hand it to Mme. Giry, who would do what was necessary. The managers, hoping to catch the blackmailer, complied, placing the money in the envelope and watching as Mme. Giry carried it to the ghost's box. Yet when they opened the envelope, they found the real notes replaced by twenty notes from the "Bank of St. Farce," a flash currency. The theft was accomplished through a simple substitution: Mme. Giry had hidden a similar envelope up her sleeve, given to her beforehand by the ghost, and had swapped it for the one containing the real money. The managers' rage was tempered only by their determination to win the next round, with Richard declaring, "O. G. has won the first game: we will win the second."

The Second Payment and the Safety-Pin Scheme

On the day of Christine Daae's disappearance, the ghost sent another note reminding the managers that the money was due, instructing them to repeat the previous procedure. This time, Richard and Moncharmin devised a plan to catch the thief: Richard would repeat his exact movements from the night of the first theft, while Moncharmin watched his coat-tail pocket, into which Mme. Giry was to slip the envelope. The scheme involved Richard bowing and walking backward as though before the under-secretary for fine arts, while Moncharmin kept close behind him, refusing to let anyone touch the director. When they locked themselves in their office, Moncharmin pinned the envelope containing the twenty thousand francs to Richard's pocket with a safety-pin, determined to feel any hand that might try to steal it. Yet when the clock struck twelve and they examined the pocket, they found the pin still in place but the notes gone. The theft, accomplished through a trap-door in the office floor, left the managers convinced of the ghost's supernatural power, with Moncharmin muttering "The ghost!" and Richard accusing his partner of the theft.

The Return of the Money and Erik's Renunciation

The affair of the allowance reached its conclusion only after the ghost's love for Christine Daae had run its tragic course. A few days after Christine's disappearance, the managers found on Richard's table a large envelope inscribed in red ink "WITH O. G.'S COMPLIMENTS," containing the full sum of forty thousand francs that the ghost had playfully extracted from the treasury. Richard was at once of the opinion that they must be content with that and drop the business, and Moncharmin agreed, writing in his Memoirs that the ghost "redeemed by one spontaneous fine action all the worry which he had caused." The Persian later explained to the narrator that Erik restored the money because he no longer wanted it: he had relinquished his marriage with Christine Daae and everything above the surface of the earth. The allowance, which had once been the instrument of Erik's power over the Opera, became meaningless once he had renounced his claim to a normal life, and the money was returned as a final gesture of withdrawal from the human world he could never join.