Question: How is the woman at the beginning of the movie Meg Giry, as is stated in several answers here? They call her Madame Giry, if it were Meg they would call her Mademoiselle Giry, unless she was married, in which case she would be Madame with whatever surname she received upon marriage. So wouldn't it need to be Meg's mother, Madame Giry?
Sarahjonesyy
6th Feb 2015
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Answer: According to the original show, the Madame Giry at the beginning is the same Madame Giry who is Meg's mother. It is explained that her years as a dancer kept her in good health, so she aged better than Raoul did, who was in extremely poor health since Christine's death.
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Chosen answer: The honorific "Mademoiselle" is not an indication only of marital status, but it has a connotation of youth (and, ostensibly, virginity). Beyond a certain age, it would be considered inappropriate and possibly insulting or mocking to continue to use the term "Mademoiselle." "Madame" is generally adopted by women of a certain age, regardless of their marital status. It is not unlike "Señora" and "señorita" in Spanish. An interesting note - there is a currently a movement in France to remove "Mademoiselle" from French common usage, as it is considered by some sexist to classify women by age and/or marital status, when men in France are uniformly referred to only as "Monsieur."
Michael Albert