Christine had to have loved Erik.

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Originally Posted by hunnybunny

Christine did love Erik but not the same way she loved Raoul. She loved Erik because he was her teacher, because he inspired her voice and because he loved her unconditionally. But she did not love him enough to want to stay, she stayed because she pitied him, because she knew of the pain he felt and so she stayed, until Raoul returned to her: then she wanted to leave him, but she was scared to because she knew how obsessively he cared for her and she knew that he would find her. She feared him because - lets face it, he was psycho. Because he had odd mood swings and she was not entirely sure of what he was capable of. She didnt want to stay with him because he was a psycho obsessive - what we call a stalker. I think that Erik was in love with Christine not in lust because if it had been pure lust he would not have treated her with the respect that he did. He let her go in the end not because he couldnt give her what Raoul could but because he knew she would never love him the way she did Raoul and so he knew she would be happier with him - he sacrificed his chance of happiness for hers. That's love not lust. Lust is selfish, love is selfless.

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I don't want to be the complete grouch here, but this last part...

"Love is selfless."

And yes, it was so selfless the way that Erik kidnapped her, that he dragged her around by her hair and abducted her during Faust. It was also very selfless of him to threaten to blow up the opera house if Christine didn't agree to marry him. Perhaps he mistook obsession for real, true love. I can't really see Leroux!Erik being totally in love with Christine. I think he thought he loved her. I mean, she was kind, gentle, undoubtedly attractive, and had a marvelous voice. So it was natural for Erik to think he loved her. However, I must say that considering the life that he led, it would be hard for him not to be unselfish. And in the end he finally releases them, giving up everything he had worked for. This is why Erik is such a fascinating character. Should we love him or hate him?

Also, the beginning of your post. "She loved Erik because he was her teacher..." I think it was more of a general admiration. You can't not admire someone like Erik for all his talents and accomplishments. Although, I do agree that before Erik revealed himself Christine might have been a bit infatuated with him.

I'm not trying to spark an argument. I just love debating about Erik. He is so twisted and a wonderful topic of discussion.

Although Erik was abusive towards Christine, doesn't mean he didn't love her. He may have had a little OCD when things didn't happen his way, but he did love Christine and Christine probably did love him, as her adult relationship. With Raoul, though, she loved him as a childhood friend. And Erik DID NOT rape Christine, Original Leroux novel, Translated novel, whatever, he didn't!. In the novel (Which is accepted by Leroux fans.), Phantom by Susan Kay, Erik thinks this:

I want her!
But I will not sink to the level of a mindless beast. Murderer, thief, unscrupulous extortionist, contemptible drug addict...this is the one crime I cannot commit. I can take nothing from her that is not given of her free and conscious will.

He didn't rape her, because he had self control over that. But in the end of the novel, Christine has a child that is Erik's. So if she didn't love him, why would she share that experience with him? That's my thoughts as a Phan and Phanfiction writer and thanks for listening.

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Originally Posted by AngelofPhantoms

Although Erik was abusive towards Christine, doesn't mean he didn't love her. He may have had a little OCD when things didn't happen his way, but he did love Christine and Christine probably did love him, as her adult relationship. With Raoul, though, she loved him as a childhood friend. And Erik DID NOT rape Christine, Original Leroux novel, Translated novel, whatever, he didn't!. In the novel (Which is accepted by Leroux fans.), Phantom by Susan Kay, Erik thinks this:

I want her!
But I will not sink to the level of a mindless beast. Murderer, thief, unscrupulous extortionist, contemptible drug addict...this is the one crime I cannot commit. I can take nothing from her that is not given of her free and conscious will.

He didn't rape her, because he had self control over that. But in the end of the novel, Christine has a child that is Erik's. So if she didn't love him, why would she share that experience with him? That's my thoughts as a Phan and Phanfiction writer and thanks for listening.

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Yes, if we want to get technical, we can point out the different versions, such as the '83 Christine (actually Maria) did not at all love Erik/Sandor, and how the '25 Christine was terrified of him, and how the '62 Christine pretty much wanted to die every time she was near Erik. I actually love the Kay version; it's the only one in which I think Christine and Erik should have ended up together, and the only version in which I have a small belief that Christine might have loved Erik. That's a very good point about them making love at the end.

And I never said Erik raped Christine. :confused: I'm quite positive. Although, it is quite unfair to say that Christine loved Raoul only as a childhood friend. No one knows the depth of her love; she's a fictional character. It probably wasn't as passionate as Erik's obsession and all, Raoul and Christine's love was still pure and true.

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Originally Posted by Wandering_Child

And I never said Erik raped Christine. :confused: I'm quite positive.

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I was not saying that you thought that Erik raped Christine, I meant to say that some people believe he did. Sorry if I miscommunicated.

I'm glad that you accept Kay's version. I think she might have been a Erik/Christine phan. Just a thought.

Christine, I find, was torn between what her heart yearned for and what she thought she needed. Her heart yearned to be met in music and it was Erik's call that completed that. Erik had the same passion and emotional depth, whereas Raoul was a bit wooden in his character. He seemed to show only what he thought appropriate. Christine seemed like she was caught between what society expected of her and what she truly wanted. In the end, I think that she convinced herself that Raoul was the one for her, only because it seemed the easiest path to take. Sure, with Erik, they would have had more than their share of hardships, but there was an unyielding spark between them that would have fully ignited, had Raoul not got in the way. Christine made her choice and, honestly, I would have regretted it, if I were her. The Phantom has a certain allure to him that, obviously, Christine found seductive or else, she would not have come so easily under his spell. Spells break and so did Erik's heart. Christine based her decision on her mind and not her heart and it makes me think that Christine did not deserve him.

I've read the novel about 6 or 7 times, and I don't think she really loved Erik. I think it was more pity because he was deformed. Doesn't she say in the novel, "Poor, unhappy Erik"? That's clearly pitying him! I think she was more terrifed of him. I think I would be terrified of a guy that is way beyond obsessed with me, looks and smells like a skeleton, and threatens to blow up the Opera House and/or kill the guy I love if I don't marry him!
There's my viewpoint.
P.G.7.

This is a fascinating discussion. People have made some good points. It seems to me that by the end of the story, Christine's feelings for the Phantom were conflicted, and despite her fear, part of her had truly come to love him.

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Originally Posted by Phantomess

Also, she and Erik did not kiss.

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They didn't kiss on the lips, but in Gaston LeRoux's novel, Erik does say, "Then Christine kissed me, for the first time, herself, here, on the forehead—don't look, daroga!" (Chapter XXVI, "The End of the Ghost's Love Story")