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Woah simmer down there! I think you're taking it too literally. She knows Erik is "The Phantom" but to her he's "The Angel." It all has to do with the subplot of what really to think of Erik. Underneath his genius and wish to be accepted by others, lurks bitterness, hatred and all of the other things that make him "The Phantom." In a way it's comparable to multiple personalities/personas, but it's just the complexity of Erik. He has different facets and personalities that he displays at certain times as they are needed.

"Angel or Demon?" Man or Monster? Genius or Madman? The lines are so fine between all of these, and most of it depends on your perception. Until he started appearing to her in the flesh and blood, Christine never saw any of his darker qualities that branded him as a devil among society.

And it really is unclear what Erik is, Christine seems to think of him as a father figure, and a musical instructor, so it would be at least plausible of her to think, "this man is the spirit of my father speaking to me," type of thing. (It also helps that she desperatley wants to believe that he's been sent from her father too...)

To her he's also an inspiration and a source of comfort, and since she has been training with him all these years it would be even harder for her to suddenly change her opinion of him.

It's not so cut and dry at all. Christine has a lot of emotional and spiritual feelings tied up into the Angel of Music figure she created out of Erik, it would be hard to let go of that and suddenly have nowhere to turn to.

I imagine she'd also feel as though she were betraying her father in a way by spurning the angel he sent.


..And I was talking with my mum earlier today, and apparently in some versions they think that the Phantom actually is her father.. which would be kinda gross and creepy but then, Roul does say in the graveyard scene, "Christine, listen to me. Whatever you may believe this man--this thing is not your father!"


...*psst!* I thought the line was,* "Angel or father, friend or phantom, who is it there staring..?" Perhaps I'm wrong, or that's just my version on the CD...

So anyways, she's not really asking, "Are you the phantom AND the angel?" She's asking, "Who are you this time, right now? Who are you really? Did my father really send you? Have I let myself been decieved?"


The line has actuallly been one of my favorites. I like it 'cuz it's a 'loaded statement' I guess whee

Woah. Someone dislikes her. O_o

Really, Christine wasn't stupid. It was more innocence vs. ignorance than lack of braincells. Her Father passed away when she was young and on his death bed swore that he would send her the Angel of Music once he reached Heaven. Tell me you wouldn't hang onto those words like a valued keepsake. It was all she had left of him; that promise. And actually, Erik only tutored her a few months before the events of the story took place. Not years. If it had been years, I'm pretty sure she would've put two and two together eventually.

Honestly, I don't get how she could not get upset upon seeing Erik as nothing but a man with a beautiful voice when he revealed himself in the Mirror scene. In a way that was a lie because he wasn't some ethereal being or her Father as she had thought him to be. He was simply a man. But I suppose she was just so thrilled to see her tutor in human form instead of just a voice that nothing really mattered. I think it was only after she tore away his mask that she realised the full extent of who he was. Perhaps she thought the mask would be hiding a handsome face, much like the story of Psyche and Cupid where Psyche is married to a man she never sees until she defies his wishes and holds a candle to his face as he sleeps and sees her gorgeous husband Cupid, who then flies away in anger and betrayal. Only what is behind the mask is no god; much the opposite.

I think Christine knew just who her Angel was. After all, in the book she tells Raoul that "there is no Angel! There is only Erik!" which clearly indicates she isn't in a stupor.

When Erik sings to her at her Father's grave, the line is "Angel or Father; friend or phantom? Who is it there staring?" which clearly asks 'just who are you?' Erik's lied to her about who he was and said he was so many things that she's unsure of him and his true identity. I think in a way she wanted to believe he was her Father in some odd way; or perhaps that she thought him a Father-figure because he's so much older than her and in a way she's still a child seeking someone to dote upon her in a parental manner.

Back to the title subject: Did she?
Well, in my opinion it was love, but not the kind he wanted from her. There are different definitions such as loving your family, friends, and pets. Then there's Romance love. When Erik first came into her life he was guised as the Angel of Music that her Father had promised to send. For this she loved him because her angel had finally come. But it was love in a way that a child loves their parent. She saw her Father in that voice and thus loved him as such.
When he reveals that he is not an angel, only a disfigured man who loves her, I believe her affections were bruised. The daughterly love became pity. Yes I believe in a way she still thought of him as her Father, but it had to be pity driving her to stay. She felt sorry for him and did not want to hurt him even though she feared him with all her being.
Lastly, in the ultimate decision she went with Raoul. Yes she chose Erik to save him and that alone speaks her feelings for the Viscount. She was willing to give up her freedom and a life of happiness with a childhood friend in order to save the man she loved.
Long story short: It varies, but in a sense she did.

...Hooboy. Someone's gonna tear my opinions to shreds. ><

HECK YES! heart

Yes, I do believe that Novel!Christine loved Erik. Look at the chapter of the Apollo's Lyre. O_o She said that she couldn't flee that night and -HAD- to sing the next, just one last time, for Erik, because if she didn't, she would cause him "infinite pain."

Why would you care about causing a man infinite pain that's scared you and hurt you and lied to you and cheated you, etc,e tc, etc... if you don't love him?

Also, she said that she could not go back, because Erik would lament and say he loves her and cry.

And she said that she could not bear to see his tears.

Hmm.... interesting.

christine has a rare talent for making guys fall in love with her with out either saying the words "i love you to either of them" ex: in the say you love me song she never says i love you once to raul while raoul profeses his love perfusely to her also in the down once more song she doesn't excactly say yes i'll marry you it's kinda up for interprentation whether she's a tease or just in love with two men think about it. it's pssible

I think she loved him in a way but was more just drawn to him for different reasons...his obsessive love for her, the fact that he took her under his wing and taught her, etc...but of course with him going on killing sprees and such she was scared to death of him...

First of all, I have to say that SK's novel does not count as a basis for evidence as it is glorified phanphic -- only Kay was published while the rest of us flounder about on personal websites and fanfiction.net. SK's novel is phanphic, plain and simple.

I'm going to keep this terribly short, but according to the novel, no. I don't think she loved him romantically per say, if you can take what she says to Raoul on the roof as truth, the bit where she expresses her horror and revulsion of Erik. Also, her willingness to leave the Opera - nay, telling Raoul he was to take her away - is not indicative of undying, bridled passion to fornicate with Erik in the cellars or whatever else. Her fear and aversion to Erik is something to take into consideration, I think, especially as we all know that she stayed with Raoul after the events. Christine did not love Erik romantically, as Utakan put so wonderfully.

However, I do believe that her reluctance to leave Erik without saying goodbye and her treatment of him in the final lair scene of the book is also very indicative of a friendship, fondness, or pity, even. She did not absolutely hate him - though she had every right to - but did feel a marginal bit of affection for him; not enough to eclipse her love for Raoul.