erponchado2010

Chosen answer: This is a very short, but very complex question about which dissertations are written. Here is my best attempt at a brief summary. Christine lives as a sheltered child-like woman in a highly patriarchal Victorian society. She is torn between two loves. There is Raoul, who represents safety, light, and a sort of romantic, adolescent view of what true love should mean. Then there is Erik, the Phantom, with whom Christine has had a long time bond. He has been to her like a guardian angel. He gave her music. He comforted her when her father died. And yet, as his role turns from that of protector and teacher to one of lustful suitor, he comes to represent darkness, passion, lust, obsession, and danger. He is unstable, driven to madness by a world of light he can never know. He is also, let's not forget, homicidal. Christine ultimately makes the only choice society makes available to her - the safe and sane choice. From the ending of the film, we learn that Christine remained wife to Raoul, but it is unclear how happily her life turned out. She probably always shared a connection to Erik, who possessed for her a depth of love she could never know from any other man. Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote a sequel to "The Phantom of the Opera" called "Love Never Dies." In it, we learn that the Phantom did, indeed, remain in Christine's life. I won't provide spoilers here, but more information about "Love Never Dies" can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Never_Dies_ (musical).

Michael Albert

Answer: I believe some things stated are true, like Raou being thesafe choice the Phantom being the dark forbidden suitor. While the things I don't agree are the statements of the Phantom grooming her and kidnapping her. She always was willing to go. While yes he decieved her by saying he was her angel of music, he partly was. He gave her the chance to sing by coaching her. Did he do it from day one because he wanted to marry her? Who knows. I think she truly loved the Phantom but chosen Raoul out of safety. She would have had to live life on the run with the Phantom. The Phantom also told her to go.

Answer: First of all, Eric pretended to be a guardian angel sent from her dead father to teach her to sing. He continued this gaslighting throughout the movie / play, outright stating several times that he was her Angel of Music. Raul on the other hand, was her dear childhood friend, who represented memories with her father. Eric brought her down into his home under the pretense of having her sing for his music, then suddenly turned his tone into a romantic one and showed her and lifelike mannequin he made of her - that's incredibly creepy. At every point where things don't go his way, Eric throws a tantrum and ruins things for everyone in the Opera House. By the end of the show, Christine is terrified of him and is begging Raul to protect and hide her from Eric. We are led to believe that this is a love triangle, but this is an incel man forcing love on to an unsuspecting woman, and when she chooses another man he acts out in his typical fashion, putting them both in danger. It would be hard to love someone like that for anyone.