📖 Novel – Fear and Compassion

In Leroux’s 1910 novel, Christine is terrified of Erik (the Phantom). She describes him as a “living corpse,” recoils from his skeletal face, and dreads his obsessive demands. Yet she also feels pity: she recognizes his suffering and offers compassion in moments when his loneliness overwhelms him. Still, it is not love in the romantic sense. Her true affection is for Raoul.

🎭 Stage Musical – Ambiguity and Emotional Pull

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1986 musical reshaped the relationship into something more ambiguous. Christine fears the Phantom’s violence, but she also admires his musical genius and is drawn by the passion in his voice. In the final lair scene, when she kisses him, it is often staged as a moment of compassion — yet many audiences interpret it as a flicker of deeper connection.

🎬 Film and Other Adaptations

The 2004 Joel Schumacher film heightened the romantic undertones: Emmy Rossum’s Christine visibly struggles between Raoul’s safety and the Phantom’s dangerous allure. This interpretation popularized the “love triangle” framing, with Christine caught between two forms of love.

💔 Ambiguous Kiss – Love or Mercy?

The iconic kiss at the climax remains a matter of interpretation:
Some see it as an act of mercy, showing Erik that he is not unworthy of human contact.

Others read it as momentary love, Christine moved by his genius and vulnerability.

🎭 Enduring Question

Did Christine love the Phantom? Canonically, in the novel, no — she feared him. But in the musical tradition, the question is left deliberately open, fueling decades of debate among fans and productions alike.