Phantom of the Opera discussion

Christine and Erik have a very complicated relationship. On one hand, she (Christine) despises Erik, because she says to him, "It's in your soul that the true distortion lies..." On the other hand, she likes him, because she kisses him. There is a lot of evidence that she pities him, fears him, wonders about him, etc. What do you think she actually feels about him? (You can have more than one answer, it's a pretty complicated topic.)

I think it changes throughout the story, twisting into many different feelings.

At the beginning, before the events of the book, the Phantom is teaching Christine how to sing. I've always thought that, while the Phantom enjoys Christine's devotion to him, she is also enjoying his interest and obsession of her. She is suddenly receiving attention for her voice upon the stage and, as she has lost her father, she now has a father-figure to look up to and try to please. I think it is a mix of romantic feeling, fantasising about this mysterious figure, as well as a replacement for her lost father.

Then Raoul arrives. She falls in love with him, and perhaps those feelings make her realise her own romantic feelings for the Phantom. But, of course, the Phantom becomes jealous, and any feelings are now suffocated by fear when he becomes aggressive and violent.

I think, by the end of the book, when several years have passed, she probably pities him, and perhaps wonders over what might have been, and if there might have been some way of changing things. She remembers equally the times she loved and feared him. Hope this makes sense :)