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I mean, sure, Erik has the "dark mysterious artist" thing going for him, but keep in mind that Erik was a stalker, a murderer, a terrorist, and an all-around bag of crazy. I personally think that Christine made the right decision in choosing Raoul. That is how great Leroux was: he build a story with a lot of good characters and one that is extremely mean, but everyone, inevitably, is attracted to the mean one. There is no doubt in the book that Christine should choose the good guy, also because the bad is really bad, but I don't know why, everyone get attracted by the bud guy (very old story!) and is drawn to forgive him all the bad he has done, just because of his genius, his talent, and the love he has for Christine. She probably loves Raul instead, who, notice, is not only a kid and risks his life to save her, but also who is a prominent member of the society and she is no more than a young actress with no connection, Raul is the best shot she could ever get!! She was attached to him, because she believed him to be some sort of Angel, but she is his prisoner since the beginning, not his lover. I have no doubt that he loved Christine, but I'm also sure that she didn't love him back. He wasn't a poor kid mistreated by gypsies, he was an architect/genius (somehow) that builded torture machines and that enjoyed the way people would suffer in them.
![raoul phantom of the opera movie raoul phantom of the opera movie](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MhIM9_qqgwA/UkZNSvJH25I/AAAAAAAAIco/YqOK8etyucE/s1600/raoulropes.jpg)
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He has a history that has nothing to do with the one in the movie. In the book the Phantom is not a troubled soul, he is a monster, either in his soul and his outlooks. There is a substantial difference between the book and the movie, that can make people suspect that Christine and actually a choice between being romantically involved to Erik or Raul.