ISFJ 9w1 Characters

Everything Christine struggles with relates to her own personal experiences—the loss of her father, his stories about the “Angel of Music,” her violent, unstable relationship with Erik, and her childhood relationship with Raoul. She has trouble ridding herself of the past in order to find a future-oriented focus (“Why can’t the past just die?”). She falls into routines of experiencing the same emotions around the same people—with Raoul, trust that he will save and help her (he proved this in their childhood, through the small task of saving her scarf from the sea), and with Erik—a sensual appreciation for him and his music and a fear of his unpredictable temper. Christine alternates between hopeful expectations for the future (a life free of the Opera Ghost with Raoul) and terror of the unknown—of the many negative possibilities of what might happen through her disobedience. She accurately discerns that Erik yearns to quench his “thirst for the flesh,“ but has a naïve view of the supernatural in her belief that Erik is an “Angel of Music” sent to her by her dead father (inferior Ne). Rather than establish her own abstract moral system, Christine seeks to please others through her behavior; not wanting to go out with Raoul for fear of what the Angel of Music might say, consenting to help ensnare the Opera Ghost to keep Raoul and the managers happy, and catering to Erik’s attempts to change her into his ideal. She feels torn through compassion for him and a desire to be free of him, but even in the end cannot truly hate him and will sacrifice her own happiness to show him love. Other people’s emotions rub off on her (increasing her happiness, elation, fear, anger, and sadness) and she feeds off the positive energy of others and shrinks from their disapproval. She sings through her emotions to other people (her anger at Erik, her affection for Raoul) and alone, as she processes her feelings for her deceased father. “Whose is the face in the shadows? Who is the man behind the mask?” Christine’s curiosity to know more and truly understand Erik leads her to rip off his mask. Her belief in the “Angel of Music” is not based on any external proof of his divine presence but her own understanding; it seems to make sense to her, so she believes in it (they contrast this with Raoul’s facts-driven Te thinking; “Christine, Christine, there is no angel of music!”).

Enneagram:  9w1

Christine is a dreamer, able to distract herself from reality through her memories and longing for her father, who gave her a sense of stability; she escapes from the frightening things in her life, by ignoring them and being lost in her head. Christine is good-hearted, and merges with whatever emotions are around her, as a true 9—she can be more assertive around Raoul, more seductive and calm around Erik, often reflecting his feelings and taking them on, then pulling back and “finding herself.” She shows severe 6 disintegration under stress, when she flies into an anxious panic over being asked to trap Erik (“He’ll take me, I know it!!”), but also shows more confidence within herself, when dealing with him at the end (like a 3). Her 1 wing makes her want to do the right thing, concerned with moderating her treatment of Erik and objecting to his violent methods.