My thoughts on the Phantom leaving the ring and rose at Christine's grave is that the rose shows he still loves her and always will but the ring means he has changed to accepting his being alone and acknowledges that he was wrong in recklessly, murderously pursuing her. His anger at others has ended.
shareThat is a more relaxed idea, lm362. Yes, the rose displays Erik's undying love. However, I take the ring to mean that the phantom still feels his unsavory connection to Christine and has never stopped considering her his. It's possible that as the phantom gets older he gains more control over his dangerous urges, but I don't believe that his rage ever disappears. He remains a recluse for the rest of his life. I also think that the ring tells us that Erik is about to join his old student. He is in his eighties at the end of the movie, and wants to leave a permanent symbol of his and Christine's relationship before he dies. Perhaps the phantom's message is that death will marry the two.
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