Fifty Shades of Grey

After Ana’s gynecological exam, Christian feeds her. He then takes her to the Red Room of Pain, where he says, “When you’re in here, you are completely mine […] To do with as I see fit” (316). He teaches her how he’d like her to dress and position herself when in the room. He fastens her wrists above her head to a grid on the wall, then uses a riding crop to tease and hit her. She dissociates as he does, and she learns she can control pain that way, and experience great pleasure. They have sex a second time before Christian leads her to bed, where she sleeps.

Christian wakes Ana so they can go to his parents’ house for dinner. She knows Christian stole her underwear so she’d have to ask for them or go without. She decides to go without. They dance in his living room. In the car on the way to dinner, Ana asks where Christian learned to dance; Mrs. Robinson taught him. Ana feels hatred for this woman she’s never met. Mrs. Robinson led Christian to BDSM, and Ana has no special skills to compete with her.

They arrive to his parents’ house, which is a colonial-style mansion. Grace and Carrick, Christian’s father, greet them. Mia, Christian’s little sister, bounds toward them. She’s friendly and energetic with Ana. Christian clearly has affection for her. Kate and Elliott sit in the living room. It occurs to Ana that Christian only invited her because Elliot invited Kate, and Kate would tell Ana about it.

Ana says she’s thinking about visiting her mother in Georgia and mentions having job interviews with two publishing companies. Kate interjects that Ana and José went to a bar the other night. When Christian puts his hand on her thigh, she clenches. Christian takes her for a tour of the grounds. He tells Ana he’s upset about José, her rejection of his hand on her leg, and the fact that she didn’t tell him about Georgia. He warns he’s going to spank and have sex with her.

Christian takes Ana to the boathouse, where he has sex with her but doesn’t let her orgasm. Mia finds them to say Kate and Elliot are leaving. Christian says he and Ana need to leave too. In the car, Ana presents him with the idea that he felt forced to invite her because Elliot invited Kate, but he denies it. She explains her reasoning for going to Georgia: She wants to take a break from their relationship so she can think. He asks her to stay with him that night and to wait to sign the contract after Georgia.

In bed, Ana asks him to make love to her and to let her touch him. He says no. She says he can spank her again if he shares why he is opposed to her touching him. They engage in sex in which he tells her to ask him to spank her again and then he does. Afterward, Ana reminds him of their deal, and he reveals that his biological mother was a crack addict and prostitute who died when he was four years old.

The following morning, she finds Christian in his office. He has sex with her on his desk, and after, she references Icarus again. They assure each other they’ll miss one another while she’s in Georgia.

Before leaving, Ana attends an interview with Seattle Independent Publishing, which goes well. She arrives home, and Kate notes she seems different. Kate knows it’s due to Christian. Kate drives her to the airport, where Ana learns Christian upgraded her to first class.

Ana emails Christian to tell him his upgrade led to her getting massaged, hoping to make him jealous. The first-class seat beside her remains empty, and she worries he’s going to show up. He doesn’t, and although she’s relieved, a part of her is also disappointed.

She arrives in Savannah, where her mother and Bob wait. Ana tells her mother about Christian, and her mother tells her, “Men aren’t really complicated, Ana, honey. They are simple, literal creatures” (396). Ana thinks her advice is good, but she also knows Christian is not simple at all. She receives an email from Christian in which he says he doesn’t want to lose her, and she considers her mother’s words that she should take him literally. She misses him and wants to see him.

She learns via email that Christian is having dinner with an old friend. She thinks of Mrs. Robinson and feels angry that the woman who seduced him is still his friend. In an email exchange with Christian about Mrs. Robinson, it becomes clear Christian might be in the bar where she and her mother are drinking.

Christian is indeed at the bar in Georgia. Ana introduces him to her mother. He claims he was planning to visit her tomorrow at her mother’s house, but he came to his hotel bar for a drink, and there Ana was. Christian speaks with her briefly about his dinner with Mrs. Robinson before excusing himself. Ana’s mother encourages her to stay with him for the night, saying they’re clearly in love with one another.

Ana goes to Christian’s hotel room. They have sex, and Ana notices the scars on his chest, which she thinks might be cigarette burns. When she asks if Mrs. Robinson did that to him, he’s evasive. He says, “She loved me in a way I found…acceptable” (430). By bringing him into the world of BDSM, she gave him a controlled way to give and accept love. He tells Ana he confides in Mrs. Robinson and even talks about Ana.

Ana admits she doesn’t think she can be his submissive for an extended period because it feels like she’s not being herself. She asks why he feels the need to control her, and he confesses, “Because it satisfies a need in me that wasn’t met in my formative years” (435). When Ana questions whether “it’s a form of therapy,” Christian replies, “I’ve not thought of it like that, but yes, I suppose it is” (435). They have sex, and Ana feels happy.

Christian wakes Ana so they can watch the sunrise. In the car, they discuss a few of his previous subs. They arrive at an airfield, and Ana realizes he’s taking her gliding. They glide in the plane—floating, dipping, spiraling, and flying upside down. Ana is intoxicated by the feeling. She thinks of Icarus again. “Icarus. This is it. I am flying close to the sun, but he’s with me leading me” (451). She loves the excitement and danger she feels when Christian is the one guiding her to those feelings.

After, they go for breakfast, and Christian says he will give her “more.” He drops her off at her mother’s house. Ana receives a call from Seattle Independent Publishing, telling her she got the job. Christian calls soon after, saying he needs to go back to Seattle to deal with a “situation.”

Ana flies back to Seattle, once more in first class thanks to Christian. She has a gift for Christian with her: a model glider. She realizes that more than anything else, she wants Christian’s love. She thinks,

And because of his fifty shades, I am holding myself back. The BDSM is a distraction from the real issue. The sex is amazing, he’s wealthy, he’s beautiful, but this is all meaningless without his love, and the real heart-fail is that I don’t know if he’s capable of love (470).

Despite all the excitement and passion she feels with Christian, he is too damaged to love her, and BDSM is his way of maintaining emotional distance. She considers the possibility that the seat beside her is empty again because Christian bought it so she wouldn’t talk to anyone else.

She arrives at Christian’s apartment, and they have sex. He tells her to go to the Red Room of Pain. Once there, he blindfolds her, binds her, puts on loud music, and uses a flogger. Ana experiences tremendous pleasure.

Ana wakes early in the morning and finds Christian playing piano. They discuss the contract and the rules now that he has agreed to “more.” Christian says he will still punish Ana if she breaks any rules. He brings them out for her to reread. They become playful, and he chases her. She tells him, “I’ve been in danger since I met you, Mr. Grey, rules or no rules” (499). She’s aware that no matter how much she loves him, she’s always under threat of physical and emotional pain.

As they discuss Christian’s feelings about BDSM, Ana sees how much emotional pain he carries inside. She wants to soothe him, to go with him into the darkness and perhaps bring him into light. Ana tells him to punish her so she can learn just how bad it can get. He hits her hard with a belt on her ass, making her count until he’s hit her six times.

Ana is horrified, hurt, and angry. She understands now what he needs, but it’s not something she can give him. He likes to hurt women, which disturbs her; she realizes his world is “too dark” for her. They discuss this idea that they can’t be who the other one needs. Ana says she’s fallen in love with him, and this time Christian is the one who expresses fear. He insists she can’t love him because he can’t make her happy.

Ana takes a shower and dresses and prepares to leave. She leaves the model glider and the laptop, and asks Christian for the money Taylor got for her old car. She enters the elevator, and they say goodbye. As Taylor drives her home, she cries hard. She thinks, “The physical pain from the bite of a belt is nothing, nothing compared to this devastation” (512).