Fifty Shades of Grey

“Business is all about people, Miss Steele, and I’m very good at judging people. I know how they tick, what makes them flourish, what doesn’t, what inspires them, and how to incentivize them.”

Much of Christian’s dialogue in the opening scene, which details the first meeting between him and Ana, works to characterize Christian in ways that clarify who he will be in her life. He knows how to make people do what he wants, and this includes Ana. Her refusal to fully give in to his control will become a source of great frustration for him.

“Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Steele.”

Christian tells Ana who he is during their first meeting. His statement foreshadows how he tries to control her in all ways. As a characterizing detail, his statement points to his inability to let go and allow vulnerability and genuine intimacy into his life.

“I don’t have a philosophy as such. Maybe a guiding principle—Carnegie’s: ‘A man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is entitled.’ I’m very singular, driven. I like control—of myself and those around me.”

Christian’s guiding principle is from Andrew Carnegie, an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry and eventually became a philanthropist. The quote suggests that Christian values controlling his mind and actions to get what he wants. This speaks to his characterization as a person who is unemotional and never impulsive.

“Katherine often teases me that I’m missing the need-a-boyfriend gene, but the truth is I just haven’t met anyone who…well, whom I’m attracted to, even though part of me longs for the fabled trembling knees, heart-in-my-mouth, butterflies-in-my-belly moments.”

This quote highlights Ana’s situation before she enters into the relationship with Christian. Prior to meeting him, she had no experience with sex or romance because she was waiting for someone to sweep her off her feet. She finds this kind of intense desire with Christian. His intensity makes her feel alive for the first time, and it’s why she stays in the relationship, even though she’s often afraid of the danger.

“Perhaps I’ve spent too long in the company of my literary romantic heroes, and consequently my ideals and expectations are far too high.”

As an English literature major, Ana loves books and their characters. Christian is the first man she meets who feels like the romantic heroes of the stories she loves. Just like what happens in her real life, though, that kind of romance often comes with peril or tragedy.

“Anastasia, you should steer clear of me. I’m not the man for you.”

Christian says this when he’s developed interest in Ana but knows how innocent she is. He’s aware that he’s complicated and “fucked up.” The quote foreshadows the conflict of whether he can be the man for her, and she the woman for him, which Ana wrestles with for the rest of the novel.

“Why didn’t you tell me there was danger? Why didn’t you warn me? Ladies know what to guard against, because they read novels that tell them of these tricks…”

Tess from Tess of the d’Urbervilles says this to her mother after Alec d’Urberville rapes her. Christian sends three first-edition volumes of this Thomas Hardy novel to Ana as a gift, and he includes this quote in a note. He’s warning her that he is dangerous.

“I don’t make love. I fuck…hard.”

Christian makes clear to Ana early on that he is not available for vulnerability or genuine intimacy. He doesn’t “make love” because that suggests an intimacy he’s not comfortable with. He will “fuck…hard,” however, because this keeps the other person at arm’s length.

“This is the only sort of relationship I’m interested in.”

Christian wants Ana to understand he is only open to a Dom/sub relationship, one where he’s in full control. The quote points to his characterization, specifically his refusal to let go of control and power.

“‘You are mine,’ he whispers. ‘Only mine. Don’t forget it.’”

Christian expresses this possessiveness of Ana is a part of his role as a dominant. When he tells her she is his—many times—he does so like a threat. She is owned and controlled by him entirely. That this control extends beyond the bedroom and Ana’s comfort level gestures toward the unhealthy undertones of their relationship.

“I know in that moment I would do anything for this man. I am his. The wonder he’s introduced me to, it’s beyond anything I could have imagined.”

As Ana steps further into Christian’s world and BDSM, she becomes enthralled with the feeling. In this moment, she is all in as his submissive, despite her misgivings. She finds great pleasure in playing this role for him.

“Oh, I wish I’d never met him. My inner goddess shakes her head at me. She and I know it’s a lie. I have never felt as alive as I do now.”

This quote from Ana highlights her internal conflict in the narrative. She feels trapped, wanting to be free of the emotional and physical suffering she experiences with Christian while also wanting to always be as alive as she feels in the relationship.

“I know that if I do this thing with him, I will get hurt. He’s not capable, interested, or willing to offer me any more…and I want more. Much more.”

Ana begins to understand that Christian isn’t capable of intimacy and love she wants in their relationship. She feels strongly for him, and because of that feeling, she wants more intimacy with him. But she knows he is too damaged by his past to give her what she needs. She realizes this more than once throughout the story, but here she understands it for the first time.

“There’s a very fine line between pleasure and pain, Anastasia. They are two sides of the same coin, one not existing without the other.”

Christian’s words capture one of the novel’s core conflicts and themes. There is no pleasure without pain, and there is no pain without pleasure. Each gives the other meaning. Both make a person feel incredibly alive, but feeling so alive requires facing one’s fears.

“I agree to the conditions, Angel; because you know best what my punishment ought to be; only—only—don’t make it more than I can bear!”

When Ana agrees to the contract with Christian, she returns the Tess of d’Urberville books and includes this quote from Tess. The quote speaks to Ana’s lingering hesitation about submitting to Christian’s desires. She is afraid doing so will be more than she can bear.

“I’m fifty shades of fucked up, Anastasia.”

Christian addresses how complicated, unfixable, and enigmatic he is. The 50 shades refer to the color gray—a reference to his last name—and how gray is neither black nor white but something blurry in between.

“I don’t want to lose him. In spite of all his demands, his need to control, his scary vices, I have never felt as alive as I do now.”

Ana’s words nod to the idea that danger and aliveness come hand in hand. As difficult and scary Christian’s needs and proclivities are, Ana feels more awake and enlivened with him than ever before.

“What I think you fail to realize is that in Dom/sub relationships it is the sub who has all the power. That’s you. I’ll repeat this—you are the one with all the power. Not I.”

Christian’s quote expresses a well-known notion in the BDSM community: Despite appearances, the sub holds the power because the sub has all the power to agree or refuse treatment. This dynamic is explored through the struggle for power and control between Christian and Ana.

“She loved me in a way I found…acceptable.”

Christian describes his relationship with Mrs. Robinson. He reveals that he can’t accept love outside of BDSM dynamics, and Ana understands more clearly that he isn’t capable of the kind of love she longs to give and receive.

“‘Why do you need to control me?’ ‘Because it satisfies a need in me that wasn’t met in my formative years.’ ‘So, it’s a form of therapy?’ ‘I’ve not thought of it like that, but yes, I suppose it is.’”

Christian is aware that his traumatic childhood led to his need to control other people, especially the women with whom he gets involved. Controlling others provides a curative effect on his trauma, likely because he had no control over what happened to him as a child.

“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.”

Ana finally realizes that the BDSM provides a distraction from Christian’s intimacy issues. He uses it to protect himself, to feel safe emotionally. As a result, he won’t—and possibly can’t—cultivate intimate emotional connections.

“I have been in danger since I met you, Mr. Grey, rules or no rules.”

Ana struggles with the tension between feeling alive and feeling afraid with Christian throughout the novel. Here she acknowledges that regardless of the sometimes physically scary written rules, he is emotionally dangerous for her too.

“I wanted the dark, to explore how bad it could be—but it’s too dark for me. I cannot do this.”

Ana challenges herself to experience just how much the physical pain can hurt because she doesn’t want to lose Christian. When she does, though, she is horrified by the pain and of his willingness to hurt her so badly. She realizes she can never go all the way into his world with him because it’s too “dark” and dangerous.