Fifty Shades of Grey

Ana, unsettled by Christian, arrives home, where Kate wants to hear how the interview went and what Christian was like. Kate tells Ana that after listening to the recording of the interview, she thinks Christian is interested in her, and Ana blushes. She dreams about Christian most nights that week. She calls her mother, who is married to her third husband, and her mother asks her if she’s met someone. Ana denies that she has. Then she calls her stepfather Ray, whom she considers her father.

That weekend, Ana’s friend José Rodriguez comes to their apartment with a bottle of champagne to celebrate Portland Place Gallery’s decision to exhibit his photographs. Ana knows José wants to be more than friends, but she doesn’t have romantic feelings for him. She worries, “Perhaps I’ve spent too long in the company of my literary romantic heroes, and consequently my ideals and expectations are far too high” (22), but she wants to feel the excitement, desire, and romance portrayed in literature. Her subconscious suggests she feels that way with Christian, but she refuses to acknowledge it.

Christian shows up at Clayton’s, the hardware store where Ana works, that Saturday. He says he’s in Portland on business and needs some supplies. He asks her to help him find cable ties, masking tape, and rope. Electrified by his presence, Ana can’t stop blushing. She tells Christian that Kate wanted photos of him for the newspaper article, and he gives Ana his card to set up the shoot. Paul Clayton greets Ana, and they hug. Ana notes that Christian becomes cold during this exchange. When he leaves, she admits that she likes him and that she’s never felt like this about anyone before.

Ana tells Kate that she has Christian’s cell phone number and he agreed to a photo shoot. Kate’s thrilled, and she suggests that Christian must like Ana to have given his number. Ana delights in the idea but doesn’t let herself believe it. Paul asks Ana out for a date, which he does whenever he’s home from college, and Ana convinces José to be the shoot’s photographer. After she calls Christian to arrange the shoot, she dreams about him again that night.

They hold the photo shoot at The Heathman, the hotel in downtown Portland where Christian is staying. Taylor, Christian’s driver, is there too. Afterward, Christian invites Ana for coffee. Ana tells Kate she’s going with him, and Kate tells her, “He’s gorgeous, I agree, but I think he’s dangerous. Especially for someone like you” (37). When Ana asks what she means, Kate calls her “an innocent.”

At the coffee shop, Christian asks whether José or Paul are Ana’s boyfriends. He asks questions about her family, too, and reveals he has a brother and sister. While walking back to the hotel so she can drive home, Ana asks if he has a girlfriend, but Christian says he doesn’t “do the girlfriend thing” (45). She trips, and a bicycle almost clips her. Christian catches her in his arms, and she wishes he would kiss her.

After the incident with the bike, Christian says, “Anastasia, you should steer clear of me. I’m not the man for you” (47). Ana feels humiliated by the rejection and leaves. Once on her own, she cries. She has never been rejected before now and falls victim to her old insecurities, saying, “I’m too pale, too skinny, too scruffy, uncoordinated, my long list of faults goes on” (49). She never puts herself out there because she has never believed she’s good enough.

Ana and Kate finish their final exams, and they plan to go to a bar to celebrate. A package arrives for Ana from Christian. It contains three first-edition volumes of Tess of the d’Urbervilles. He’s attached a card on which he’s written, “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…” (52). The card quotes Tess’s words to her mother after Alec d’Urberville has had his way with her.

While at the bar, Ana gets drunk and calls Christian to ask why he sent the books. He can tell she’s drunk, and he asks which bar she’s at, but she won’t tell him. She hangs up, but he calls back and tells her he’s coming to get her. He arrives as José reveals he wants to kiss Ana. She refuses, but José won’t let up, so Christian tells him to back off. Ana vomits, and Christian takes her outside. He says his brother Elliot is with Kate, and Kate has been informed Ana will leave with Christian. Ana faints into Christian’s arms.

Ana wakes up the morning after in Christian’s hotel suite at The Heathman. Christian scolds her for getting so drunk and not eating. He says, “Well, if you were mine, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for a week after the stunt you pulled yesterday” (65). He establishes that they did not have sex because she was unconscious. She notices how badly she wants him, and she wrestles with her subconscious, which tries to convince her he isn’t interested.

After they each take showers, Ana interrogates Christian about the first edition books. He gave the gift as an apology and warning. He repeats, “You should steer clear of me” (70), yet admits he can’t stay away from her. She bites her lip, and he tells her he’d like to bite it too. He says he won’t touch her, though, until he has her written consent. He invites her to his apartment in Seattle, and they plan for that night. He instructs her to dry her hair and finish eating before he takes her home. In the hotel elevator, he says, “Oh, fuck the paperwork” (76), and then kisses Ana in ways she hasn’t experienced before, making her desire him even more.

Christian brings Ana to her apartment, where they find Kate with Elliot. Elliot passionately kisses Kate goodbye, and Ana feels jealous, wishing Christian would do the same with her. Elliot says to Kate, “Laters, baby” (81). Christian jokingly says “Laters, baby” to Ana and says he’ll pick her up that night.

Taylor drives them to Christian’s helicopter—Charlie Tango—which Christian flies himself. They arrive at his home in Seattle. Once there, he gives Ana a nondisclosure agreement, which she signs. She asks if this means they’ll “make love,” and he says, “First, I don’t make love. I fuck…hard. Second, there’s a lot more paperwork to do. And third, you don’t yet know what you’re in for” (94). He lays out what will happen between them in this way. He then invites her to see his playroom.

The playroom is “dark burgundy.” BDSM equipment—restraining cuffs, ropes, chains, shackles, paddles, whips, riding crops, and more—fill the space. A bed dominates the room. Ana touches the flogger, and Christian explains what it is. Ana understands that “[h]e likes to hurt women” (98). Christian explains he is a dominant, saying, “I want you to willingly surrender yourself to me, in all things” (98). He adds, “In very simple terms, I want you to want to please me” (98). When Ana asks what she gets out of it, he tells her, “Me.”

Christian shows her a room that will be hers to sleep in on weekends, and he makes clear he won’t be sleeping with her there. She learns there will be another contract to define the terms of their relationship. Ana questions what will happen if she doesn’t want this kind of relationship, and he replies, “This is the only sort of relationship I’m interested in” (101). He demands that she eat something and then shows her his list of rules. It includes guidelines regarding obedience, sleep, food, clothes, and exercise, as well as personal hygiene, grooming, safety, and other qualities. He also shares his “hard limits.” Christian learns Ana is a virgin.

Christian is flustered by the fact that Ana’s a virgin. He decides to “rectify the situation” (108) by making love to her, and she experiences her first orgasms. They have sex many times. The following morning, Ana finds Christian playing the piano, and she understands that Christian experiences melancholy.