Hi my name is Tara, and im doing a disseration on 50 shades of Grey and Comparing it to Pride and Predjuice, to show the difference in literature from the 19th century to present. I was looking at the character development and how their basically is none in 50 shades, im wondering as you seem such an amazing cridic for myself would you mind helping me out a little, basically explain what you think of the Hero (Christian Grey) How he is rewarded for no character change?
Good morning, Tara!
First of all, if you’re serious, then God bless you, because having to read all the way through 50 Shades of Grey to draw academic points from it must be excruciating. It’s by far one of the most painful things I’ve ever tried to read, and I couldn’t make it through the entire thing from cover to cover as a result.
To answer your question, Christian Grey is allowed to have “hot” sex with a codependent, repressed little piece of ass with no reprehension for his heinous actions. First of all, there’s all that unwanted attention he dotes on her; then there’s the way that his personality is so overwhelmingly aggressive that half the time she can’t get a word in edgewise; and finally there’s the troublesome assumption he has that everything he does to her is something she not only wants but will in enjoy. Christian Grey is in no way an actual character: he is just a bunch of creepy-ass Edward Cullen kink fantasies stitched together by a lonely, horny author and then dumped onto some pages for people to read.
Emphasis on dump, because not only is the “story” complete liquid feces, but the writing level is honestly that of a ninth grader. E.L. James writes like a high schooler with a thousand attributions for her dialogue tags and no editing skills whatsoever. The repetition of certain phrases is ad nauseum. Same with the constant over-description of Christian Grey’s attractiveness with no attempt at making him even the slightest bit likable or interesting. If he actually was a troubled guy with a kinky fetish for dominance and he had more than one dimension, 50 Shades of Grey might have actually had a chance to be good. Or, for that matter, if the author actually knew a single damn thing about BDSM culture and what it entails and wrote a fictional perspective of a modern dominant/submissive relationship, then it could have been a unique departure from your standard Harlequin romance novel.
I think what James failed to understand is that BDSM culture isn’t like all the shit one would see in porn. On the outside, it can look disgusting and degrading, but most couples who practice have their own set of rules based on mutual pleasure. That is the point. It’s not about forcing yourself on someone and just assuming that they’ll enjoy whatever pops out of your head. I’ve never been in a relationship, but I have friends who are in committed relationships, and it’s all about forward movement together.
Christian Grey is as the book suggests, “fifty shades of fucked up” because he pretends like what he’s doing to Ana is in her best interest, but it’s really just him wanting a tawdry little sex doll for himself. I understand women who enjoy dominant male fantasies, but he is the worst example I’ve ever seen. Hell, I bet Loki would treat you better in the bedroom than Christian Grey, and that fantasy is by far one of the most illogical things I’ve ever see spawn from fandom.
Bottom line: Christian Grey is a blight on fictional history and should be strapped to a bed and left there to die.
Thanks for such an interesting ask. Good luck to you!