However, she inherently dislikes the idea of having to submit to Christian and potentially experience humiliation and physical punishment. When she confesses this to Christian, he decides to begin with 'vanilla' (non-dominant) sex first, and the two of them begin a sexual relationship.Ĭhristian and Ana have explosive sexual chemistry, and the pleasure Ana experiences makes her curious about exploring the relationship further. Ana is astonished and overwhelmed by what he discloses, especially because she has never had a sexual relationship of any kind. Christian also likes to engage in acts of bondage, domination, and sadism.

He achieves sexual gratification by engaging in dominant-submissive relationships where a woman agrees to be submissive in all aspects of her life, and accepts physical punishment when she violates any aspect of their contract. A short time later, however, he admits that he is deeply attracted to her.Īfter confessing his desire, Christian reveals his secret to Ana: he does not engage in traditional romantic relationships, and has no desire to fall in love with someone. When Ana makes her feelings clear, Christian initially tells her that the two of them are not compatible. Christian woos Ana with expensive gifts, but also begins to show controlling tendencies. Initially, Ana is slightly repulsed by Christian's cold and domineering attitude, but she cannot deny her attraction to his good looks and confidence. Although notoriously private and reclusive, Christian begins to show interest in learning more about Ana. By a chance coincidence, she meets Christian Grey, a wealthy Seattle businessman. At the beginning of the novel, Anastasia Steele is an innocent Washington State University student with romantic ideals and dreams of working in publishing.

What is fifty shades of grey about