Christian obviously gets off on Ana being restrained and totally dependent, feeding her in the hospital bed.
Ana thinks about Christian being a father, and persists in thinking about Christian’s flaws as being the fault of Elena or his birth mother, not male influences in his life or the fact that society rewards near sociopaths like Christian handsomely.
Later, in another shower scene, Christian reveals how Hyde controlled Elizabeth.
“Hyde had videos. Videos of all of them. On several USB flash drives.”
What? I frown, my skin tightening across my forehead.
“Videos of him fucking her and fucking all his PAs.”
Oh!“Exactly. Blackmail material. He likes it rough.” Christian frowns, and I watch confusion followed by disgust cross his face. He pales as his disgust turns to self-loathing. Of course—Christian likes it rough, too.
“Don’t.” The word is out of my mouth before I can stop it.
His frown deepens. “Don’t what?” He stills and regards me with apprehension.
“You aren’t anything like him.”
It’s amazing just how much of a doppelganger Jack is for Christian, who also keeps records of his sexual partners to control them, and EL James seems to acknowledge this. It’s like dream-splitting in Freudian analysis, in which the dreamer’s ambivalent feelings about a real person are split and projected onto multiple figures. EL James’ ambivalence about the allegedly perfect man she created is split, with all the fear and disgust and oppression packaged into Jack Hyde.
Also, Hyde’s blackmail plan really doesn’t make a lot of sense. Wouldn’t the video evidence of Hyde raping his PA’s work against him? EL James seems to assume that the social shame of being raped is so strong that all women will submit to blackmail rather than be exposed as a victim.
The narrative continues to reveal the backstory in dribs and drabs: Christian and Jack were in the same foster home, which Christian didn’t even remember, before he was adopted by the Greys.
“Perhaps he knew we were seeing each other when I went for that job interview. Perhaps he planned to seduce me all along.” Bile rises in my throat.
Ana, and apparently EL James, does not know the difference between seduction and coercive rape, which is what Jack Hyde tried to do with her.
There’s some soap opera stuff about their respective families coming together because of this crisis. Then, apropos of nothing, Christian starts telling Ana about his relationship with Elena.
He begins in a soft voice. “Picture this, an adolescent boy looking to earn some extra money so he can continue his secret drinking habit.” He shifts onto his side so that we’re lying facing each other and he’s gazing into my eyes.
“So I was in the backyard at the Lincolns’, clearing some rubble and trash from the extension Mr. Lincoln had just added to their place . . .”
