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50 Shades of Grey Chapter 15 recap or “I’m halfway done!”

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Before we get to the recap, here are some stories that might interest you:

  • An fanfiction author has offered up the finest possible commentary on the unethical success of 50 Shades by “rewriting” it as a Hermione/Draco fic. More details and a link at Crushable, including a link to a comment left by E.L. James, who asks the ficcer to remove it as it is “plagiarising”. The reviews are LOLarious and completely without situational awareness.
  • A fantastic piece on consent, dub-con, and rape in fiction at Full Moon Press’s Blog, with a selection of links to other stories on rape culture in fiction (and real life).
  • 5 Terrifying Secrets About Riding In Ambulances from Cracked.com. Has nothing to do with 50 Shades, I just thought it was interesting.
When we left our intrepid heroine, she had just said, “Fine, okay, whatever, you wore me down,” to her super manipulative pseudo-boyfriend. Then she went home, and he was all, “I’m coming over,” so now, at the start of Chapter 15, he has just arrived. Ana invites him in.

“If I may,” he says amused. He holds up a bottle of champagne as he walks in. “I thought we’d celebrate your graduation. Nothing beats a good Bollinger.”

 Can no one in this story just have, I don’t know, water? Soda? I feel like I’m getting drunk at this point, and I’m not even drinking anything. Yet.

I head into the kitchen. Nervous, butterflies flooding my stomach, it’s like having a panther or mountain lion all unpredictable and predatory in my living room.

 “Sign this contract so I can have sex with you! Meow!”
When Ana comes back from the kitchen, Christian is staring at the books she wants to return to him. Immediately, she thinks, “Crap… this is probably going to be a fight.” He asks if the quote really applies to him, since he’s D’Urberville and not Angel, and she tells him it’s a plea to go easy on her. He tells her that he will go easy on her if she keeps the books. She argues that they’re “too much”.

“You see, this is what I was talking about, you defying me. I want you to have them, and that’s the end of the discussion. It’s very simple. You don’t have to think about this. As a submissive you would just be grateful for them. You just accept what I buy you because it pleases me for you to do so.”“I wasn’t a submissive when you bought them for me,” I whisper.“No… but you’ve agreed, Anastasia.” His eyes turn wary.

I don’t remember the contract being retroactive to the moment they met, but whatever. Ana asks if she can do whatever she wants with the books, and he tells her she can, so she immediately announces that she’s going to donate them to a charity that does work in Darfur. But he’s not happy with that, either, so she says she’ll think about it, because she doesn’t want to disappoint him. SHE WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING SHE DID NOT WANT TO DO.
Ana is starting to have second thoughts regarding this whole, “Don’t think” thing, and Christian informs her that since he’s rich, he’s going to buy her whatever he wants to buy her. She thinks it makes her a ho.

“It shouldn’t. You’re over-thinking it, Anastasia. Don’t place some vague moral judgement on yourself based on what others might think. Don’t waste your energy. It’s only because you have no reservations about our arrangement, that’s perfectly natural. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

I hate him for this, but I have to agree with him. If someone wants to buy you stuff, let them. That’s my policy. You want to buy me a car? Buy me a car. You want to buy me some first-edition books? Send them over. I know that a gift is not a contract. Christian appears to. Besides, his manipulation is more subtle than “I’m going to buy you stuff, so now I own you.” He’s into warping their heads and insinuating himself into every part of their lives.
They drink pink champagne out of tea cups. If he gives her a foot rub after, he’s officially my dream man and I renounce every bad thing I’ve ever said about him. But, of course that doesn’t happen, instead Ana wants to discuss the “soft limits” in the contract. Christian wants to talk about her stepdad, instead, and then it’s back to talking about the champagne.

“Did you try the wine at the reception?” Christian makes a face.
“Yes, it was foul.”
“I thought of you when I tasted it. How did you get to be so knowledgeable about wine?”

“I tasted this gross thing and it made me think of you.” That’s amore!

They talk some more about the wine, because I guess it ups the word count? I don’t know, there are so many scenes and conversations in this book that go no where and seem to be shoved in for absolutely no reason other than to watch the characters go about their lives. It’s like watching a Sims family go about their day on their own, only no one pees on the floor because they watched tv for too long and nobody dies in carefully orchestrated fireworks “accidents” in a doorless shed in the backyard. Christian comments that he would help Ana move, but his sister Mia is arriving from Paris on Saturday morning. I’m going to assume Mia is Alice, since she’s the only Cullen who hasn’t been somehow accounted for. There is more interminable chit-chat, wherein we learn that Christian is vaguely displeased that his brother is dating Kate, about what Ana is going to do in Seattle and how very much she wants to do this career thing all on her own without his “undue influence”. Then we get to hear them fight about how much she’s eaten, and even Ana is getting tired of it:

“Have you eaten anything?”
Oh no… not this old chestnut.
“Yes. I had a three course me with Ray.” I roll my eyes at him. The champagne is making me bold.
He leans forward and holds my chin, staring intently into my eyes.
“Next time you roll your eyes at me, I will take you across my knee.” What?!

What do you mean by that interrobang, Ana? He made this perfectly clear before you agreed to the relationship. Christian gets out his list and they read through it.

“No fisting, you say. Anything else you object to?” he asks softly.
I swallow.

No, we know that, already, Ana, we’re talking about what you won’t do.

“Anal intercourse doesn’t exactly float my boat.”
“I’ll agree to the fisting, but I’d really like to claim your ass, Anastasia. But we’ll wait for that. Besides, it’s not something we can dive into,” he smirks at me. “You ass will need training.”

 I really wish my mac was not broken, else I would totally photoshop up one of those demotivator macros to say: “Your Ass: not something we can dive into.” I’m going to be having so much fun with that line, for the next six or so months. “What’s the difference between your ass and a swimming pool? You can’t dive into your ass.” “How is your ass like the shallow end? You can’t dive into it.” Okay, so this is a decidedly limited oeuvre, but I’m not making any apologies. I love that line.

I do like that Christian is all, “We’re going to try anal,” because I lose a lot of respect for people who say, “I don’t like that,” without trying it. Now, you know, as a grownup, if you don’t like broccoli or slasher movies. But I really can’t handle it when people will just throw down a blanket condemnation of something without trying it out first. Hell, even this book. I’ve seen authors making fun of 50 Shades and admitting they’ve never read it. Well, how do they know they’re not going to like it? How does Ana know she doesn’t like anal? She didn’t know if she’d like sex at all, because she’d never wanted to have it. So, shut up, Ana. Let him play with your butt. Do it for the experience.

Christian reveals that he’s had his booty plundered before, and by his Mrs. Robinson. This blows Ana’s mind, because she’s never heard of a strap-on before and has no idea how a woman fucking a man in the ass would work. She has absolutely no idea of sex toys beyond dildos and vibrators, but at least she agrees to swallow semen. Ana’s feelings are hurt because Christian finds her innocence amusing, but she quickly forgives him because:

I examine the list, and my inner goddess bounces up and down like a small child waiting for ice cream.

 This will never not be funny/disturbing to me. Funsturbing.
They’ve gotten to the section on bondage, and Ana is confused as to what a spreader bar is.

“Don’t laugh at me, but what’s a spreader bar?”
“I promise not to laugh. I’ve apologized twice.” He glares at me. “Don’t make me do it again,” he warns. And  I think I visibly shrink… oh, he’s so bossy. “A spreader is a bar with cuffs for ankles and/or wrists. They’re fun.”

Hey, prick, no one makes you apologize. You make yourself apologize when you exhibit bad behavior, like laughing at someone when they don’t know all the ins and outs of the BDSM lifestyle you want to induct them into. Jackass. Ana is also worried about not being able to breathe when she’s gagged. Christian points out that he’d be worried if she couldn’t breathe, too. I’m not sure why, because I’m pretty sure he has enough money to disappear a dead girl if he really needed to, and Ana is super obnoxious. It seems like it would almost be a win/win at this point. She’s all, “How do you do safe words if you’re gagged?” and I’m quite proud of her for thinking of that. Christian tells her they’ll use hand signals, but that he hopes they never have to use the safe word.

I blink up at him. But if I’m trussed up, how’s that going to work. My brain is beginning to fog… hmm alcohol. 
“I’m nervous about the gagging.”
“Okay, I’ll take note.”

Notice how he doesn’t say, “okay, we won’t do that,” just, “I’ll take note,” while she’s too tipsy to actually argue it with him? He’s already refilled her cup with champagne several times, from what seems like a bottomless bottle. Is this really a safe way to be discussing sexual limits? While she’s too drunk to consent?

“Do you like tying your submissives up so they can’t touch you?” He gazes at me, his eyes widening.
“That’s one of the reasons,” he says quietly.
“Is that why you’ve tied my hands?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t like talking about that,” I murmur.
“No, I don’t. Would you like another drink? It’s making you brave, and I need to know how you feel about pain.”

So, in other words, his plan really is to get her drunk so she’ll consent to just about anything. That’s four refills. Of course, by this point in the book, Ana is basically a pro at drinking, because she’s doing it all the time. She’s also biting her lip, so if you’re playing the drinking game along at home, you should probably dial the 9 and the first 1 right now, just to be prepared. Unless you live in some other country that isn’t America, then you’re on your own, because I have no idea what number you should pre-dial, I just know that your liver is going to melt.

Ana was never spanked as a child, so she has no idea how she feels about it. It could be awesome, it could suck, she has no clue. She asks him if he could, you know, not do that whole pain part, but it’s non-negotiable. And really, what did she think that room full of whips and canes was about? Christian promises that they’ll work up to it, and you know, as creepy possessive weird as this guy is, I can believe he’d be an okay dominant in that capacity. If he’s at the point where he’s requiring a contract about what is and isn’t okay in bed, this is a guy who takes his shit seriously. It’s all the emotional manipulation and the horror show of unresolved issues that should make her want to run, not the BDSM stuff. Then, he drops a bombshell:

“Well then. Look, earlier today you were talking about wanting more,” he halts, uncertain all of a sudden.Oh my… where is this going?
He clasps my hand.“Outside of the time you’re my sub, perhaps we could try. I don’t know if it will work. I don’t know about separating everything. It may not work. But I’m willing to try. Maybe one night a week. I don’t know.”Holy cow… my mouth drops open, my subconscious is in shock. Christian Grey is up for more! He’s willing to try!

Okay, let’s maybe not start printing those wedding invitations just yet. There was a whole lot of “I don’t know,” and “I’ll try” in there. “I’ll be your boyfriend one night a week, maybe, I don’t know,” isn’t really a confirmation of anything other than his dick might be feeling sentimental right now. His “maybe, I don’t know,” act comes with a condition:

“You graciously accept my graduation present to you.”
“Oh.” And deep down I know what it is. Dread spawns in my belly.
He’s staring down at me, gauging my reaction.
“Come,” he murmurs and rises, dragging me up. Taking his jacket off, he drapes it over my shoulders and heads for the door.
Parked outside is a red hatchback car, a two-door compact Audi.

Didn’t the Cullens get Bella a Porsche so bad ass that it was actually make-believe? Tsk tsk, Chedward Grullen. Tsk Tsk.

One of the things I’ve been taken to task for in these recaps is for not saying anything “good” about the book. Like the old rule, say one nice thing for every three negative things, or whatever. The fact of the matter is, there are some parts of this book that are downright charming, and I would love to read them in a much, much better erotica that wasn’t a plagiarized version of Twilight. But it seems like everything cool thing I find myself liking is bookended by a lines or a scenes that I can’t reconcile with my morals and values. And believe me when I say I have very few morals and values. A perfect place where this is highlighted is after she receives the car. They argue over whether or not she’s going to accept it (she can accept the BDSM lifestyle she hates to be with him, but she can’t accept a fucking Audi? Get over it, lady!), and finally she agrees to take the car “on loan” like the computer. The Chedward says what are arguably his hottest lines in the entire book:

“It’s taking all my self control not to fuck you on the hood of this car right now, just to show you that you are mine, and if I want to buy you a fucking car, I’ll buy you a fucking car,” he growls. “Now let’s get you inside and naked.”

That’s not just hot to me because I have fantasies of a certain Top Gear host saying something somewhat similar to me. It’s hot because it’s hot. But then, like a train arriving at Fuck You Jen station, this is next:

Boy, he’s angry. He grabs my hand and leads me back into the apartment and straight to my bedroom… no passing go. My subconscious is behind the sofa again, head hidden under her hands. He switches on the sidelight and halts, staring at me.
“Please don’t be angry with me,” I whisper.
His gaze is impassive; his gray eyes cold shards of smoky glass.
“I’m sorry about the car and the books,” I trail off. He remains silent and brooding.
“You scare me when you’re angry,”  I breathe, staring at him.

See? How can I go, “Ooh, hot!” and then still think, “Ooh, hot!” when he’s acting like the husband in Sleeping With The Enemy? Ana has never seen that movie, though, because like two seconds later, she’s all hot for him again.

“I like this dress,” he murmurs. “I like to see your flawless skin.” 

Maybe that’s a compliment when it’s coming from a guy who hasn’t just been so angry that he frightened the heroine, but now all I can think of is this:

 It signs the contract, or it gets the hose again.
After Ana helps him move his couch into that van, they start to get down. He totally wrecks her panties, but the way it’s written kind of sounds like he’s giving her a wedgie and her underpants just are not up the strain:

His fingers hook into my panties at the back, stretching them, and he pushes his thumbs through the material, shredding them and tossing them in front of me so I can see… holy shit.

Even like, a peer critique should have caught that you don’t want your heroine saying she can see “holy shit” when her ripped panties are on the floor in front of her. It implies skid marks, and it kills the mood almost as fast as a hero being so angry that he actually frightens the heroine. There’s some nipple play and some grinding, and then Chedward tells Ana that she is “in charge”. Which makes me wonder if he really doesn’t understand what “dominate” and “submit” mean.

Ana clumsily undresses him and then there is some more talk about her biting her lip (DRINK!), and she compares his penis to Christmas. There’s some beej action, but of course he stops her before he comes, because she’s not really in charge, and that makes Ana’s inner goddess look “like someone snatched her ice cream.”

So, after Ana gets a condom on him (a feat she manages on her first try, at 21, with little prior sexual experience. Meanwhile, I’m nearly 32, with a sexual history that rivals Madonna’s, and I still can’t figure out how to get a condom on a fucking banana at those sex toy parties), she learns how to have sex cowgirl style:

I am fucking him. I am in charge. He’s mine, and I’m his. The thought pushes me, weighted with concrete, over the edge, and I climax around him… shouting incoherently.

I’m not quite sure “I am in charge” is the kind of head space you want from your full time sub, but after Chedward orgasms, the chapter is over, anyway.

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Here for the first time because you’re in quarantine and someone on Reddit recommended my Fifty Shades of Grey recaps? Welcome! Consider checking out my own take on the Billionaire BDSM genre, The Boss. Find it on AmazonB&NSmashwords, iBooks, and Radish!

40 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    I know it's nearly been a year, but:

    “I've seen authors making fun of 50 Shades and admitting they've never read it. Well, how do they know they're not going to like it?”

    That's what you're here for!

    Seriously, though, your reviews have changed my opinion on the book completely except for one thing: I've known all along that I wouldn't like it.

    When it was becoming a sensation, I wasn't interested in reading it. When one of my friends said her mother wouldn't let her read it, I was perplexed, but still uninterested. When I saw the mocking and Gilbert Gottfried's hilarious reading, I thought it was silly, laughable, but still had no desire to read it.

    So, I can only thank you for your criticism of these excerpts because, not only have I known that I wouldn't like it, but (had I read it) this would probably be one of the books I've had to toss aside out of complete revulsion. The recent bits you've chosen to dissect I've found tremendously upsetting, improved only by people like you pointing out how utterly WRONG these situations are, and exactly why they are wrong. Without commentary like yours, it's no longer laughable or silly for me, but disturbing.

    Thank you for sparing me from it!

    February 24, 2013
    |Reply
  2. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Here's an even later reply, agreeing with the above! Myself, I don't enjoy romances, so I knew I wouldn't enjoy Twilight. When someone posted some excerpts, I knew there was no way in hell I wanted to touch those books. I mean, *just* the bit about sneaking into her room to watch her sleep… holy shit what the fuck(whoops, sorry Ana), how is any of this shit romantic? So by the time 50 Shades starting making the rounds in the daily office chatter – and I heard quite early on that it was blatantly plagiarized – I really, really knew that there was no need for me to read it. However, I simply dismissed it as harmless fluff, because I thought “oh, bdsm in a novel popular with women, that's a nice change, perhaps it will open people's minds to alternative relationships a little more.”

    And then I read this and, like Jen's mind with the whole spit-in-her-mouth thing, every chapter becomes more no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO WHAT THE FUCKING NO. Seriously, I stopped having any tolerance for this book several chapters ago, and I started questioning why *so many* women that I know are reading this and getting turned on by it, in a day and age when surely we should all be aware that HOLY SHIT THIS IS WRONG.

    *ahem* So yes. There you are. Good job on spreading awareness, because you managed to maintain a very strong level of coherence, considering the content. I myself can't stand heroines that go around criticizing themselves and comparing themselves to pretty women blatantly put into the book so the heroine has someone to compare herself to and find herself lacking – what a great way to reinforce the self-hatred popular culture already tries to breed into us from birth, right? – so between that and Chedward's very creepy early behavior, I don't think I would have made many chapters before I foamed at the mouth and burned the book in my kitchen sink.

    Also, side note: I can't believe the author picked Tess of the D'Urbervilles as some sort of romantic messaging system between the two. I can't believe Christian voluntarily identifies as Alec. Has anybody who loves 50 Shades actually read Tess? Because I *did* get through that whole book, and it was awful (I mean, I get what Hardy was going for, but I prefer my books not utterly and completely depressing, thanks much). I'm pretty damn sure any heroine with an ounce of sense and a knowledge of the plot of Tess would not think to herself “ooh he sent me Tess of the D'Urbervilles and he identifies with Alec, that's not a bad sign at all!”

    March 17, 2013
    |Reply
  3. Highlights in this one:
    Funsturbing
    and diving in the ass.

    thanks for more laughs!

    March 22, 2013
    |Reply
  4. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    “Not this old chestnut”
    Another one of those Americanisms. 😐

    I love this so far. I'm glad you're suffering through this for us. I'm so sorry for all you've gone through. This is bad enough experiencing it second hand. :p

    April 17, 2013
    |Reply
  5. Contrary to previous comments, your awesometecular comments made me want to read the book, so I've ordered one, should be here in a few days :3 Of course, there's no way I'm buying a brand new one, James is already filthy rich as it is.

    Kudos!

    May 17, 2013
    |Reply
  6. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Random thought: This woman (E.L. James) is 50 years and has two teenage sons. Can we say AWKWARD? Can you imagine knowing your 50 year old mother is writing this stuff, that this stuff is in her head, when you're a TEENAGE BOY? Oh, these poor kids… I pity them so. Especially the stuff about Christian being molested when he was 15, by someone the author's age?? Herself with teen boys? Oh, creepity creepity! That would be like reading a story my dad wrote about a man who molests teen girls.. *shudder*…

    June 28, 2013
    |Reply
    • What’s even worse is that when she was writing the fanfic her husband used to read through each chapter before she posted it.

      July 17, 2013
      |Reply
    • Khan
      Khan

      Wait, actually? I thought she was a virgin.

      July 5, 2015
      |Reply
  7. I nearly fell off the couch when I saw Buffalo Bill. That is all.

    Well, that, and I love this entire recap like it’s been shot onto the internet from a unicorn’s horn. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

    August 26, 2013
    |Reply
    • RickR
      RickR

      I’ve been picturing Buffalo Bill for the last 3 chapters. Also, because I’m currently making my way through the first season of “Hannibal”, I get a distinct Mads Mikkelsen vibe whenever Chedward’s facial expressions are discussed.

      None of these are good things.

      September 5, 2013
      |Reply
  8. Ahoy hoy! I’m currently in the process of editting my contemporary romance and getting it published by the end of the year (though I’m cool with it being published at the beginning of next year too). It’s nice to read what another author has to say about the 50 Shades series. I have read both series of Twilight and Fifty Shades. I still don’t like neither, pretty much for the same reasons you’ve mentioned in the last fifteen recaps you’ve done. I do have to say that you mentioned some stuff that I didn’t even notice before. I pretty much agree with you for the most part so far. There’s only one thing I have a disagreement about, but it’s not related to the book.

    It’s your remark about people who aren’t interested in anal sex. While I can understand your point of view where people shouldn’t diss something that they have never tried (like a vegetable or an activity like skydiving), there are some people that engage in sexual activity (i.e breath, scat, and blood play) that could use the same arguement. If people aren’t interested in something, it’s usually because it’s either dangerous, it’s not sanitary, they have a fear towards it, or/and they have no interest in doing it for a particular reason. For example, I have no interest in doing anal. Why? Primarily because I am not keen on having any foreign object or a dick up my ass because I mainly see the ass as a backdoor exit rather than a front door where anything can come in and out. However, to add to that disinterest of mine, I had a nightmare years ago where I dreamt I was on this ship where this human looking alien with robotic like tentacles reamed one of his tentacles up my ass to get energy from me. Not only do I clearly remember what it felt like to have your energy drain away, I still remember how the pinch felt and it wasn’t pleasant. Now, I have let my SO finger my ass…but that’s about it. That’s all I could take it because if anyone would try anal on me, I would mentally think back to that dream. However, despite I don’t like anal personally, I don’t care if other people want to do it. With that said…

    I’ve enjoyed your recaps a lot. They have made me laugh at times (like what you said earlier with skid marks when Ana said “I see…holy shit”) and given me insight that I never had when I read the books originally.

    September 13, 2013
    |Reply
  9. So I’m reading your disection of this book and I’m really picking up what you’re laying down. I was a fan, in fact I went to far as to get the audiobooks so I could listen to it instead of carrying the books around. However, I started the audiobooks in tandem with your blog. Both have opened my eyes to how out of my mind I must have been when reading these books. Perhaps it was because I was given the book (and the rest of the series) all at once from a friend who thought I’d like them. Probably because of a self-announced interested in BDSM but no real outlet for that interest. I inhaled the books one after the other just mindlessly reading and not thinking critically about what I read at all. As I have no experience with abusive relationships I didn’t see any of the warning signs on the first pass. However, Since reading them I’ve watched the first 3 twilight movies, and listened to the first 2 books in audiobook format. I can no spot that indeed this is a work that is blatently plagarized, that should not have been published. I also recognize the danger. Also listening to an audiobook is a great way to tell how good or bad something is written. For example listening to Twilight is perfectly good. Listening to Fifty Shades makes me want to punch the wall because WHO talks like this much less writes like this?… I just want to tell you how amazing your blog re-caps are and I can’t wait to read more of them.

    Thank you for opening my eyes and turning on my critical thinking hat.

    October 7, 2013
    |Reply
  10. So I’m reading your dissection of this book and I’m really picking up what you’re laying down. I was a fan, in fact I went to far as to get the audio-books so I could listen to it instead of carrying the books around. However, I started the audio-books in tandem with your blog. Both have opened my eyes to how out of my mind I must have been when reading these books. Perhaps it was because I was given the book (and the rest of the series) all at once from a friend who thought I’d like them. Probably because of a self-announced interested in BDSM but no real outlet for that interest. I inhaled the books one after the other just mindlessly reading and not thinking critically about what I read at all. As I have no experience with abusive relationships I didn’t see any of the warning signs on the first pass. However, Since reading them I’ve watched the first 3 twilight movies, and listened to the first 2 books in audio-book format. I can no spot that indeed this is a work that is blatantly plagiarized, that should not have been published. I also recognize the danger. Also listening to an audio-book is a great way to tell how good or bad something is written. For example listening to Twilight is perfectly good. Listening to Fifty Shades makes me want to punch the wall because WHO talks like this much less writes like this?… I just want to tell you how amazing your blog re-caps are and I can’t wait to read more of them.

    Thank you for opening my eyes and turning on my critical thinking hat

    October 7, 2013
    |Reply
  11. I apologize for the double posting of the same comment. I realized upon re-reading after clicking post that I had some terrible spelling errors that needed correcting. I thought I could just edit the post, but that isn’t possible on wordpress and then after editing the errors it posted again. I’m new to posting comments on wordpress so again I apologize for cluttering up your comments section.

    October 7, 2013
    |Reply
  12. ColeYote
    ColeYote

    >> “No fisting, you say. Anything else you object to?” he asks softly.
    >> I swallow.
    > No, we know that, already, Ana, we’re talking about what you won’t do.

    I laughed way too hard at that.

    October 23, 2013
    |Reply
  13. Shayne
    Shayne

    I’m one of those who hasn’t read these books and hates them anyway….. I take that back, I did read the first two sentences of the first book, quietly closed the book, placed it back on the shelf of the book store and walked away scratching my head. Absolutely loving your break down of this garbage.

    November 2, 2013
    |Reply
  14. Rebeca
    Rebeca

    Look, I find these recaps hilarious and am rereading them now that you’ve finishes the series, but I can’t believe I didn’t catch this the first time. I understand that maybe you were sort of joking, but NO. Ana should NOT just shut up and try anal sex if she doesn’t want to. I’m an inexperienced 18-year old who hasn’t done a great many things, but I have absolutely no interest in anal sex. If a guy offers should I too shut up and let him in the vague hope that I’ll like it? Fuck no.

    December 31, 2013
    |Reply
    • Khan
      Khan

      I posted a similar comment before seeing this, but as an also 18, yeah. Completely agree. She also should not “shut up and try” fisting because it sounds awful.

      July 5, 2015
      |Reply
  15. Melissa
    Melissa

    Jenny isn’t saying you have to try it. She is saying stop saying you don’t like it, because you don’t know. There is a difference between not liking something, and simply not being interested in something. It is fine to simply be not interested in something. I’m not interested in trying Haggis, who knows, maybe it would be the best thing since pizza but I’m just not interested. It wouldn’t be fair to say it isn’t good because I have nothing to compare it to.

    August 1, 2014
    |Reply
    • Khan
      Khan

      It’s also completely valid to be totally dead-set against something when it’s supposed to happen in the bedroom. It doesn’t matter if it’s illogical or whatever; if the idea squicks you out then you’re probably not into it and you can say that you hate the idea if you want.

      July 5, 2015
      |Reply
    • Corey
      Corey

      Jenny literally says, “Shut up, Ana, and let him play with your ass.”

      This is the first time in these reviews I’ve actually felt disgusted by something Jenny has said. Nobody has to try anything before they can say they don’t want it. For someone who is claiming to speak out against rape culture, the fact that she is on Christian’s side when he REJECTS Ana’s “no” really makes me not respect her.

      April 15, 2020
      |Reply
      • Al
        Al

        Yeah, I agree.

        September 18, 2022
        |Reply
        • Al
          Al

          “Just shut up and let him do the Sex thing that you have explicitly told him not to do” is rapey as hell and I hope Jenny no longer has such views. Yikes.

          September 18, 2022
          |Reply
  16. SylviaBloodBath
    SylviaBloodBath

    Sorry, I know this is super old, but I’m re-reading your recaps for the 100th time and actually reading 50 Shades myself for the first time. The entire “soft limits” scene brought back this intense memory.

    When I was 19 and in college I ended up dating this 22 year old classmate for most of the school year. He could buy booze and I couldn’t, and so I had very limited experience with alcohol prior to dating him. On our first date, and for very important conversations after that, he would encourage me to get very drunk. Any time we had a serious conversation we usually drank first, and I usually was way more fucked up than he was. Not to toot my own horn, but usually I’m pretty verbally gifted. My parents are both lawyers, I’ve practically been raised to be good at arguing. Not so when I’m drunk. I would get confused and over emotional, and usually I would just end up weeping and apologizing to him for whatever it was he wanted me to feel guilty about. I mean, he certainly didn’t force me to drink, that was always my choice.

    I never thought much about it actually, until a year after we broke up and I was chatting with this girl who knew him. She said she had gone on one date with him, but she had gotten way too drunk too quickly, just as I had on my first date with him. He had confessed to her at some point either during the date or after that he always encourages women to get trashed on a first date, because he believed people were more “honest” while they were drunk. She (rightly) found that incredibly fucked up and had declined seeing him further. She was older than I was, and clearly had a more devolped creep sense than I did.

    I’m never sure how exactly to label my ex. At the very least there were definitely emotionally abusive and manipulative moments on a semi-regular basis. Reading your recaps I always agreed that Christian was an abusive prick, but actually reading the book is giving me so many flashbacks to my own horrible relationship*. This drunk scene is just one of them. Sure, alcohol lowers your inhibitions, but it makes you pliable and confused, and that’s what Christian wants. This whole thing feels creepy and predatory, and not in a sexy way. This is a real tactic that real abusers use to get their way while making you feel like it’s consentual. “I mean, I guess this is really all my fault, I did say yes…”

    *Not related to anything, just something I think you might appreciate as a Doctor Who fan. My ex was obsessed with DW. This was 2009/2010, right before DW really made the leap into popularity here in the US, so I had never seen it before. My ex used to bitch about the fact that it was getting more popular, because he was one of those jerks. He was super obsesssed with David Tennant, to the point that he openly admitted to getting his hair cut like the 10th doctor and he had the blue pinstripe suit and the jacket. Which, whatever, that’s fine. But a year after we broke up I finally sat down to watch 10’s seasons, and I realized that my ex literally replicated 10’s entire personality. Like, every mannerism, every turn of phrase, every motion, every inflection, EVERYTHING. Like, to this day I have no idea what my ex’s “real” personality was like, because the entire time he was “being” David Tennant. I couldn’t watch 10 for a long time because it made me feel nauseated. It’s like watching my ex wearing a Tennant mask. My ex was an acting major, and let’s just say he was apparently way more talented then I ever knew.

    October 6, 2014
    |Reply
  17. SylviaBloodBath
    SylviaBloodBath

    Sorry, I know this is super old, but I’m re-reading your recaps for the 100th time and actually reading 50 Shades myself for the first time. The entire “soft limits” scene brought back this intense memory.

    When I was 19 and in college I ended up dating this 22 year old classmate for most of the school year. He could buy booze and I couldn’t, and so I had very limited experience with alcohol prior to dating him. On our first date, and for very important conversations after that, he would encourage me to get very drunk. Any time we had a serious conversation we usually drank first, and I usually was way more fucked up than he was. Not to toot my own horn, but usually I’m pretty verbally gifted. My parents are both lawyers, I’ve practically been raised to be good at arguing. Not so when I’m drunk. I would get confused and over emotional, and usually I would just end up weeping and apologizing to him for whatever it was he wanted me to feel guilty about. I mean, he certainly didn’t force me to drink, that was always my choice.

    I never thought much about it actually, until a year after we broke up and I was chatting with this girl who knew him. She said she had gone on one date with him, but she had gotten way too drunk too quickly, just as I had on my first date with him. He had confessed to her at some point either during the date or after that he always encourages women to get trashed on a first date, because he believed people were more “honest” while they were drunk. She (rightly) found that incredibly fucked up and had declined seeing him further. She was older than I was, and clearly had a more devolped creep sense than I did.

    I’m never sure how exactly to label my ex. At the very least there were definitely emotionally abusive and manipulative moments on a semi-regular basis. Reading your recaps I always agreed that Christian was an abusive prick, but actually reading the book is giving me so many flashbacks to my own horrible relationship*. This drunk scene is just one of them. Sure, alcohol lowers your inhibitions, but it makes you pliable and confused, and that’s what Christian wants. This whole thing feels creepy and predatory, and not in a sexy way. This is a real tactic that real abusers use to get their way while making you feel like it’s consentual. “I mean, I guess this is really all my fault, I did say yes…”

    *Not related to anything, just something I think you might appreciate as a Doctor Who fan. My ex was obsessed with DW. This was 2009/2010, right before DW really made the leap into popularity here in the US, so I had never seen it before. My ex used to bitch about the fact that it was getting more popular, because he was one of those jerks. He was super obsesssed with David Tennant, to the point that he openly admitted to getting his hair cut like the 10th doctor and he had the blue pinstripe suit and the jacket. Which, whatever, that’s fine. But a year after we broke up I finally sat down to watch 10’s seasons, and I realized that my ex literally replicated 10’s entire personality. Like, every mannerism, every turn of phrase, every motion, every inflection, EVERYTHING. Like, to this day I have no idea what my ex’s “real” personality was like, because the entire time he was “being” David Tennant. I couldn’t watch 10 for a long time because it made me feel nauseated. It’s like watching my ex wearing a Tennant mask. My ex was an acting major, and let’s just say he was apparently way more talented then I ever knew.

    October 6, 2014
    |Reply
  18. CrazyGoatLady
    CrazyGoatLady

    She says “What?!” to herself, a lot.

    Or is her subconscious doing it? Perhaps her inner goddess?

    It’s all kinds of busy in her head, isn’t it? No wonder she doesn’t have any room in there for rational thought!

    February 6, 2015
    |Reply
  19. Cat
    Cat

    She sees “holy shit” when he pulls down her panties. Oh my God, this is comedy gold.

    I do have to disagree with your comment about anal sex. TMI, I have chronic health issues that make my ass hurt (irritable bowel syndrome with frequent diarrhea, pain, and sometimes bleeding). Anything bigger than a finger hurts too much, and no amount of lube or stretching can help. I did try it, but I had good reason to be skeptical about trying it. Anal isn’t for everyone, just as bondage isn’t for everyone. Some people find it too painful, some people have traumatic memories related to anal sex, and those are valid reasons for not trying it.

    February 16, 2015
    |Reply
  20. it’s such a shame I cannot read all of them, it is fabulous and hilarious and surely way better than the book itself
    but i am afraid I will die if I go through all of them

    February 18, 2015
    |Reply
  21. Khan
    Khan

    Couldn’t disagree with you more on the “don’t knock it til you’ve tried it” stuff. This isn’t like a weird kind of food that you might not like; this is sex, and if you don’t think it’ll get you off there’s literally NO REASON someone should pressure you into it. It doesn’t matter if you’re illogically prejudiced against it; sex is about your pleasure.
    Also, it strikes me as a bit hypocritical that you’ve never tried having someone spit wine into your mouth before and your knee-jerk reaction was something along the lines of “NO NO NO NO NO”. I definitely understand that, but I don’t think you should condemn anyone else for having hard limits about what they want or don’t want in the bedroom regardless of what kind of experience they’ve had with it.

    July 5, 2015
    |Reply
  22. Eighmy
    Eighmy

    I’m going to have to agree to disagree with you about the anal stuff.
    Now I’m a woman who loves anal, but if Ana doesn’t wanna do it she shouldn’t have to.
    I don’t see the difference between him forcing her to do anal and forcing her to be suspended with the ropes. If she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t want to and he should respect that. If later she decides she wants to try that’s one thing, but if she only does it because he bullies her into that’s another.

    Also you don’t have to try something to know its a turn off. I’ve never been shit on, but I know I wouldn’t like it.

    July 28, 2015
    |Reply
    • khan
      khan

      Very true.

      February 14, 2016
      |Reply
  23. Lucis
    Lucis

    Another really late comment, but I agree with some of the commentators here about the anal, and also something that wasn’t mentioned, the gift buying is the same thing. Now, let’s be real, I agree with pretty much every single thing you’ve said, and I’ve used this blog as an example to friends who say ‘oh, it’s just a fantasy, blah blah blah’. But still, while I think Ana is, as you say, being weird about the gift buying, and while I don’t think people should have this weird deadset thing against anal, Christian is still in the wrong for both things. No still applies even when Ana is using it for stupid reasons. If she doesn’t want gifts, he shouldn’t be forcing gifts on her. If she doesn’t want to try anal, she shouldn’t.

    IDK, just some thoughts I had because it seemed like you were pretty deadset on Ana being stupid and Christian should be allowed to push those things.

    January 18, 2016
    |Reply
  24. A.E. Cady
    A.E. Cady

    Glad I wasn’t the only one really fucking annoyed and upset by the claim that it’s apparently just fine for people to pressure others onto sex acts they have not interest in and/or are squicked by lmao.

    If it’s bad for someone to pressure another person to partake in kink the it’s also bad to pressure a person to partake in a sex act they’re not comfortable with.

    March 16, 2018
    |Reply
  25. Iddylu
    Iddylu

    “I do like that Christian is all, “We’re going to try anal,” because I lose a lot of respect for people who say, “I don’t like that,” without trying it.”

    I know this has been harped on, I’m sorry, but yeah, I’m going to agree that I think this is pretty shitty. I HATE that he says “We’re going to try anal”, because there are two goddamn people in this relationship and he has no right to say “we’re doing this” to something she specifically said she’s not interested in.

    May 19, 2018
    |Reply
  26. Anonymous
    Anonymous

    Big fan of this blog! But just wanted to point out something: you have “an fanfiction…” In one of your first lines.

    April 16, 2020
    |Reply
  27. anonymous
    anonymous

    i feel like it’s okay to say you don’t like something, even if you’ve never tried it, when it comes to sex. not liking hawaiian pizza, let’s say, even though you’ve never eaten a piece, is very different from not wanting something in your ass. it’s very much okay to draw lines and even though ana is a horrid character, i feel like it’s very unfair to judge her for not wanting to try something that, to a lot of people, can seem very unappealing. especially when it would be with someone like chedward. but i don’t know, maybe that’s just me.

    June 24, 2020
    |Reply
  28. Fraser
    Fraser

    Yes, I am replying eight years later, but I just found the movies free on Amazon Prime, watched them, then read all six books. Up to now, I’d been avoiding them. I had no idea about the fan fic although reading the books brought on a deluge of déjà vu.

    Then I discovered this wonderful blog, which has had me laughing out loud and giggling all day. Good thing I live alone in a forest.

    C’s trilogy (Freed, 2021) is much more informative and the dates as chapter names make it easier to follow. His angst has structure and there are valid reasons for his control issues, and he is working on them—. Edwar—, er, um, Christian, is experiencing a sea change. With guilt about such things as objectifying women. Ana is right in that he needs to acquire the skills of communication and compromise. Ana is not Bella, however, but that’s not her fault; her problems — a lack of resolve and focus; klutziness; little poise; subpar listening skills; food issues, passing-the-buckitis— are down to E.L. James, who tried and failed to replicate Bella. Unfortunately, Ana does not have a quick vampire fix in her future, at least for her physical problems.

    Some of the more dangerous errors are now fixed in C’s narrative, such as prescribing the painkiller Lortab (hydrocodone/acetaminophen, the liquid form of Vicodin and not available in the UK) to a pregnant woman. Lortab is specifically proscribed for pregnancy *because it harms the baby.* And James, that’s from Wikipedia. In C’s 2021 Freed, she’s now getting super strength Tylenol.

    Oh, and why didn’t James invest in a BrEng–AmEng dictionary? Or hire — and listen to — an American copyeditor with BrEng experence? “Icebox”? Really? From a traumatized four-year-old’s scarred memory? Did she just switch to an American English dictionary in Word and run spellcheck?

    Rant over.

    — — —

    Melissa, regarding haggis . . .

    Try to avoid Burns’s night celebrations (January 25), which is the only place you’ll be pressured to “Come on, at least taste it.”

    Three of the traditional eight events on the programme feature the haggis: the parade of, the address to, and the toast to. It’s the main course of the meal.

    Haggis tastes kinda sorta like a bland steamed liver paté mixed with oatmeal — until it’s soaked in whisky. A token bite or two can be managed easily, and since this is the 21st century there’s usually a vegetarian version. Here’s how:

    • Do not, under any circumstances, look up the recipe beforehand.

    • Before the parade, procure a snifter of a good single malt, preferably a smoky Isla. My personal favorite is Bunnahabhain [boo-nuh-hah-ven]. Do not settle for that blended crap.

    • Don’t taste it, no more than dipping the tip of your tongue, until the toast. Instead of drinking it, bury your nose in the glass and sniff it at regular intervals. Closing your eyes during and a polite, slow sigh after is optional.

    • When presented with the haggis, take a deep sniff and a large sip before and after each bite. While chewing, just close your eyes and think of Scotland.

    • For ultimate enjoyment, take a long time to finish the dram. If there’s to be dancing later, have one drink only and then switch to water until the ceilidh.

    • The sniff method (tongue dip optional) of enjoying a single malt without getting too drunk too quickly is an excellent and inconspicuous choice for someone who doesn’t drink any alcohol for whatever reason (in AA, taking antibiotics or other incompatible medications, designated driver, pregnant, religious objections, teetotaler, unaccustomed to whisky, etc) but doesn’t want to invite comments. Ana, are you listening?

    • The Scotch eggs, cock-a-leekie soup, neeps, and tatties will fill you up.

    And now, I’m going to put on my bawdy Burns CD — speaking of a man who couldn’t keep his pintle in his breeches — and play track 3, “Nine Inch Will Please a Lady,” to the tune of “The Quaker’s Wife.” Twice.

    My favorite line from “Nine Inch …”, sung by either Fiona Forbes or Gill Bowman:
    It’s no the length that maks me loup,
    But it’s the double drivin’.

    (loup = leap, jump)

    May 16, 2022
    |Reply

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