A Picture of Christian Grey: Using Narrative Analysis to Explore How Coercive Controlling Behaviors in Intimate Relationships Can Be Romanticized Within Fiction
Authors: Oliver, L., Harvey, O.
Journal: Humanities
Publication Date: 22/09/2026
Volume: 15
Issue: 10
eISSN: 0018-7526
ISSN: 0018-7526
DOI: 10.3390/h15100141
Abstract:Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse is a recognized global public health phenomenon due to its prevalence and impact across the world. This paper examines how coercive and controlling behaviors within intimate relationships are obfuscated, in other words, thrown into the shadows, romanticized, and normalized within romantic fiction, further adding to this global issue. The “Fifty Shades of Grey” series is interpreted through the use of narrative analysis and the framework of Craven’s “Dominator” model. This illustrates how the distinct perpetrator personas, the Headworker, the Persuader, the King of the Castle, the Jailer, the Liar, the Bully, and the Sexual Controller, are present in the actions of the male protagonist throughout the series of books. This paper identifies how these books portray such behaviors that are used to coerce and control as desirable expressions of protection, masculinity, desire, and love. This paper, therefore, suggests that such texts contribute to the normalization of abusive relationships, embedding them within the cultural ideals of romantic love and, therefore, sustaining abusive relationships.
Source: Manual