The Maddest Obsession

Christian’s mandatory therapy sessions act as narrative bookends to Part 1, situating the reader directly within Christian’s psyche. This structure remains crucial for developing the theme of The Enduring Impact of Trauma. By beginning and ending in Dr. Taylor’s office, Part 1 insists that the actions at issue during those appointments stem directly from Christian’s past—and not just the past bracketed by this framing device. His admission that his earliest memory of the number three is linked to the men who “made” him, who “always knocked three times” (47), forges an explicit link between his obsessive-compulsive tendencies and his abusive childhood. This confession reveals a man who has integrated his trauma into a system of control, framing his destructive and possessive behaviors as the ingrained logic of an individual who has survived significant trauma.

Meanwhile, the novel drops further clues as to the origins of Gianna’s trauma. Her tender dream of her mother contrasts with her bitter references to her father, previously implied to be verbally abusive, while providing further evidence of the latter’s cruelty: When Gianna notes that her father “hates music,” her mother responds, “Some men […] can’t feel their own music, let alone other’s” (62). The metaphor suggests a controlling, repressive streak, partially explaining why Gianna reacts so strongly to Christian’s domineering and straitlaced demeanor. As she says, “I didn’t want another man controlling my life, especially one who hated that he was even attracted to me” (82). Her remark highlights the potential danger of becoming involved with a man who resents the strength of his own emotions—particularly for Gianna, who, in her impulsivity, embodies everything Christian fears.

The dynamic between Christian and Gianna thus continues to develop The Interplay of Control and Chaos. Christian’s attempts to impose order on Gianna’s world, and thus on his own feelings, escalate in this section as he warns her away from Knox and then eliminates him when she refuses to comply. This act raises the possibility that Christian will ultimately lash out at Gianna herself; his declaration that “[n]othing fragile ever does” survive him is both a threat and a self-aware admission of his destructive nature (81). However, the novel, like many dark romances, ultimately reframes a potentially abusive dynamic in erotic terms. Their subsequent confrontation in his apartment becomes a physical manifestation of the clash between order and chaos. His domain is sterile and controlled, yet her presence introduces an unpredictable element that shatters his composure, leading to a rare loss of physical control that Gianna relishes rather than shying away from: When Gianna realizes that he views giving in to his desire for her as a defeat, she reflects that she wants to play this “game” with him. Their encounter reveals that stability for them is found in a volatile equilibrium where his control provides a form of safety for her (underscored by his care for her following her husband’s shooting), while her chaos challenges him to embrace a more fulfilling approach to life.

Gianna’s comments about Christian’s faltering self-control also speak to one of the novel’s recurring metaphors for their relational dynamic: games and playing. Their interactions are consistently framed as strategic contests of will, a method of communication that allows for intimacy without the vulnerability of genuine emotional disclosure. At her birthday party, Gianna consciously decides which “game” to play with Christian as a means of engaging with him, settling on feigning love for him, which she knows will irritate him the most. Christian escalates this dynamic when he corners her, stating, “You started this game […] Finish it” (52), transforming her playful provocation into a tense power struggle. This highlights how they use verbal sparring and psychological maneuvering as proxies for a conventional courtship, which their respective traumas and social positions make impossible. By Chapter 6, the stakes have escalated from flirtatious antagonism to life and death. His murder of Knox is the ultimate move in their contest—a point Gianna confirms during her conversation with Nico, when she reflects, “I was trying to win a game…and lost so hard” (75). Their subsequent physical encounter becomes the game’s climactic round, where control shifts constantly back and forth yet remains ultimately ambiguous due to the phone call’s interruption.

Darkness functions as an important motif in this section, evoking both trauma and sanctuary. For Gianna, the sudden darkness during the club shootout is a direct trigger, plunging her back into memories of abuse. Christian, however, is depicted as a master of this realm; Gianna observes his inherent comfort and power within the violent, shadowy underworld they inhabit. His ability to navigate and control this darkness positions him as uniquely capable of protecting her from the very things she fears, even as he embodies a different kind of danger. This duality makes him both a threat and a potential savior, a figure who can understand her trauma because he was forged in a similar darkness.

Ultimately, these chapters continue to build an argument for Love as a Form of Obsession, challenging conventional romantic paradigms. Christian’s destruction of the computer lab upon learning of Gianna’s second marriage is not presented as simple jealousy but as the catastrophic breakdown of a man whose obsessive focus has been thwarted. Dr. Taylor’s clinical diagnosis of “obsession” at the end of Chapter 7 validates this interpretation, though Christian’s response—a slight smile—is ambiguous, suggesting both sardonic recognition and the beginnings of acceptance. The novel ultimately endorses the latter, implying that for characters like Christian and Gianna, only an all-consuming, possessive connection can provide the intensity required to break through their defensive walls. Christian’s actions, including murdering a rival and warning her, “If I fuck you, Gianna, nobody else ever will” (82), are framed as expressions of this obsessive form of love, defined by the passion and control that the characters themselves embody.