Fifty Shades of Human DevelopmentMonique RichardsonGeorgia State UniversityChristian Gray is one of the main characters in the novel and trilogy “Fifty Shades of Grey” by EL James . Christian Gray is the owner and CEO of Gray Enterprises Holdings Inc. At the age of twenty-eight, Christian appears to be a young, successful, and handsome businessman, but he has a dark side. Christian secretly practices BDSM with consenting women who agree to keep his secret by contract. BDSM stands for bondage, discipline, domination, submission, sadism and masochism. Christian was born in Detroit and adopted by the Gray family in Seattle, WA, at the age of four after his mother's suicide; he was left alone with his body for four days without food. Christian Gray experienced many stressful events throughout his life that caused him to miss developmental stages from childhood to adulthood. At four years old, Christian Gray was neglected by his biological mother, whom he called a "crack whore" as an adult. He was physically attacked by his pimp who also made him into a human ashtray. When his mother commits suicide, Christian stays in the same hotel room with her body for four days without eating anything except frozen peas. After Christian was adopted by the Gray family, he remained vulnerable to his memories of the past throughout his adult life by having recurring nightmares. When Christian was fifteen, he began his first secret BDSM affair with Mrs. Robinson, an older married woman and friend of the Gray family who believed such a relationship would help his delinquent behavior. Christian suffered mistreatment and abuse of his children throughout his life. . He suffered physical abuse, child neglect, ...... middle of paper ...... on-site sex. As an adult, Christian considers his biological mother a "crack whore" due to his memories of her lack of care and attention to his needs to find other ways to be self-sufficient from a young age age. In line with Freud's theory, Christian remains in the phallic stage as an adult because sex is his outlet for his deep, unresolved issues with his mother. EL James depicts Christian Grey's character development with abuse, Freud's theory, and Erikson's theory throughout the novel Fifty Shades of Grey. Reference pageJames, EL (2012). Fifty Shades of Grey. New York: Vintage Books. Prior, Emily. “What is BDSM?.” Examiner.com. Np, June 22, 2009. Web. November 14, 2013. .Santrock, J.W. (2011). Lifespan Development (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc..