I was a literature major in college (surprise, surprise), and by the end of my tenure there I could write an essay about anything. It’s been a lot of years since I’ve had to, but every once in a while I will read or watch something that just begs me to whip out my keyboard and dive into analysis. Knight by Kristen Ashley, is one of those books.
Like any good student doing a close read, I have read the book several (dozen 😉 times and on each read I am struck anew by the similarities to Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James. Now don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely NOT saying that there has been any plagiarism on anyone’s part, just that there are some striking similarities and I love to make these type of comparisons (I just usually only do it in my head).
The first similarity is that both books are written in the first person. This is somewhat innocuous since Kristen Ashley has a tendency to write exclusively in the first person, unless she is writing from the man’s perspective. E.L. James also used first person narration through all of the books in the Fifty Shades trilogy, though I don’t believe she jumped to Christian’s point of view until the fourth book, Grey.
Another thing the books have in common is the names of the heroines. Anastasia Steele is the main character in The Fifty Shades Trilogy, while Anya Gage is the star of Knight. The names sound similar, especially since Anastasia shortens her name to Ana, and both have Russian origins. In fact, in Knight, Anya goes so far as to explain that her name belonged to her Russian grandmother.
I also had a little giggle over the fact that Anya’s last name is Gage and Anastasia’s last name is Steele. Steel, as a metal, has its thickness measured in gauges (also spelled gage). This is an amusing relationship because in my opinion, Anya Gage is the “thicker” of the two characters. I feel like Anastasia Steele is just kind of floating through her life wherever the current takes her and the fact that it took her to Christian Grey was fortuitous (depending on how you look at it). Yes, there is some argument when Christian tried to interfere in her life, like with the car and eventually with buying the company where she eventually works, but I feel like Anastasia’s arguments are always halfhearted at best and she spends the books being swept away by Christian.
On the other hand, Anya Gage is actively swimming against that current trying to make her life better and she doesn’t need a man to help her accomplish those goals. In fact, when Knight tries to give her a ride home she turns him down. He sends her an expensive cell phone; she gives it back. There are other examples, but they all point to the fact that Anya is not just capable of being independent, she demands it. We see it when Knight tries to give her the keys to her spa, and Anya not only telks him she wouldn’t accept, but that she already has $20,000 saved to start the business herself. Again, when Anya moves in with Knight she is uncomfortable with the idea of his “charity” and says she would pay a portion of the mortgage and all of her expenses, then when she is rebuffed she wants him to think about what she can do to “contribute to their home.”
Anya is not content to just ride the river and let Knight steer. She wants to swim with him as an equal. This idea is represented in the book by Anya’s nightmare. In her first dream about Knight, she is being carried down a raging river and Knight leaps into the water with her. He didn’t try to save her, and I think that’s an important distinction. He just wraps himself around her and they go over the waterfall together.
Another detail that gave me a giggle is the fact that in Fifty Shades of Grey, Christian’s last name is Grey. In Knight, all the rooms in Knight’s condo are decorated in various shades of black and grey. The use of the color grey could symbolize a state of limbo. Neither of them are the stereotypical hero or white knight that are expected in romance novels, though neither are they villains. Each of them have both heroic and villainous qualities, which puts them firmly in an area of grey, neither white nor black. Each of them also have an affinity to the color red. In Fifty Shades, Christian has his Red Room, where he goes for release and to set free the part of himself he keeps hidden. For Knight, red is his favorite color and it comes into his everyday existence in the wall of his office, a place where he exercises control over his empire. It also shows up in his private life when Anya moves in with him. She replaces much of his black and grey with red accents, representing the way she has added passion and warmth to his life, perhaps?
The next similarity is the backgrounds of the characters. Both Anya and Anastasia are students. Anya is twenty-eight and attending beauty school while also essentially working two jobs and saving to start her own business, while Anastasia is the quintessential college student, early twenties, sharing space with a friend. I suppose the age difference could explain the character depth or lack thereof. Anya is a little older and has had to make it on her own since she was eighteen (really before), whereas Anastasia is how she appears, an innocent virgin fumbling through school and starting her life and career.
Now let’s talk about Christian and Knight. Both men had rough beginnings. Both Christian and Knight were “raised” by drug addict prostitutes, and both men rose above their painful childhoods to become successful businessmen. Both men also allowed those pasts to influence them, though in different ways.
Christian’s childhood influenced both his career and his sexuality. He experienced poverty as a child and in business made it his mission to help others. He also experienced profound abuse and it appears that his way of coping is through the use of BDSM and his Red Room of pain. He controls not only his own pain and pleasure, but also the pain and pleasure of the women he is with. This may be a reaction to not having any control as a child.
Knight also likes control and it seeps into every aspect of his life. He took the memories of life with his prostitute mother and made it his mission to help other women who found themselves in a similar situation. He states at one point that he is not a benefactor, set to save women from their circumstances. Instead, he made a business where he can keep those women safe while they do what they feel they have to do. In a way, that is giving them back the control over their own destiny. He makes sure those women have a say in who they allow in their beds, that the women are not manipulated with threats or drugs, and that any many who ignores those rules is taught a painful lesson.
This control also extends to the bedroom. Knight likes to be in charge, but with Christian you get the feeling that he is manipulating Anastasia and her responses, a puppeteer pulling her strings. With Knight it feels like he is just in command. He likes things how he likes them, but he will take into consideration Anya’s opinions and desires and is willing to compromise. He is looking for a relationship, not just sex, and you get that impression right from the very beginning.
Another thing the books share is a high level of eroticism. Each novel contains incredibly explicit sex scenes that make you want to fan your face they are so hot! Knight, however is not all about the sex. It’s there, it’s important, and it’s sexy as hell, but that it not the main theme of the book. I didn’t feel that way with Fifty Shades of Grey. I felt like Fifty Shades was all about the sex and to a certain extent the debauchery of an innocent. In Knight, Anya was not a virgin by any means. She’d had relationships in the past and the book was more about the development of her relationship with Knight of which sex was a natural part. It was not about her seduction, because she didn’t need to be seduced.
Fifty Shades of Grey and Knight, though very different stories, have similar themes and are both excellent reads. I will say that if I had to choose between Christian Grey and Knight Sebring, I would be Knight Sebring all the way! Knight has a confidence and decisiveness that I feel Christian Grey lacks. Knight makes you want to give up control and lets you know that he will absolutely take care of you when you do. I feel like in Fifty Shades, Christian Grey is actually the one who needs to relinquish control. Christian, down deep, is a frightened little boy and it seems at times that he and Anastasia are the blind leading the blind. Neither knows what they really want or how to get it. So, for me, I would have to choose Knight!
amberlynnmyers 