You’re Trying To Seduce Me, Aren’t You? - Lee

"Inside, life was simple."

It’s a match! Lee has finally found the right guy. Having previously spent time in an institution, for reasons which are never explicitly detailed, but instead play out in her persona and behaviour, Secretary is as much about finding yourself and others like you, as it is about masochism. As a precursor to the Fifty Shades of Grey series, it is actually fairly tame with regards to how it represents a sadomasochistic relationship.

Lee's situation is also explained through the people surrounding her, from her drunk father, long suffering mother, polar opposite sister and another love interest who appears to have had his own demons to battle.

Being institutionalised seems to have not been the antidote to Lee's woes though, as she returns to a trusty trove of implements to remedy her inner pain and turmoil by cutting, a first indicator of pain providing her relief.

Her first step to recovery living on the outside is getting a job and a pretty good one considering her lack of qualification to be a paralegal. Yet something is up with her boss Mr Grey and he likely needs to take on anyone he can get that hasn’t been scared off by his inappropriate behaviour. Under the circumstances, he should really be barred from practising law (and probably placed on the other side of it), but now that Lee is his employee, perhaps this is a way to satisfy his needs. Arguably, this is straight up unwanted attention and you could say Lee's vulnerability and naiveté led her into becoming a submissive without consent. Yet it is very much an exploration of herself, who she is and what is missing in her life. For him, he likely suppressed his urges and desires from his soon to be ex-wife and has never been able to find someone to connect with, someone who shares his kink and on the same level. This isn’t just some outrageous form of sexual lust either. What he discovers (and at one point appears to try and deny) is that Lee is not just his sexual soulmate, but someone he falls in love with.

Lee has the opportunity to marry her boyfriend, but despite sharing a troubled personality, maybe two, so very deeply troubled personalities aren’t a suitable match.

Mr Grey will end their dysfunctional professional and personal relationship, seemingly reluctantly letting her go and breaking it all off. However, she intends to fight for the new discovery of herself, for once finding happiness and excitement in life. She ditches her fiancée and the lacklustre future she sees with him, returning to her former place of employment and spends a week displaying her loyalty to Mr Grey with her hands laid out on his desk, not moving, not eating, sleeping, showing full submission until he comes to rescue her like a dom Prince Charming.

What proceeds is a life together like any normal couple, be it with unorthodox sexual practices, but nonetheless, it's still love.

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