tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-616982860776135414.post4237858672383701432..comments2023-10-18T09:35:55.767+02:00Comments on LUDWIG'S ROHRSTOCK-PALAST: Book Review: Venus in FursLudwighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14975294529532823252noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-616982860776135414.post-87245510582106148922008-05-27T16:19:00.000+02:002008-05-27T16:19:00.000+02:00There isn't much in Sacher-Masoch's universe that ...There isn't much in Sacher-Masoch's universe that I can relate to myself. It's all quite different from, and even alien to, my own kinky mindset.<BR/><BR/>Obviously, he's a bottom while I'm a top. But it goes deeper than that. I switch, so that side isn't totally unknown to me. It's just that Sacher-Masoch's obsessions and desires are very different from mine, regardless of whether I'm top or bottom.<BR/><BR/>Basically, he seeks a woman to worship, one who is so perfect and ideal that she isn't really human anymore - literally, a goddess, a Venus. He wants to be her "martyr". The woman herself becomes a fetish, a cult object, an idol. Severin, the protagonist, seems less interested in the women themselves (as real people, as personalities) than in their roles, i.e. what they do for him. Actually, he explicitly says so at one point.<BR/><BR/>Consequentially, it doesn't seem to bother him too much that Wanda isn't really a top by nature, that he has to repeatedly beg her to be cruel to him. He's not so much interested in the real Wanda, he's after his transcendental female ideal and tries to shape her into that. That's the irony of "Venus in Furs", that the slave is the one corrupting his mistress, not vice versa.<BR/><BR/>Of course, the project fails and ends in disappointment for Severin. I doubt that Sacher-Masoch ever found his perfect cruel and powerful goddess in real life, either. With demands like that, which no mortal woman can fulfill, you are bound to be let down, and it only makes sense that "Venus in Furs" ends on that note.<BR/><BR/>Moreover, Severin is such a wholehearted and compliant submissive, it's almost boring. He is every bit the devout worshipper. The novella is full of him kissing Wanda's feet or embracing her legs. There is no resistance from him, no rebellion, no spirit. Towards the end, he manages a bout of jealousy-fueled courage, but it's too little, too late. Wanda leaves him because he has become uninteresting to her.<BR/><BR/>I would have left him, too - Severin is a far cry from the submissive I'd be interested in. His mindset is also totally different from the one I have when I switch. I'm not looking for a goddess, not even for an authority figure. I'm looking for a playfully cruel sadist.<BR/><BR/>The main point is: top or bottom, I find real people, and the psychology and complexities of real people, far more interesting than abstract objects of worship.<BR/><BR/>Nonetheless, I believe "Venus in Furs" belongs in every kinky library. It's not the kind of book I can fully immerse myself in, obbiously, but it's still a great read. It is beautifully written, has a very powerful finale and undeniable historical value.<BR/><BR/>As well as that, it's not particularly long (140 pages in my paperback edition), so an avid reader should be able to finish it in one or two sessions. Try to get an edition that includes Deleuze's essay, which alone is worth the purchase.Ludwighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14975294529532823252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-616982860776135414.post-66964396902864115892008-05-26T21:09:00.000+02:002008-05-26T21:09:00.000+02:00Sorry - the previous post should say "couldn't rel...Sorry - the previous post should say "couldn't relate TO IT..."<BR/><BR/>Was distracted by a hare in the garden!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-616982860776135414.post-33780012187300051032008-05-26T21:08:00.000+02:002008-05-26T21:08:00.000+02:00Fascinating post, Ludwig. Sorry this is late, but ...Fascinating post, Ludwig. Sorry this is late, but I've only just now had the time to read it. It's one I flicked through in college, just reading bits here and there, but I couldn't relate it to the way I could de Sade's Justine. Now I might find it far more interesting. Should probably be in the library at any rate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-616982860776135414.post-46590756445289548212008-05-26T11:25:00.000+02:002008-05-26T11:25:00.000+02:00I'm not sure about Rousseau. His autobiography is ...I'm not sure about Rousseau. His autobiography is certainly an interesting read, but I don't think that it can really be counted among the works of kinky literature. I'll probably confine myself to books that stick a bit more closely to the subject.<BR/><BR/>Actually, before I came up with the pseudonym Ludwig, my spanking community nickname was "Rosseau" (without the "u", though - I have a habit of misspelling his name for some reason). He was a philosopher and into spanking, so it seemed an obvious choice at the time. But I abandoned the name because I was never fully happy with it, and I got tired of having to explain to people that I'm not French or Swiss.Ludwighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14975294529532823252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-616982860776135414.post-49012386922738679382008-05-25T14:37:00.000+02:002008-05-25T14:37:00.000+02:00Thanks, Ludwig-- this was really interesting. Wil...Thanks, Ludwig-- this was really interesting. Will Rousseau's Confessions make an appearance later?Indyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11949593044223905786noreply@blogger.com