Leopold von Sacher-Masoch

It's ironic that I chose this book to fulfill the category A Book By An Author You’ve Never Read Before. While I had not even heard of the author, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, I knew about the sexual disorder bearing his name. I just didn't make the connection until after reading the book.

Venus in Furs begins with an unnamed narrator relating his dream of speaking to the goddess Venus while she is dressed in furs. The friend he shares his dream with, Severin, gives him a manuscript, Confessions of a Supersensual Man, in return. Consistent with masochistic behavior, the manuscript relates Severin's voluntary debasement as a slave to Wanda, the woman he wishes to marry. Had the book been published in modern times, rather than 1870, Severin's humiliation would have been described in much more graphic terms, but any reader with an imagination can picture what he went through.

Venus in Furs was intended to be part of a larger narrative. Reading it as a stand-alone novel focuses all attention on its masochistic aspects, and I wonder whether only prurient curiosity keeps it in circulation today. It is neither a particularly well-written nor engaging book. Severin is an unsympathetic character; Wanda is cruel and ultimately detestable. Their relationship grows tiresome, especially the repetitious self-abasement, and the ending feels artificial, as though more concerned with social acceptance than artistic integrity. Yet the book was made into half-a-dozen movies and a couple plays. Two bands, including The Velvet Underground, wrote songs about it. So it has certainly made a cultural impact, however limited in scope.

As a portrayal of the power dynamics between a certain type of man and woman, it's mildly thought-provoking and insightful. Were it a longer book or one that required closer reading, I would advise passing. Although I haven't read anything that deals with masochism, modern novels probably deal with it in a more sophisticated manner.… (mere)