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Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics) by Leopold…
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Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics) (original 1870; edition 2000)

by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch

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1,6263010,780 (3.48)38
Classic Literature. Erotic Literature. Fiction. HTML:

Venus in Furs tells the story of a young man who signs his life over to an older woman in a binding contract. This contract forms the basis of their relationship to each other, in which he is entirely bound to obey her, even should she tell him to kill himself.

Austrian author Leopold Sacher-Masoch thus gave birth to the concept of "masochism", which describes the sexual, fetishistic infliction of pain and humiliation under the terms of a contract, implied or real. Venus in Furs was his most famous novel and comes under the first part of his Legacy of Cain series, Love.

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Member:si.wilson
Title:Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics)
Authors:Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch
Info:Penguin Classics (2000), Edition: New edition, Paperback, 160 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:None

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Venus in Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1870)

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» See also 38 mentions

English (27)  Spanish (1)  French (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (30)
Showing 1-5 of 27 (next | show all)
Don't know what I was expecting from a book written in 1870 about women. It reads like an ancient MRA propaganda novel.
  fleshed | Jul 16, 2023 |
at times i could feel masoch's boner poking me ( )
  hk- | Apr 12, 2023 |
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. ( )
  skavlanj | Mar 16, 2023 |
Não posso dizer que não é divertido, a história de sentimentos complexos, hesitantes e idealistas de um jovem romântico e sua vontade de controlar a sua submissão, de planejar sua perda de controle e de educar aquela que será sua senhora para que ele possa, em toda o esplendor se submeter. Mas como tudo isso é romântico ao extremo, há algo que falta, e que sobra a Sade, por exemplo. Uma clareza de alma, lá muito gélida, é verdade. ( )
  henrique_iwao | Aug 30, 2022 |
After reading Fanny Hill and Marquis de Sade, it only made sense to read this novella.

For erotica, Venus in Furs is actually well thought out and written. Yes, this about whips and things that are kinky, but it’s also about the human psyche and mythology. There’s some great character development and conflict in this novella.

Each of the main characters represent something either dealing with the human mind or mythology. You have Wanda (the title character) that represents power and Venus and Severin (the narrator) who is represents obedience and Dionysus. Later on, there is a Greek man that joins the party, but I won’t explain his part because of spoilers.

The main plot of the story is Severin is obsessed with finding his Venus in Furs. He finds Wanda who looks like the goddess, but she is a dominatrix. She wants Severin as a sexual slave than a lover. He starts obeying his mistress until a Greek named Alexis (they call him Apollo) joins in on the fun. Then the conflict and the real drama of the book starts.

I love the use of mythology. It’s not that hard to turn gods into sex allegories. In many ways, Severin is Faust trying to bring Helen back from the dead to have sex with her, except Severin is trying to make his dream of Venus in Furs a reality. There’s a bit of Fraud and Jung going on in this novella. Maybe you can see some of Wonder Woman in this book as well. If you don’t mind sexual domination mixed with mythology this book’s a great read. ( )
  Ghost_Boy | Aug 25, 2022 |
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» Add other authors (103 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Leopold von Sacher-Masochprimary authorall editionscalculated
Deleuze, GillesAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Klimt, GustavCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mackensen, GerdIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Neugroschel, JoachimTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Raymond, CharlesIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Savage, FernandaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
God did punish him. and deliver him into the hands of a woman.

- Judith 16:7
Dedication
First words
My company was charming.
Quotations
"If the foundation of marriage depends on equality and agreement, it is likewise true that the greatest passions rise out of opposites. We are such opposites, almost enemies. That is why my love is part hate, part fear. In such a relation only one can be hammer and the other anvil. I wish to be the anvil. I cannot be happy when I look down upon the woman I love. I want to adore a woman, and this I can only do when she is cruel towards me."
"I really believe," said Wanda thoughtfully, "that your madness is nothing but a demonic, unsatisfied sensuality. Our unnatural way of life must generate such illnesses. Were you less virtuous, you would be completely sane."
Never feel secure with the woman you love, for there are more dangers in woman's nature than you imagine. Women are neither as good as their admirers and defenders maintain, nor as bad as their enemies make them out to be. Woman's character is characterlessness. The best woman will momentarily go down into the mire, and the worst unexpectedly rises to deeds of greatness and goodness and puts to shame those that despise her. No woman is so good or so bad, but that an any moment she is capable of the most diabolical as well as of the most divine, of the filthiest as well as of the purest, thoughts, emotions, and actions.
"I believe," she said, "that to hold a man permanently, it is vitally important not to be faithful to him. What honest woman has ever been as devotedly loved as a hetaira?"
A slap in the face is more effective than ten lectures. It makes you understand very quickly, especially when the instruction is by the way of a small woman's hand.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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This work contains only "Venus in furs"--please don't combine it with editions containing other stories, or graphic novel adaptations.
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Classic Literature. Erotic Literature. Fiction. HTML:

Venus in Furs tells the story of a young man who signs his life over to an older woman in a binding contract. This contract forms the basis of their relationship to each other, in which he is entirely bound to obey her, even should she tell him to kill himself.

Austrian author Leopold Sacher-Masoch thus gave birth to the concept of "masochism", which describes the sexual, fetishistic infliction of pain and humiliation under the terms of a contract, implied or real. Venus in Furs was his most famous novel and comes under the first part of his Legacy of Cain series, Love.

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Book description
Venus in Furs describes the obsessions of Severin von Kusiemski, a European nobleman who desires to be enslaved to a woman. Severin finds his ideal of voluptuous cruelty in the merciless Wanda von Dunajew. This is a passionate and powerful portrayal of one man's struggle to enlighten and instruct himself and others in the realm of desire. Published in 1870, the novel gained notoriety and a degree of immortality for its author when the word "masochism"—derived from his name—entered the vocabulary of psychiatry. This remains a classic literary statement on sexual submission and control.
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