Sadism and masochism in fiction

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In general, the depiction of sadism and masochism in fiction tends to be portrayed from the viewpoint of masochistic fantasy. Note: the lists in this article are sorted in chronological order.

Contents

Novels

  • Fanny Hill by John Cleland - Includes a detailed description of a mutual flagellation scene between Fanny and an English client.
  • The Marquis de Sade's works, including The 120 Days of Sodom, Justine (1791) and Juliette (1797) are written from an extreme sadistic viewpoint. However, many readers have seen in de Sade more than mere S/M, but also a philosophy of freedom and coercion.
  • Anti-Justine (1793) by Nicolas-Edme Rétif A response to de Sade's works, using a very similar style to describe a directly opposite political point of view.
  • The Torture Garden (1899) by Octave Mirbeau - Has been interpreted as an allegorical examination of western society and human condition.
  • Les Onze mille verges (The eleven thousand rods) by Guillaume Apollinaire - written around 1906-1907 (the publication is neither signed nor dated).
  • The Story of O (1954) is another classic masochistic novel, this time written by a woman whose pseudonym was Pauline Réage. In this novel, the female principal character is kept in a chateau and mistreated by a group of men. It was translated into English by a very gifted translator.
  • L'Image (1956) is another classic sadomasochistic novel, written by another French woman, Catherine Robbe-Grillet, under the pseudonym Jean de Berg. It was made into a 1975 film, The Image, also known as The Punishment of Anne.
  • Je... Ils... (1969) by Arthur Adamov _ With stories like Fin Août. The author revolves around Masochism, which he regarded as "immunisation against death", but does not aim erotic arousal.
  • In 1993, Vanessa Duriès wrote The Ties that Bind (Le Lien).
  • Outsider artist Malcolm McKesson published his novel, Matriarchy: Freedom in Bondage, in 1997. It tells the story of a Harvard undergraduate dominated by his mistress and forced to dress in women's clothing.
  • The writer Anne Rice has produced a number of examples of well-written sado-masochistic fiction, including Exit to Eden and Belinda as well as a D/s retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale, The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty and its sequels, Beauty's Punishment and Beauty's Release.

As of 2005, sado-masochistic themes have become common in much of mainstream erotic fiction, so much so as to be almost a cliché.

More literary sado-masochistic fiction includes the works of authors such as

  • Laura Antoniou, including the Marketplace series of novels and stories
  • Pat Califia's works including Macho Sluts

The novel Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey and its sequels belong both to the fantasy fiction and the BDSM fiction genres.

Mainstream films

Consensual BDSM is not generally depicted accurately or sympathetically in mainstream films, to say the least. However, film-makers often find some way to incorporate BDSM imagery into many films. The following films feature BDSM as a major plot point, not just as an exploitative add-on.

Sado-masochism is featured as a central plot element in the following mainstream drama films:

Art movies:

  • The Whip and The Body (La Frusta e il Corpo) (1963) directed by Mario Bava and starring Christopher Lee and Daliah Lavi
  • Belle de jour (1967) directed by Luis Buñuel and starring Catherine Deneuve
  • The Libertine, (La Matriarca) (1969)
  • Last Tango in Paris (1972) directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider
  • The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, (Die Bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant) (1972) directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
  • The Night Porter, (Il Portiere di notte) (1974) directed by Liliana Cavani and starring Dirk Bogarde and Charlotte Rampling
  • The Story of O (Histoire d'O) (1975) directed by Just Jaecken and starring Corinne Clery
  • The Image, (The Punishment of Anne) (1975) directed by Radley Metzger
  • Maîtresse, (1976) directed by Barbet Schroeder and starring Gerard Depardieu and Bulle Ogier
  • A Woman in Flames, (Die Flambierte Frau) (1983)
  • Crimes of Passion, (1984) directed by Ken Russell and starring Kathleen Turner and Anthony Perkins
  • Seduction: The Cruel Woman, (Verführung: Die grausame Frau) (1985)
  • Nine and a Half Weeks (1986) directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke
  • Tokyo Decadence, (Topazu) (1991) directed by Ryū Murakami
  • Bitter Moon (1992) directed by Roman Polanski and starring Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott-Thomas
  • Spanking Love (1994)
  • Venus in Furs (1994)
  • The Bondage Master (1996) (Japanese indie film directed by Keisuke Konishi)
  • Of Freaks and Men, (Pro urodov i lyudej) (1998)
  • Lies, (Gojitmal) (1999)
  • Moonlight Whispers (Sasayaki) (1999)
  • Romance, (Romance X) (1999) directed by Catherine Breillat
  • Quills, (2000) directed by Philip Kaufman (historically inaccurate biopic on the Marquis de Sade)
  • The Piano Teacher (La Pianiste) (2001) directed by Michael Haneke and starring Isabelle Huppert and Benoit Magimel
  • Secretary (2002) directed by Steven Shainberg and starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader
  • Bettie Page: Dark Angel (2004)
  • The Passion of Life (2005)
  • A Year Without Love (Un año sin amor) (2005) (directed by Anahi Berneri)
  • Hounded (Verfolgt) (2007) (directed by Angelina Maccarone)

Comedy:

  • The Choirboys (1977)
  • Personal Services (1987) directed by Terry Jones and starring Julie Walters
  • Exit to Eden (1994) starring Rosie O'Donnell and Dan Ackroyd
  • Preaching to the Perverted (1997) starring Guinevere Turner

Thrillers:

  • Tightrope (1984) starring Clint Eastwood and Genevieve Bujold
  • Basic Instinct (1992) starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone
  • Body of Evidence (1993) starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe

Non-consensual BDSM:

Films which feature non-consensual BDSM themes as a central element in the plot are usually based on a kidnapping/abduction scenario in which the captive eventually develops a kind of Stockholm Syndrome and begins complying with the demands/wishes of the captor either out of fear or guilt and identification. Examples of this type of criminal, non-consensual BDSM appear in the following films:

  • The Collector (1965) directed by William Wyler and starring Terence Stamp and Samantha Eggar
  • Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom (Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma) (1975) directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
  • Blue Velvet (1986) directed by David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Dern, Isabella Rossellini and Dennis Hopper
  • Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (¡Átame!) (1990) directed by Pedro Almodóvar and starring Antonio Banderas and Victoria Abril

External links

See Also

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