Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics)

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Page 1 of 1 Start over Page 1 of 1. Written on the Body Vintage International. Editorial Reviews Review The quintessential Sacher-Masoch novel, in which he most succinctly sets out his obsessions. See all Editorial Reviews. Product details File Size: June 1, Sold by: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Showing of 54 reviews.

Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. The word "masochism" was taken from the name of this author and this is the book which first described this aspect of human nature. In the 19th century tradition, this novella is a frame story containing a first person account. It's a novella and so it's a quick read. Severin, the protagonist falls in love with a woman and convinces her to treat him as her love slave. Much of the interest is in the dialogue between Severin and the object of his desire, Wanda.

The story remains quite insightful and honest about human attraction to bondage and submission. I found this book to be a real eye opener for me. I can relate to the protagonist dilemma. To love a woman so completely and have your words and actions fall away as if you didn't exist is a shame.

I liked reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the human psyche when it involves the emotion of love. One person found this helpful. A well thought out erotic tale. Besieged in wonder and suspense, the love affair between characters: Severin von Kusiemski and Wanda von Dunajew, becomes a roller coaster ride of desire and emotion. The obsessive fantasy to be enslaved and brutalized by the woman he loves becomes a cruel reality for poor old Severin.

As beautiful Wanda slowly becomes thrilled and captivated by the notion of fulfilling her role in his fantasy, a role that previously made her shrug and laugh, she eventually transforms herself into the controlling dominatrix of Severin's dreams--by becoming more ideal at the sadomasochistic lifestyle than he had ever dreamed was possible. As Severin becomes the ever so content and happy slave, this tug-of-war between self-esteem and power begins to twist and turn with the innocent and deadly psychological games played out between the two.

Written more than a hundred years ago, this psychodrama of love, bound by the perverted desires of one and the demon lying dormant within the other, was tastefully and artfully done. Masochism, as expressed and experienced in today's world either vicariously or sensuously renders this book bland. The tone is salacious but overly wordy. I wanted to read this book for years, and when it finally crossed my radar here at Amazon, I snapped it up with very high expectations.

However, my reading experience was very different from my expectations of it. On the other hand, this book is an intense historical document about the Western view of gender and relationships a hundred years ago, which is still very much present in today's Western countries. It's a story about wounded, neurotic, fearful and repressed love in a culture which applied Nitsche and Darwin very literally and simplistically to every aspect of human life.

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch is the root for the term masochism and he portrays this in his novel 'Venus in Furs' by depicting the personal discovery of a young man whose relationship takes a turn when he realizes he wants to stay with his "venus" no matter the consequences. This devolves into his own urge to be treated badly by his lover, and results in his ultimately getting exactly what he wished for. Told from the point of view of the man when he is older, he tells the story to another young man as a lesson to avoid suffering the pains he has suffered.

Told with fascinating language and imagery, it is a book that offers an understanding of the source of the term "masochism" and provides a nice short story in and of itself. I can see how this book may have been shocking to Victorian sensibilities and to the prudish now, but I felt the importance of this work in the world of erotica is exaggerated. The emotional experience of submission is well explored in this book, and, from the author's name comes 'masochism', but I feel like it all could have been opened even more.

Maybe I feel less than satisfied with this book due to the standards of modern morality and entertainment. This book is tame compared to what you can see on cable television, without even paying for the premium channels. The main character's experience with submission is compelling, but at times, you wish the author had been more explicit about the nature of the character's suffering. More particular about the emotional and physical suffering caused by the Venus in Furs.

Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics) - Harvard Book Store

It seems that being more precise would have driven home the ideas on submission, domination and whether they can destroy love much more strongly. See 1 question about Venus in Furs…. Lists with This Book. Aug 15, PirateSteve rated it it was amazing. Leo gave the world a new label for these exploits What we've done with it since then is our own business.

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Severin did get what he wanted. So many people never do. They never dare ask. View all 9 comments. Feb 20, Paquita Maria Sanchez rated it it was ok Shelves: The first portion of this book is wonderful. The forced lasciviousness of the female protagonist, the pathetic attempts at seeming like a banshee, a Siren, all draped in furs and spouting some bullshit about Paganism.

I have met this girl before, and this boy, I have watched their pitiful dance of apathy, their ham-handed fears of monotony and monogamy, the in my opinion bullshit notion that caring in the romantic sense for one chosen and well-suited person with whom you specifical Umm, okay I mean, I have greeted lovers with apathy, sternness, initial doubts which reached fruition in feelings chilling, freezing, eventually frozen; I would be completely out of touch with myself if I were to believe otherwise.

We have all been cruel, we have all wavered, our eyes have wandered, our emotions fallen flat.

Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics)

What I could never stand was the hyper-rationalizing of this emotion, the forcing of it. There was always a bit of schadenfreude which set in when some of the loftier of my hippie-dippie, "I just have to be free, maaaaan" acquaintances found themselves face-to-face with their own inherent, albeit denied natures, when all their trite musings and assumed sentiments about free love came back to kick them in their collective private parts via severe jealousy and heartache.

It reminded me of this conversation I had a few years ago. I was at a bar catching up with some old friends I had not seen in forever, though they were all still quite close, and seeming a little cult-y to me based on our talks that afternoon. They were discussing the various free-love, non-committed relationships they were attempting, and how this was "opening them up" to the possibilities of connection contained in any number of people. After my initial, more pressing questions e. I have enough trouble dealing with one person.

Also, I would be, you know, really depressed and completely miserable in that situation. They all shortly ended their romances. I guess people got jealous and shit got complicated. I just adored the introductory chapters of this book for the fact that the woman they present is just.

What's better is, her nonsense about being free from attachments, a goddess who commands the love she needs then drops the tired bits like pencil shavings, a woman incapable of loving another human being, but rather simply bent on seeking out pleasure in the most hedonistic, unashamedly egocentric sense, seems to be heading toward a serious reckoning. What's more is, the man who is painted as her future slave represents all that is flighty in the dance of romance.

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He only loves a woman of stone, his interest wanes at kindness, he wants the one he can't have, and it's driving him mad all over all over all over his face every single goddamn time until the very moment when she cares, when she drops her guard and loves him back, and then his foot is suddenly wedged firmly in the door and his panties are noticeably roomier. We are all guilty at some point, right? They want excitement and unpredictability and newness. They crave the hunt. What could be were I free? It is not ideal. Unfortunately, her reckoning does not ever really come about, and this suddenly turns into some bullshit about not letting yourself care about others, lest you be a malnourished, mistreated donkey.

Exactly where I thought this was going is precisely the opposite of where it went, and not in a clever, plot-twisty sense. About midway through, I came to realize that Sacher-Masoch saw this forceably cruel woman as some sort of lesson-teacher about how cruel Women are. The smart ones, anyway! They know how to hold on to a man: Okay, I admit that the two men I have been wholly unfrosty with in my adult life are the two men who have broken my heart, but I would like to think this won't always be the case, and that it is a horrifying and just awful notion that to keep someone in love with me, I have to hate his guts, or just deal with his existence begrudgingly like I deal with Austin drivers or my next door neighbor who is constantly making humping noises through the wall.

These things I deal with. Companionship is often played like a chess game, but I thought the idea was to find someone with whom all that crap drops away? Ever seen an something year old man carrying his similarly elderly wife's oxygen tank for her through Denny's? Did that warm your heart? Ever had friends who slipped into counter-culture to such an extent that your conversations suddenly turned into the dynamic of them constantly preaching and you constantly scoffing? I should write an aside here that I know that there are all types of people in the world, all sorts of romantic arrangements, etc.

I'm not saying it's impossible, I just think it goes against the more common manifestations of human nature to not feel emotions of possessiveness toward a cherished lover. Even a hated lover, sometimes! Your brain, your evolutionary history, your biology is playing tricks on you at all times, it's all very complicated, and sorry to over-simplify.

It just seems like a lot of this modern embrace of what it is to be an Enlightened Lover and Self-Actualized Person is quite often going against the intrinsic needs of those who proselytize about it. It's, you know, hip , like riding a fixed-gear bicycle without being able to explain to me why you prefer not having brakes, or eating the 'Organic' ramen noodles because somehow they're better in this way you seemingly haven't even bothered to contemplate yet.

You may have an explanation, and you may really feel it. More power to you. I'm quizzical by nature though, and am more often than not left, in my hippie-interrogations, with vacuous stares and zero answers from the interrogated. And that album has not just a heroine, but heroin!

I'll be your mirror, and reflect what you are, in case you don't know: Do you watch Logjammin' to find out if he fixes the cable? View all comments. Apr 14, Jay Harrison I have to say Venus in Furs is one of my favourite novels, I think it's beautiful and find that beyond it's pornographic leanings are some incredibly I have to say Venus in Furs is one of my favourite novels, I think it's beautiful and find that beyond it's pornographic leanings are some incredibly poignant and tragic observations about the 'laws of attraction' so to speak.

But this is also one of the most hilarious and beautiful writen reviews on the internet. Predominantly only two characters take centre stage, with nobleman Severin von Kusiemski falling under the seductive spell of the flame haired Wanda von Dunajew, he loves her so much to the extent of wanting to be her slave, and encourages to treat him progressively more sadistic.

Severin describes his lustful expierences as 'suprasensuality', and being dominated by a women and the total control and power she holds over him clearly rocks his boat. I wouldn't exactly call the actions that unfold here as sadomasochism, at least not as it is recognized today, and there is nothing more extreme than being tied up, whipped and licking ones feet throughout the story, I think the real pain here lies psychologically, with mental anguish and humiliation in front of others that changes Severin's pleasure to one of inner turmoil, as he constantly pleads his undying love for her.

His name would change to Gregor as her servant, they travel to Florence and take up residence in a villa close to the Arno river, and this luscious setting would see other gentleman catch the desirable eye of Wanda, a German painter who puts brush to canvas while in the middle of doing her portrait would suddenly declare "I want you to whip me, whip me to death! The relationship would then arrive at somewhat of a dilemma, when Wanda herself meets a man to whom she would like to submit, a rich Greek aristocrat known as Alexis Papadopolis, and they congress in a sexual manner until one final act of degradation while in the presence of Wanda and Alexis, would see Severin mentally broken and feel like an inanimate object void of any feelings for his once loved dominator.

I can understand why this would have caused a bit of a ruckus back in the day, but reading now in the 21st century it's about as controversial as a litter of kittens playing around in a summer meadow, and I actually found it quite delightful with moments of humour regardless of whether it was intended this way.

View all 7 comments. People who wear fancy gloves to Renaissance Faires. Most men are very commonplace, without verve or poetry. In you there is a certain depth and capacity for enthusiasm and a deep seriousness, which delight me. I might learn to love you. And they'll be like yeah! I have a depth and capacity for enthusiasm! I was just waiting for someone to notice!

I bet nerds really like this book, which was written "You interest me. I bet nerds really like this book, which was written by a nerd and then translated to English by a different nerd. It was a collection of dating profiles from guys who were all "I'm so nice, why don't any women love me? I would treat a woman like a goddess but I guess they don't want to be treated like goddesses, they all want some asshole instead! Women are such bitches, because they don't love me! Masoch can't stop quoting this one line from Goethe, "You must be hammer or anvil.

That's fine, man, have your fun.

The problem is that he extends it to some kind of conclusion about human nature that's not at all true. Women do not by nature demand either to look up to a man or toy with them. Men aren't like that either. That's a dumb idea. Here's another thing that's not true: God, for a book about whipping there is none too much whipping.

Instead there's a whole lot of him begging to be her slave, and then her treating him vaguely slave-y, and then him getting all indignant, and then her all "Well see, you're being a dick about it," and then him being all "Oh, you're mad at me, treat me like a slave," and then we circle back around to the beginning like fifty times. Wahhhhh, quit topping from the bottom, nerd. If you flip the characters' genders in your head while you're reading, the book goes an awful lot like that 50 Shades thing does.

I know more or less how it goes from hearing a million readers and feminists get all pissy about it. It's hard to tell who's more offended about that book - readers or feminists. But there's a funny twist at the end spoilers follow for this and I think 50 Shades too: But here, she just dumps him. She's all "I can easily imagine belonging to one man for my entire life, but he would have to be a whole man, a man who would dominate me, who would subjugate me by his innate strength" 23 and then she runs off with a dude who's just like that.

So Masoch's kink assumes that one who has it isn't enough to satisfy a woman. That's weird, and probably kindof a bummer for him. So this is a book about a self-defeating fetish for being controlled, born out of a weird hatred and fear for women. It's unpleasant, and boring, and all too familiar because I still hear that shit today, from miserable nerds. View all 14 comments. May 04, Lizzy rated it really liked it Shelves: In a nutshell, Severin likes women. Severin likes women who are filthy rich. Severin likes women who are filthy rich and treat him like shit.

Wanda is that woman. That is pretty much what Venus in Furs i "To be the slave of a woman, a beautiful woman, whom I love, whom I worship -! That is pretty much what Venus in Furs is about. He agreed to be her slave, and renounce all claim on his own life she could even kill him if she wished , and this is reflected in Venus in Furs. The "contract" gives Wanda or "Mistress" free reign to make Severin suffer in a variety of ways; whipping him regularly, kicking him around, starving him, torturing him emotionally, etc.

And Severin seems to get off on it. In fact, he begs her to punish him "I want to be your dog". As long as she wears her furs whilst doing it, he's happy. As you can imagine, the novel caused quite a stir in Austrian society. The idea of a woman being dominant having the whip-hand, so to speak was ludicrous to most people. We even see Wanda feeling hesitant at first.

She is reluctant to defy social norms, and I can sort of understand this. She is used to being dominated, not the other way around. She is understandably creeped out by Severin to begin with, but I think thats mainly because he keeps kissing her feet and telling her to stand on his neck. He is, to put it bluntly, a pussy.

Editorial Reviews

I can think of no other word for him. He also has a habit of falling in love with statues, and treating them as though they were real. There are many gender issues in this book, and I'm deliberately avoiding that long and winding road known as "Interpretation" as I will end up making no sense whatsoever.

He knew he was beautiful and behaved accordingly; he would change his coquettish attire four or five times a day, like a vain courtesan. In Paris he had appeared first in women's garb, and the men had stormed him with love letters. An Italian singer, famous equally for both his art and his passion, invaded the Greek's apartment, knelt down, and threatened to take his own life if his plea was not granted.

Even Severin has a bit of crush on him. I had to keep reminding myself that this book was written in At times, it voices startlingly modern sentiments. Sacher-Masoch certainly wasn't your average Austrian. I gave Venus in Furs four stars because I enjoyed it rather more than I was expecting.

The ending pissed me off a bit, as did Severin's constant cries of "Wanda! Give it a go. View all 6 comments. View all 4 comments. Feb 24, Cheryl Kennedy rated it really liked it Shelves: The DSM-IV lists masochism as a derivation of sexual gratification from being subjected to physical pain or humiliation by oneself or another person. Pleasure is being abused or dominated. The psychiatric bible must have read Venus in Furs for its definitions. Even the word used for sexual pursuits comes from the author's name. Sacher-Masoch was an Austrian writer of letters and a journalist.

I stopped counting books attributed to him when it was greater than forty. He wrote Venus in Furs in The DSM-IV lists masochism as a derivation of sexual gratification from being subjected to physical pain or humiliation by oneself or another person. He wrote Venus in Furs in though the word, masochism's first known use was in according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. That suggests that Severin von Kusiemski, along with his mistress, Wanda von Dunajew are the originators of why and how methods of domination enhance pleasure to some people.

In fact, this novella is a comprehensive study guide to the ambivalence of love. Nov 14, Khashayar Mohammadi rated it it was amazing Shelves: I love this book so much it worries me. Sep 18, Meredith rated it it was amazing Shelves: Haven't reviewed on goodreads in a while, but was googling this work's translation dates and came across the negative reviews here.

Thought I should contribute my defence. What Makes Venus in Furs a groundbreaking and thoroughly enjoyable work?

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