Sadism and masochism in fiction

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.

The role of Sadism and masochism in fiction has attracted serious scholarly attention. John Kucich has noted the importance of masochism in late-nineteenth century British colonial fiction.[1] This article provides a list of appearances of Sadism and masochism in not just literature, but various works of fiction in multiple forms of media.[2][3][4]

Table of Content

  1. Novels
  2. Specialist publishers of S/M fiction
  3. Mainstream films
  4. Television
  5. Drama
  6. Poetry
  7. References
    1. Footnotes
    2. Bibliography
    3. External links
  8. See Also

Novels

Titles are sorted in chronological order.

  • The 120 Days of Sodom, Justine (1791) and Juliette (1797) by Marquis de Sade - Are written from an extreme sadistic viewpoint.<ref name="Wood-deSade"> "The term sadism derives from the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), a French nobleman imprisoned for his libertinism and for writing fantastic novels such as Justine and Juliette (both 1797) that equated sexual pleasure with the inflicting of pain, humiliation, and cruelty."</ref>
  • 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.
  • Venus in Furs (1870) by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch - Is essentially one long masochistic fantasy, where the male principal character encourages his mistress to mistreat him. Many of Sacher-Masoch's other works include themes of sadomasochism and female dominance.
  • 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) by Pauline Réage - Another classic masochistic novel, this time written by a woman. In this novel, the female principal character is kept in a chateau and mistreated by a group of men, one of them her official lover. Later, she resumes her normal life while secretly becoming the property of one specific man, a friend of her lover's.<ref name="Wood-StoryO"> "Pauline Reage's The Story of O (1954) made a great impact on lesbian erotic writing..."</ref>
  • 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.

Specialist publishers of S/M fiction

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.[5]

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

Art movies:

Comedy:

Thrillers:

Television

<!-- Not all passing depictions on television are important enough to list. Case is not made for most of these. -->

  • The FOX series The Inside episode "Old Wounds" dealt exclusively with S&M, and was criticized by the Parents Television Council as a result.[7]
  • The television series Lady Heather's Box".[8] <!-- Is this notable? -->
  • Season 4 of HBO series Six Feet Under features a character (Joe) who wants to adopt a submissive sexual role in his relationship with Brenda.Citation needed
  • A Family Guy gag depicts main characters Lois and Peter suiting up for a sadomasochistic session while having a mundane conversation about unrelated matters from the plot of that episode. Toys have been made of this scene.[9] In the audio commentary for that episode it is noted that such a practice seemed normal to them.
  • Season 2 of the FOX medical drama House, a patient is deeply involved in a BDSM relationship.Citation needed<!-- Is this notable? -->
  • Rex Van de Kamp of Desperate Housewives was unveiled as a lover of S&M, much to the disgust of his wife, Bree.[10]<!-- Is this notable? -->

Drama

  • Thomas Shadwell's play The Virtuoso (1676) includes an old libertine named Snarl who entreats a prostitute, Mrs Figgup, to bring out the birch rods. It is unclear if he is to flog her or be flogged.
  • In Thomas Otway's play Venice Preserved (1682), Act III, Scene i, an old senator, Antonio, visits the house of Aquilina, a Greek courtesan. Antonio pretends to be a bull, then a frog, begging her to spit on him, and then a dog, biting her legs. She whips him, then throws him out and tells her footmen to keep him out.
  • Jean Genet's play The Maids (1947) concerns two maids who play out dominant and submissive roles.
  • Genet's play The Balcony (1959) is set in a brothel where clients and staff perform various fetishized roles while a revolution brews outside.
  • The play Oh! Calcutta! includes at least two segments with sadomasochistic themes. One of them, set in a fantasy of an English girls public school, invites the audience to vote on which of four "girls" is beaten at the end.

Poetry

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

See Also


Some articles orginally came from London Fetish Scene
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