Venus in Furs [Paperback]

Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004

Translated from the German by Fernanda Savage. Introduction by Catriona MacLeod. Originally published in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1870. A sensational depiction of an erotic passion that defies that norms of nineteenth-century sexuality and gender, the story charts the stages of masculine obsession and collapse, leading a cultivated European aristocrat from his fantasy of abasement at the hands of a domineering woman to a climax of brutal physical violence. It remains a foundational work of modern culture, defining a sexual perversion while also offering a critical lens through which to view persistent structures of masculinity and power.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Barnes and Noble (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0760763089
• ISBN-13: 978-0760763087
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,744,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Artfully and tastefully done., December 18, 2001

By 

BDH (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

A well thought out erotic tale.

Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch's 'Venus In Furs', is interesting though eccentric, and perverse though compelling. 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.

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deeply Spiritual Book, June 23, 2001

By 

J. French "93 93/93" (Oakland, California United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Venus in Furs (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Venus in Furs is one of the most spritual works of erotica I've ever read. Much has been made of its "perversity", to the extent that the name of its author is also the name of a psycho-sexual disfunction. However, I feel that this is a grossly unfair way to treat a book that deals so beautifully with the descent and return of a man through his psyche.

Sevrin's tale is one of submission, slavery, and redemption. It is through the experience of being a woman's slave that he realizes his own worth. To treat this as an epic of laciviousness is puritanism of the lowest kind.

Venus in Furs also reminds us that the difference between hammer and anvil may not be so clear cut. It is Severin who brings out the whip in his lover. He then reaps the whirlwind, and can only ride it out.

This book is recommended for people who can see though the drivel that has been dripped upon it since its creation.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars derivation of the term "masochism", July 25, 1997

By A Customer

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This review is from: Venus in Furs and Selected Letters of Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch (Paperback)

_Venus in Furs, a Novel: Letters of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch and Emilie Mataja_ by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch contains the both the story "Venus in Furs" and a selection of letters between Sacher-Masoch and budding writer, Emilie Mataja.

"Venus in Furs" is about a man who is obsessed with having his new mistress treat him like a slave. In particular, he wants her to become his ideal "venus in furs" and begs her to don furs and wield a whip against him. His desire to be treated as such is tested when she convinces him to sign an agreement to be her slave. The story is well-written, and one becomes drawn into the misery experienced by the man as his mistress becomes progressively more cruel.

The letters between Sacher- Masoch and Mataja show Sacher-Masoch's inability at times to separate his fiction from his real life. Sacher-Masoch speaks of his married life and encourages Mataja in her writing, but his professional encouragement is shot through with requests to meet Mataja so that he can be whipped by her while she is wearing fur.

Although there are certainly more graphically erotic examples present in current fiction, this book is a must read for those wanting to know why Sacher-Masoch's writings inspired Krafft-Ebing to create the term "masochism."