If you've ever been curious about where the term "masochism" comes from, you will find it laden in the pages of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's masterpiece, Venus in Furs, for whom the term was named. Drawn in part from his own life experiences, Sacher-Masoch's novel develops an eroticism unlike any other. The book's protagonist, Severin, is so infatuated and obsessed with the object of his desire, Wanda, that he asks to be her slave. Although hesitant at first, Wanda's treatment of Severin becomes more and more depraved, fueling Severin's own desires for cruelty.

Venus in Furs is a novella by the Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and the best known of his works. The novel was to be part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called Legacy of Cain. Venus in Furs was part of Love, the first volume of the series. It was published in 1870. This manuscript tells of a man, Severin von Kusiemski, who is so infatuated with a woman, Wanda von Dunajew, that he asks to be her slave, and encourages her to treat him in progressively more degrading ways. At first Wanda does not understand or accede to the request, but after humouring Severin a bit...

Severin is so infatuated with Wanda that he requests to be treated as her slave and encourages her to treat him in progressively more degrading ways. At first Wanda does not want to, but later embraces the idea; though at the same time, she disdains Severin for allowing her to do so. Severin describes his feelings during these experiences as suprasensuality. Wanda treats him brutally as a servant, and recruits a trio of African women to dominate him. The relationship arrives at a crisis point when Wanda herself meets a man to whom she would like to submit. Severin, humiliated by Wanda's new...

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch didn't invent the sexual practice that bears his name, but he did popularize it in this short novel. An example of the found-manuscript manner of storytelling, Venus in Furs is framed by an unnamed narrator telling his dreams to his friend Severin. In those dreams, the narrator discusses love with Venus while she wears furs.

Severin suggests the narrator can break this obsession by reading a manuscript called Memoirs of a Suprasensual Man. That manuscript tells the story of a man who is so infatuated with a woman that he asks to be her...

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (* 27. Januar 1836 in Lemberg (heute Ukraine); 9. Marz 1895 in Lindheim bei Frankfurt am Main (Deutschland)) von Slowenen, Spaniern und Bohmen abstammend, war ein osterreichischer Schriftsteller. Er war das, was man zu seiner Zeit als Erfolgsautor bezeichnen wurde. Seine zahlreichen Romane und ebenso seine ebenso zahlreichen, meist folkloristischen Novellen waren teils als exotische, immer spannende, ja sogar als moralische Lekture beliebt. Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Henrik Ibsen gehorten zu den Bewunderern Masochs. Bekannt wurde er wegen seiner Phantasie und...

Ou est le tsar? -Il attend tes ordres. -Qu'il vienne. (...) Tu vas me servir, lui dit-elle. Montre-toi digne de ma faveur. Mais, malheur a toi si tu te trompes. -Que desire ma souveraine? Donne-moi a boire. Elle lui tendit la coupe. Il l'emplit et voulut s'eloigner. Reste. Elle lui jeta un regard si etrange qu'il en eut le frisson. Tu as peur, lui dit-elle d'un ton enjoue. -Non. -Tu mens, tu trembles de tout ton corps. Tu as peur, repeta-t-elle en colere. -Oui, j'ai peur de toi. -A la bonne heure Ainsi tu me plais. Et elle se remit a rire, en montrant ses dents blanches. Puis elle secoua la...

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.

Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch was an Austrian writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term masochism is derived from his name.

Erotische Bibliothek Band 10: Venus im Pelz von Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Sammlung klassischer erotischer Werke der Weltliteratur