46 pages • 1 hour read
Leopold von Sacher-MasochVenus in Furs
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1870A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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The Exploration of Sexual Power Dynamics
Venus in Furs is a novella about exploring sexuality and experimenting with desires, fantasies, and relationships. Severin’s early interest in “supersensuality” and submission reflects an early understanding of masochism, the term referring to people who derive sexual pleasure from pain and submission that was coined from Sacher-Masoch’s name (See: Background). Severin and Wanda’s experiences of sexuality are closely tied to their understanding of sexual power dynamics.
As Severin develops his own sexuality, Wanda, too, embarks on a journey of sexual self-discovery, learning the conditions under which she enjoys sadism. After whipping Severin, she notes, “You have awakened dangerous elements in my being” (39), as she enjoys seeing Severin “tremble and writhe beneath [her] whip” (39). Experimenting with sadism brings Wanda satisfaction, as she initially enjoys fulfilling Severin’s fantasy because she loves him. Even in Wanda’s letter three years after she parts from Severin, she remarks that she hopes he was “cured under [her] whip,” adding that she is “a woman who loved [him] passionately” (103). However, she ultimately confirms that she, like Severin, prefers masochism. Wanda wants a man who will dominate her, adhering to a traditional understanding of heteronormative sexuality in which the woman is the more submissive party. For Wanda, sadism was a means to grow closer to the man she loved, but she ultimately leaves Severin for Alexis, a man who can fulfill her own sexual desires. Wanda’s actions imply that elements of sexual desire are beyond control, and, while one might step out of their normal desires for a time, their true desires will guide them in the end.
Severin’s journey is more complicated, as he begins from the standpoint of a “deviant,” desiring a sexual relationship that is outside the norm dictated by society. Instead of wanting to dominate women, Severin wants to be dominated. His obsession with Wanda almost drives him to suicide, as well as almost kill Wanda, but his journey concludes with a total renunciation of his sexual desires. When the narrator asks what the moral of Severin’s tale is, Severin exclaims, “That I was a donkey! […] If only I had beaten her!” (103, emphasis added), implying that his own sexual desires are untenable.
However, much as Severin forsakes monogamy after his college girlfriend leaves him, Severin’s perspective is one of a masochist whose boundaries are violated, leaving him without the security needed to explore his sexuality further. At the end of the novel, Severin recommends a violent, patriarchal approach to sexuality, which indicates that he is stifling his own desires to avoid betrayal.
The Psychological Negotiation of Power and Submission
Much of the novella focuses on the way Severin and Wanda negotiate their dynamic of power and submission, which is complicated by Alexis’s disruption of this dynamic. With Severin tied to the pillar and the whip in Alexis’s hand, Wanda revisits her earlier discussions with Severin, saying, “People who want to live like the gods of Olympus must of necessity have slaves whom they can toss into their fish-ponds […] and they must not mind if by chance a bit of blood bespatters them” (100), undermining the entire concept of negotiating power within the “master”/“slave” dynamic of the novella. While Severin and Wanda discuss their sexuality and relationship often, Severin’s desire to be explicitly “owned” by Wanda leads to a breakdown in their negotiations.
A critical moment in the power imbalance between Severin and Wanda occurs when Severin asks to add conditions to their contract, to which Wanda replies, “Ah! You are afraid already, or perhaps you regret, but it is too late now. You have sworn, I have your word of honor” (46). She thus rejects his conditions by claiming they have already established their positions. Since Wanda is the “master,” she denies Severin’s request as her “slave,” which undermines the basic understanding between them. Severin’s condition—that Wanda will not allow any other man to beat him—is crucial to his understanding of the balance of power, in which Wanda can mistreat him only to a certain point and no further. This negotiation is fundamental to masochism, as it protects the masochist from excess abuse and allows a mutual degree of control over the sexual relationship.
While Alexis whips Severin, Severin reflects upon “whither blind passion and lust have led man,” seeing masochism as a path “into a blind alley, into the net of woman’s treachery, into misery, slavery, and death” (102). However, Severin chose this path, and the key term, repeated twice in this passage, is “blind,” as Severin chose not to push for his conditions prior to entering the arrangement with Wanda. By “blindly” entering a contract that only favored Wanda, Severin undermined his own interests in the relationship, only to then blame Wanda for fulfilling her role as described in their agreement.
Wanda’s betrayal of Severin reveals the full importance of their negotiation, as the disparity he desired in his sexuality is rooted in the measure of control he exerts over the arrangement, which must be established early to avoid a disastrous end. As Severin concludes his tale convinced of “woman’s treachery,” he is inappropriately blaming women, generally, for an oversight he committed.
The Influence of Societal Norms on Sexual Behavior
The social norms in the novella reflect some of the traditional expectations of sex and gender in the 19th century. Men, like Severin and Alexis, are expected to be dominating, strong, and detached, while women, like Wanda, are expected to be emotional, submissive, and caring. However, each of the characters subverts these expectations in some way, with Severin wanting to be submissive, Alexis having an androgynous appearance, and Wanda participating in Severin’s fantasy as the dominant partner. Most of the novella takes place within a bubble, in which only Severin and Wanda are truly relevant, but the inherent influence of society on individual lives peeks through in the moments where these three characters are exposed to society at large.
When Wanda’s friend visits, she criticizes Severin for being unmanly, prompting Wanda to note that Severin would be a better “slave” than a husband. The friend’s view of masculinity is thus a more traditional and conservative one, asserting that men should always be dominant over women. However, the friend herself defies some social norms, as Wanda explains that her friend “has a husband and a lover in Lember and has found a new admirer here,” adding that she is still “honored by all and respected by the world” (42) despite her infidelity. Sexual morality, then, matters less than possessing the desired characteristics of sex and gender. Alexis then challenges this paradigm when he arrives in Florence in feminine clothing, deceiving men into courting him. For Alexis, his retention of honor and respect lies in his masculinity, as, though he is “a man who is like a woman” (87), he is still “brutal.” Severin, consequently, is “unmanly” because he does not fulfill the performance of masculinity.
By the end of the novel, Severin gives up on his masochistic desires, claiming that he now understands the “true” nature of men and women. He insists that women can either be “slaves” or despots to men, “but never his companion” (103). Severin’s perspective echoes the narrator’s views when speaking to Venus in his dream, Wanda when explaining her desires, and Alexis in his behavior with Wanda. Severin’s conclusion, that “whoever allows himself to be whipped deserves to be whipped” (103), furthers the wider societal norms implicit and explicit in the text.
However, while Wanda’s friend and stories like that of Samson and Delilah perpetuate the social stereotypes that men must maintain control over women and women must enjoy their subjugation, the novella does suggest that alternatives are possible. Wanda and Severin’s experiments hint at the possibility of liberation from socially approved sexual norms, suggesting that sexual desires and behaviors do not always conform neatly to societal assumptions.
