Story of O: A Novel Author: Pauline Reage | Language: English | ISBN:
B00BRUQ7O0 | Format: PDF
Story of O: A Novel Description
The classic erotic novel, THE STORY OF O relates the love of a beautiful Parisian fashion photographer for Rene. As part of that intense love, she demands debasement and severe sexual and pychological tests. It is a unique work not to be missed.
- File Size: 1373 KB
- Print Length: 242 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0345545346
- Publisher: Ballantine Books (March 26, 2013)
- Sold by: Random House LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00BRUQ7O0
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,923 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #13
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Psychological - #19
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Psychological - #39
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Women's Fiction
- #13
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Psychological - #19
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Psychological - #39
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Women's Fiction
The Story of O is about a young, beautiful Parisian photographer named O who wants nothing more than to be her lover's slave. She goes through strict "training" for two weeks at Roissey, a club where other women like her learn how to "obey" their masters in whatever they order them to do, whether it be for their masters alone or for other members of the club. O goes through harsh punishments, such as being whipped and flogged daily and being chained to her bed every night. What is most disturbing about this first part of the book, is not O's harsh punishments that she endures, but the fact that she endures all this debasement willingly.
Though she may be considered as a masochist at the beginning of the novel, it becomes clear while reading through the rest of the novel that this is not the case. This is not so much a story about masochism, as it is more a story about love, about how much a woman would sacrifice for it, and the length a woman will go to keep her lover, Rene, happy. O derives no pleasure from the physical, emotional, and psychological torture she endures. Rather, her pleasure is derived from the aftermath of those things: the lashes to her skin, the debasement and objectification of her body and the cruelty that she willingly chooses to endure makes O "happy" in the fact that she is doing all this to please her lover.
O is not a prisoner or slave in the normal term of the word, but rather she is a slave to her love for Rene, as he has made it clear to her that she is free to leave anytime she desires. But she is blinded by her love for him and feels that by enduring the punishment he puts her through, she is becoming closer to him. Or rather, she is becoming his, his object, his property.
THE STORY OF O is a truly special work of literary art. For many of us, this was our introduction into a world that we didn't know existed outside of our own twisted minds. It was the first sign that we weren't freaks, or at least there were other freaks in the world, and we weren't alone.
There are aspects to this tale that may shock some people, or leave them with an unpleasant feeling after finishing it. And because of this, I believe it is important to understand why this book was written. THE STORY OF O was written by a French journalist named Anne Desclos (Dominique Aury) as both a love letter and the answer to a challenge by her boyfriend. He was an admirer of De Sade's erotica, and claimed that a woman could not write good erotica.
In the tradition of De Sade, she wrote a story of a young woman's descent into sexual degradation. O falls deeper and deeper until she reaches bottom and there is nowhere left to go, nothing left to do. What makes it truly stand out from De Sade and other male authors is the utterly feminine twist to the story: it is not lust that drives O down this path, but love: her love for Rene, at first, and later for Sir Stephen. O is a metaphor for Desclos' love for her lover, the whips and chains symbolize the strength of her devotion to him. The ending represents her fear of her lover tiring of her and abandoning her for a younger woman. (This is a very simplified explanation, there are several excellent essays of the various interpretations of the symbolism in this book, and can be found by doing a search for `The Story of O'.)
Desclos' lover was so impressed by her story he encouraged her to seek publication. And so she did, using the pseudonym, Pauline Reage.
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