The oft misunderstood story of O (Story of O - Pauline Reage)

Member Name: assmonkey

Product:	Story of O - Pauline Reage
Date:	07/12/01 (629 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: deep philosophical text on love and the will

Disadvantages: a love story on the surface, a sex story on the surface

The story of O, probably one of the most famous erotic novellas ever written next to the Marquis deSade's 120 days in Sodom. However to call this little book an erotic book would be selling it short and missing the bigger point. I have had many people read this book and even required in some of the seminars I have taught in architecture school. I know the book really has nothing to do with architecture but it was my seminar.

Typically most women find the book annoying because they see O as weak and disgustingly submissive. Well she was but that is just the foreground. You have to look at the middleground and the background to fully appreciate the whole story.

The Middleground: O was also about the will. The will to subjugate your will still takes strong will does it not. I know this is a tough one so try this, To make no decesion about something is still a decesion equally as hard to decide. So to give over ones will entirely as O did still requires alot of will. For example she may have been asked to do somethings she found disgusting but her desire to be submissive was stronger than her desire to be comfortable. The pleasure principal is still in effect although the reward is layered. The story uses sex to illustrate this for many reasons, one being it probably keenly interested the author ( read Mina's review for some histoty on the book ) but sex also touches one of the most accessible taboos. I would ask each person I asked to read it to put themselves in O's situation. What would they do for love. To be in love is to loose one's freedom is it not? Love obligates us to at the very least consider someone or something else in our actions. The story of O takes this love/ loss of freedom to the extreme in the form of sex slavery and bondage but it is relevant nonetheless. So love presupposes a loss of total freedom but it gives us something in return...hapiness. So do we conclude that being totally free is not being happy. Well,
yes if it means we are not obligated to anything, or anyone. We have nothing that we care about and therefore we are free and alone. OK here it goes...Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose...thank you Janis Joplin.

The Background: Now we have to look at the willing loss of will historically within the context of greater reward and rapture. As your love for God commands that you do his will so you must give yourself unto to him. His love you shall know and you shall seek your reward in the kingdom of God. This is not a quote from anything but a paraphrase of the general idea. To have total faith in God means you have to totally give your will to him and do his will. Most of the time this is not so difficult...ok it can be difficult as sin is an awfully fun thing. But in general we all can do "good" and we know right from wrong. But what happens when what God commands of you is something you find difficult if not horrible. What if God asks you to sacrifice your son upon the alter. Now what do you do? God has asked you to kill and whats worse your son. But God's law tells you not to kill. Is God testing your adherance to his law or his will, and are not they the same. What if it was the devil posing as God who asked you to sacrifice your son. If you do it will God be angry although you acted in what you thought was his will, or will he be angry that you didn't even though you thought it was his will. And then what if at the last moment an angel told you it was ok to stop and sacrifice a lamb caught in a bush instead. Is this God's will or another trick by the devil.

The story of O illustrates the incredible complex dilema with chosing to not to chose, with willingly having no will and thereby having incredible will. I prefer the second ending because it best illustrates the total despair with taking this train of thought to the extreme. For most of us we will never understand a love so deep and a pain to match. <
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In close read the book several times. And if you think this one is deep try "the story of the eye" by Georges Batille.

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