“When Z. had himself whipped, he first had his hands fastened with iron handcuffs.”
It would be quite erroneous to assume that in the case of these masochistic “slaves,” whose human worth has been lowered to the depths, who seem completely to discard their humanity and to sink below the level of animals, that we always have to do with effeminate, degenerated weaklings. No; much more frequently they are healthy, powerful men, of an imposing appearance and distinguished demeanour, who find pleasure in playing such tragic rôles, and who obviously obtain sexual gratification by this complete reversal of their nature. The “slave” just described was “by nature tall and stately. His features were energetic and sympathetic, and he had a large beard. His eyes were clear and bright. In actions and appearance he was a thoroughly masculine being.”[625] In Berlin there exist masochists in high official positions, in appearance and in profession true manly natures—“supermen”—who only become “slaves” in relation to their “mistresses.” According to Sacher-Masoch, Germans and Russians especially are inclined to masochism; but, as a matter of fact, this tendency is also widely diffused in France and England. Zola describes such a type in “Nana.”
The slave type is not always completely developed; more commonly masochism manifests itself in a less marked degree. There are many and various shades: sometimes there is only a spiritual abasement, exhibited in apparently trifling procedures and practices (symbolic masochism). A few authentic cases will serve to illustrate this—they sound incredible, but are in fact true:
1. A handsome and fine-looking officer, married to a beautiful wife, continually associates with an elderly, robust washerwoman, with whom he also has sexual intercourse. Since he refuses to leave this woman, his wife has separated from him.
2. A State official of high position, fifty years of age, visits a prostitute from time to time, and puts on her clothing, with corset and stockings, while she wears man’s clothing. Then for two hours they play cards. At eleven o’clock he lays himself, still clothed, in her bed, whilst she must lie down naked upon the bed covering. Nothing else happens. He does not make the least attempt to touch her; and after a time he goes away, first paying her fifty marks.
3. An active Minister of State (!), now deceased, used often to visit a cocotte, who had to sit upon him, and then in corpus totum ei minxit. This was sufficient to give him sexual gratification (urolagnia).
4. An engineer meets a prostitute (who has been previously instructed what to do) in the street, and asks her if he may go home with her for twenty marks (shillings). Having reached the home of the girl, he suddenly declares with tears that he has only five marks with him. The prostitute overwhelms him with abuse, takes the five marks from him, and then carefully searches his clothing, until somewhere or other she finds a hundred-mark piece! The moment of the discovery of this piece of money is precisely the moment when the man has the sexual orgasm. In answer to his prayers and whining, to his pitiful request that she shall at least give him back half the money, he only receives scornful abuse. Finally, she presses one mark into his hand, and gives him his congé. This procedure is repeated regularly every fortnight—an expensive amusement for a man who is by no means wealthy. But he is unable to give up this peculiar passion, which for him is the only way of obtaining sexual gratification.
5. A man of the upper classes, thirty years of age, frequents only prostitutes with artificial teeth. They must take these teeth out, and he puts them in his mouth and sucks them. He then stretches himself upon the covering of the bed, and the prostitute must lay one of her dirty chemises upon his face, whilst he at the same time holds one of her shoes in each hand. This is for him the critical moment. To the girl herself during the whole procedure he does not direct a single glance; for him there exist only the teeth, the chemise, and the shoes. Thus we have to do with a case of masochism with mental fetishistic associations. The previously described medieval “cure by disgust” (the exhibition of a dirty chemise) would in this man have had the opposite effect to that intended.
Masochism is much commoner in men than in women, because the latter have more command over their sexual impulse, and are not so readily subordinated and enslaved thereby as are men. The physiological masochism of woman is of a more spiritual nature. Still, in women who are very excitable sexually a similar “sexual obedience” may appear to that which we encounter in men. Shakespeare, in the “Midsummer-Night’s Dream,” when he makes Helena feel herself to be Demetrius’ little dog, gives her definite masochistic characteristics.
Masochistically inclined, also, are women of good position who play the part of prostitutes, either in brothels or in the streets, such as have recently been described by d’Estoc in “Paris-Eros”; we may regard the celebrated Messalina as their prototype. Similarly disposed are women of good position who have enduring sexual relationships with men of the lower classes, such as workmen, coachmen, etc., and who even seek sexual enjoyment with any casual member of the rabble they may meet in the streets—a practice of which Lombroso has collected examples. Passive algolagnia also occurs in women, as is proved by the following letter of a typical masochist: