Case 59. Masochism.—Z., aged 27, artist. He is powerfully built, of pleasing appearance, and is said to be free from hereditary taint. Healthy in youth, since his twenty-third year he has been nervous and inclined to be hypochondriacal. Though inclined to indulgence sexually, he is not very virile. In spite of associations with females, his relations with them are limited to innocent attentions. At the same time, his desire to devote himself to women that are cold toward him is remarkable. Since his twenty-fifth year he has noticed that females, no matter how ugly, always excite him sexually, whenever he discovers anything domineering in their character. An angry word from the lips of such a woman is sufficient to give him the most violent erections. Thus, one day, he sat in a café and heard the (ugly) female cashier scold the waiters in a loud voice. This threw him into the most intense sexual excitement, which soon induced ejaculation. Z. requires the women, with whom he is to have sexual intercourse, to repulse and annoy him in various ways. He thinks that only a woman like the heroines of Sacher-Masoch’s romances could charm him.
Cases like this, in which the whole perversion of the vita sexualis is confined to the sphere of imagination,—to the inner world of thought and instinct,—and only accidentally comes to the knowledge of others, do not seem to be infrequent. Their practical significance, like that of masochism in general (which has not the great forensic importance of sadism), is confined to the psychical impotence to which such individuals, as a rule, become subject; and to the intense impulse to solitary indulgence, with adequate imaginary ideas, and its results.
That masochism is a perversion of uncommonly frequent occurrence is sufficiently shown by the relatively large number of cases that have thus far been studied scientifically, as well as by the agreement of the various statements reported.
The works concerning prostitution in large cities also contain numerous statements concerning this matter.
Léo Taxil (op. cit., p. 228) describes masochistic scenes in Parisian brothels. The man affected with this perversion is there also called “slave.”
Coffignon (“La corruption à Paris”) has a chapter in his book entitled “Les Passionels,” which contains contributions to this subject.
It is interesting and worthy of mention, that one of the most celebrated of men was subject to this perversion, and describes it in his autobiography (though somewhat erroneously). From “Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions” it is evident that he was affected with masochism.
Rousseau, with reference to whose life and malady Möbius (“J. J. Rousseau’s Krankengeschichte,” Leipzig, 1889) and Chatelain (“La folie de J. J. Rousseau,” Neuchatel, 1890) may be consulted, tells, in his “Confessions” (part i, book i), how Miss Lambercier, aged thirty, greatly impressed him when he was eight years old and lived with her brother as his pupil. Her solicitude, when he could not immediately answer a question, and her threats to punish him if he did not learn well, made the deepest impression on him. When, one day, he had blows at her hands, with the feeling of pain and shame, he also experienced sensual pleasure that incited a great desire to be whipped by her again. It was only for fear of disturbing the lady, that Rousseau failed to make other opportunities to experience this lustful, sensual feeling. One day, however, he unintentionally gave cause for a whipping at Miss Lambercier’s hands. This was the last; for Miss Lambercier must have noticed something of the peculiar effect of the punishment; and from this time on she did not allow the eight-year-old boy to sleep in her room. From this time Rousseau felt a desire to have himself punished by ladies pleasing to him, a la Lambercier; but he asserts that until his youth he knew nothing of the relation of the sexes to each other. As is known, Rousseau was first introduced to the real mysteries of love in his thirtieth year, and lost his innocence through Madame de Warrens. Until that time he had had only feelings and impulses attracting him to woman, in the nature of passive flagellation and other masochistic ideas.
Rousseau describes, in extenso, how he suffered, with his great sexual desires, by reason of his peculiar sensuality, which had undoubtedly been awakened by his whippings; for he reveled in desire, and could not disclose his longings. It would be erroneous, however, to suppose that Rousseau was concerned merely with flagellation. Flagellation only awakened ideas of a masochistic nature. At least, in these ideas lies the psychological nucleus of his interesting study of self. The essential element with Rousseau was the feeling of subjection to the woman. This is clearly shown by the “Confessions,” in which he expressly emphasizes that “Etre aux genoux d’une maitresse impérieuse, obéir à ses ordres, avoir des pardons à lui demander,—etaient pour moi de très douces jouissances.”[[65]]
This passage proves that the consciousness of subjection and humiliation before the woman was the most important element.