Wanda von Sacher-Masoch

For folks who don't know, Wanda von Sacher-Masoch was the wife of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Leopold is the man for whom masochism is named. It turns out, not surprisingly, that he was definitely topping from the bottom, forcing his wife to torture him by threatening to cut off funds for herself than their children. And, with the position of women at that time, especially married women, there wasn't much she could do. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know what s/m was like before the community developed the "safe, sane and consensual" rules or before women had rights of their own.… (mehr)

This book was hilarious! It's one of those books you remember passages from long afterward, that make you crack a smile.

Wanda (actually Aurora von Rümelin -- Sacher-Masoch made her use the same nickname he used with other lovers) was one of Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch's wives--and the fact that I say "one of" should clue you in a little bit about this book. I'm not sure how much of this to believe; what's true and what's a tabloid type story conjured to paint Leopold in a bad light and help her get revenue from the book. I take it as a story "based on" real life, and nothing more.

You see, their marriage was a trainwreck. Leopold had had other lovers before Wanda, and he had others after. And the way the tale tells it, he probably had some during their marriage, too. On the other hand, he was also apparently obsessed with getting her to dabble in extramarital affairs, as well-- not to mention making her play at his masochists' games--all things she apparently didn't like. He pulled their family into debt with needless extravagances and the (at times) harsh, unexpected life of an author. When they split, it was obviously on bad terms. The book, in turn, downplays Sacher-Masoch a lot. He appears as someone guided mainly by emotions and whims and fantasies, who is unable to settle down, handle money, or care for anything more than a few years or so.

The book is good, however, at chronicling life the 1800's in Europe--especially the sexual and marital aspects of it. I found it amusing how often you could find homosexual partners/lovers mentioned in the book, and they weren't even painted in a harsh light (although Wanda constantly felt offended and "preyed on" by them, which is rather typical). There is even a future king--I think King Ludwig II--who is mentioned as having a crush on Leopold! And, of course, Wanda is the typical old-fashioned housewife who depends on the husband and follows his whims until their divorce, simply because she's the wife, and women just don't do anything different.

...Speaking of stereotypical wifely-duties, this book also has a somewhat feminist overtone which I found awesome for the time, too. Wanda speaks against the inequalities between men and women, especially in marriage. She wants that changed, but she seems to go in circles and doesn't know what to do about it. I found it ironic how she seemed to downplay marriage, but during her marriage to Leopold she was seemingly unwavering in adhering to its customs and standards. Curiously, I found Wanda's feminist overtones a lot like the overtones at the end of Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch's Venus in Furs.

All in all, it's an interesting read, but I'm not sure what to take as truth and what to write off, and I'm left wondering if I'm missing more.… (mehr)