Who was Leopold von Sacher-Masoch?

"Who was Leopold von Sacher-Masoch?“ was written for BDSMforyou.nl by Mistress Moriah.

After a blog about Marquis de Sade, an article about Leopold von Sacher-Masoch of course can't be missing. It simply makes the BDSM picture more complete. Interestingly, both were aristocratic writers, with some 100 years between them. Time to dive into history again. Because where does the word masochism actually come from?

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, a man with two names

Leopold von Sacher-Masoch was born on 27 January 1836 in Lemberg (now Lviv, Ukraine). His father, Leopold Johann Nepomuk Ritter von Sacher, was an Austrian civil servant. His mother, Charlotte Josepha von Masoch, came from the Ukrainian nobility. At the request of her family, his father added 'Masoch' to his surname. And so Sacher-Masoch came into being.

Leopold studied law, history and mathematics at the University of Graz, where he took his doctorate in history in 1856. He then became a lecturer at the same university.

From history to fantasy

Although he began with non-fiction about Austrian history, Sacher-Masoch soon discovered his love of fiction. Especially stories and novels set in his native region of Galicia. His best-known work? Venus in Furs (1870), in which the main character, Severin von Kusiemski, longs for a dominant woman who treats him as her slave.

The book is full of themes such as female dominance, surrender and the desire for humiliation. The story had such an impact that an entire concept grew out of it...

Masochism: from literature to psychiatry

In 1886, the Austrian psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing used the term masochism for the first time in his work Psychopathia Sexualis. He borrowed Sacher-Masoch's name to describe a specific sexual preference: finding pleasure in submission, pain or humiliation.

Incidentally, Sacher-Masoch was not at all happy about this. He felt that his name was being wrongly associated with a psychological disorder. While in his view, his work was precisely about love, beauty and power in female hands.

More than just masochism

Sacher-Masoch was far more than just 'the man behind the word'. He was a utopian thinker with socialist and humanist ideals. He campaigned for women's rights, fought against antisemitism and published more than eighty novels and countless articles.

His private life reflected his work in striking ways. In 1869 he signed a contract with his mistress, Fanny Pistor, in which he offered himself as her slave for six months. The condition: she had to wear fur as often as possible, a fetish that can be found literally in his books.

Stories from Galicia

Besides his erotic work, he also wrote lovingly about the folklore and culture of Galicia. He gave a voice to minorities, described social inequality and stood up for the human side of a rapidly changing world.

In his later life, sadly, his mental health deteriorated. Sacher-Masoch spent his last years under psychiatric care and died in 1895 in Lindheim, Germany.

And today?

Today, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch remains a fascinating and complex figure. His work lives on, not only in the world of BDSM, but also in literature and in the conversation about human sexuality. Whether he is revered or reviled, his name is and remains inextricably linked with surrender, power and the desire to feel.

Mistress Moriah

Source

Text: Mistress Moriah
Illustration: BDSMforyou