‘His only choice is to be woman’s slave or tyrant’
Venus in Furs written by Leopold von Sacher-Maosch, from whom the term ‘Masochist’ originates, has ideas of both submissive and dominant women. A major theme throughout the novel is Venus’ (otherwise known as Wanda) dress and how she uses this to control Severin.
One can take this idea of control through dress and apply it to two other groups of women. The first group being the submissive women who were considered as suffering from ‘Hysteria’ in the Salpêtrière in the late 1800s and the second being modern dominatrixes. Primary research on these women can show the crucial role that dress plays with both sets of women and how they control (or indeed lose control) with it.
Further, how the role of dress has changed women from being submissive to being a dominant force in a relationship - albeit a paid relationship.
In the golden age of Hysteria mental asylums, such places as the Salpêtrière were for women who could not conform. In these places the women were often subjected to harsh treatment, as ‘the person who doesn’t know how to subjugate will all too quickly feel the others foot on the nape of his neck’ (Maosch, 1996 p.5).
With the hysteric women they were expected to perform for their doctor, which often culminated with the women becoming very submissive. There is nothing that illustrates this better than the photographs that document the various women, focusing on a few case studies.
Jean-Martin Charcot was the doctor who studied, treated and documented the hysteric women. The documentation that exists and applies to this paper is primarily photographs. After staying in the Salpêtrière and with Charcot for a certain amount of time, the way that these women were portrayed could become much more sexual and submissive. The women were photographed in white inmate shirts, but the way that they draped and hung
on their bodies was often in a revealing way (Fig. 1).
The women were submissive in dress, they were clothed minimally, while Charcot would have been attired in full dress, accentuating his control.
A telling example of the submissiveness of these women is in the painting by Fleury called ‘Pinel liberating the mad women of the Salpêtrière. (Fig. 2). This tells a story of a man rescuing some women from the Salpêtrière, but what is interesting is their portrayal. The women are clothed in white inmate shirts, but in various states of undress.
Such as the woman writhing on the floor - her breasts are bared. Nudity or partial nudity can often indicate vulnerability, and the women in the Salpêtrière were certainly vulnerable.! The women were also dressed in white, which is traditionally a colour of purity. They were pure in dress, but not in pose. A good example is the painting by Pinel (Fig. 2) where the woman being studied has her breasts bared.
The way that the shirts draped over their bodies suggests sexuality which is reinforced by them being simply dressed. Their dress being essentially a negligee, brings bedtime, bed and therefore sex to mind. But also it brings the sickbed to mind, fitting, as they were in an asylum. However, this brings a strange addition to the photographs, as they were photographed in these compromising positions whilst sick, by their doctor - traditionally a person who cares for the sick and
should not take advantage of them. A final element of the womens’ dress that is missing is the corset, a normal part of life in the 19th and early 20th century. The women in the Salpêtrière were considered ‘debauched’ women, and therefore not eligible for the corset. Prostitutes were other women who did not wear corsets, which is a fact to consider when one thinks of the past and ongoing fetishization of the corset and its association with sex and sex appeal.
Charming Augustine, as she was known, was a known character in the Salpetriere. In many of the photographs she is in a white inmate shirt (Fig. 3). However, for two sets of photos in both Volume 2 and Volume 3 of Iconographie (Didi-Huberman, 2003) she was dressed in a nurses’ uniform. This brings to mind a nurse-doctor relationship, where the doctor still has control over the woman, but less than over a patient. It has been speculated that Augustine was able to wear these clothes as privilege for good behavior (Did-Huberman, 2003). Although these women were very submissive in dress and behavior, it is important toremember that they could still retain a degree of control. ‘Nature has put man at womans mercy’. (Maosch, 1996 p.6) Charcot relied on the women for their hysteric fits, as they made his career. In fact without them he would not have the reputation that he enjoyed in
his time, one which continues on today (although not in such a celebrated fashion).
No relationship is simple and the complexities of the Salpêtrière and the idea that women were not only being controlled but also controlled, was shown through their dress.
Dominant women are no longer a rare part of society, Dominatrixes are prevalent in the current age and indeed their fashion is increasingly becoming a part of the high street. Venus in Furs focused on the use of fur and the fetishization of fur, but modern dominatrixes utilise leather and rubber more than previously. Is this because fur was previously the unattainable ideal and according to sumptuary laws was only for the aristocracy and monarchy? This translates to a woman in fur being unattainable and the dominatrix being the unattainable idea. A dominatrix, such as Mistress Josephine, relies on being unattainable and sought after by her client to retain control and she emphasizes this through her dress. Leather and rubber is perhaps more prevalent now as fur is less socially acceptable.
‘The more she mistreats him....the more she arouses the man laviscious arousal to be loved and worshipped’ (Maosch, 1996 p.6). Mistress Josephine stated that the dress is everything, in fact it is how she controls her client (Mistress Josephine, 2012). If the client were to see her out of the dominatrix dress, the power and control would be gone.
However, Josephine finds the dress to be as important to her as it is to the client, as it enables her to feel sexy and prepare herself for the role that she is about to play (MistressJosephine, 2012). Venus wears fur to get into her role, as without it she cannot focus, however, neither can Severin. A large part of the descriptions of Venus from Severin involve her dress, or furs, emphasising that the dress is crucial. Perhaps for Severin, when Venus is in furs, symbolises woman as a beast (Steele, 1996) and hence with extreme power over a helpless man. He succumbs totally to Venus and without question - indeed he begs for it. As a direct contrast to the Salpêtrière, it was important to ask Mistress Josephine about the prevalence of the nurse-patient scenario when working with a client. Mistress Josephine said that it was not as frequent as other scenarios, but it was still predominant.
A large part of the job is role-playing and Mistress Josephine takes pride in doing it
properly. Because of this she does not go with PVC, but prefers to wear original costumes - such as an original nurses’ outfit (Fig. 4) (Mistress Josephine, 2012). However, sometimes Mistress Josephine will be asked to play the role of a nurse, but in a catsuit. This is escapism within escapism.
The client requests Josephine to dress in a certain way, because they have a fetish for the clothing. This is echoed in Venus in Furs, where Severin has a fetish for women in fur and therefore dictates how Venus dresses herself. Does this in turn detract from the control that the dominatrix has? Although the dominatrix controls the client, the client in turn has control over what is worn - according to their fetish. One can suppose that Venus did not always enjoy being dressed in fur and in turn Mistress Josephine favours rubber (Fig. 5) and has a rubber designer - there is no submission here (Mistress Josephine 2012).
Mistress Josephine explained that fetish clothing is now incorporated into the high street. Leather is traditionally in the domain of fetish wear, however, now even Marks and Spencers sell leather trousers. As this trend progresses, will the need for a dominatrix be eliminated or heightened? Is there a possibility that the client will no longer require a dominatrix or will this just drive the desire? With leather-wear becoming the norm in society, clients who seek a dominatrix might become accustomed to this and search for a way to push the boundaries again.
‘The more devoted the woman is, the more quickly the man sobers up and becomes domineering’ (Maosch, 1996 p.6). This quote in Venus in Furs is quite telling, because Venus dominates Severin he does not tire of her. He makes this point repeatedly.
Underneath the domination could be found a real love, but the domination enables it to be lasting. ‘Man desires, woman is desired’ (Maosch, 1996 p.5). Whether a woman is behaving in a submissive role, such as in the Salpêtrière or in a dominant role, such as a modern dominatrix, she is desired. The undercurrents in the relationship between patient and doctor in the Salpêtrière were slightly more complex than a dominatrix and her client. A patient was desired by the doctor, much as the client (or Severin) desires the unattainable dominatrix. However, the patient should not just be unattainable in theory, ethically the doctor should not desire the patient. These women in the Salpêtrière were put in an uncomfortable position of being expected to ‘perform’ for their doctor, the person that they should trust. From the evidence provided in academic texts Charcot exploited his role and
the trust that his patients entrusted in him. However, this was eventually to his demise, as several tried to escape, not excluding Charming Augustine.‘His only choice is to be womans tyrant or slave’ (Maosch, 1996 p.10). This quote occurs
early on in Venus in Furs, showing that it is either one extreme or the other. There can be no equality. However, Severin chooses to be Venus’ slave, which changes their relationship from a typical romantic relationship. At times throughout the novel, both Severin and Wanda seek a romantic relationship, not a power play. This is most likely comparable to both the Salpêtrière and Dominatrixes. It is probable that at times the women in the Salpêtrière seeked romance from Charcot. It is also probable that at times clients find romance in their time with a dominatrix. ‘Nature knows of no permamence in the male-female relationship’ (Maosch, 1996 p.19).
This quote from Venus in Furs has stood the test of time and is highly applicable to the transformation from submissive to dominant women. Over a period of around 100 years, two groups of women have gone from one extreme to another. The book Venus in Furs comes somewhere in the middle, but has also coined a term to describe a function of these relationships. ‘I make any man who loves me happy’ (Maosch, 1996 p.20) The dominatrix dresses according to the clients wishes, therefore she is still submitting to him. The dominatrix controls her client with her dress, but he controls her in turn with her dress, as he is the one who chooses what she wears. In love, there is no equality. A quote from Venus in Furs, otherwise known as the origin of masochism. This is a strong statement, but one that certainly seems to have elements of truth throughout the novel. The book focuses on the relationship between Severin and Venus (otherwise known as Wanda) and the dominating power that Severin demands from his Venus. In direct contrast to the dominance of Wanda, is the women who suffered from hysteria in the Salpêtrière during a similar time period. An interesting theme with both sets of women is their appearance, mainly concerning their dress. The role that dress has played in both submissive and dominating women couldbe said to be crucial to their agendas and to the agendas of those around them.
Vanessa Semmens