Masochistic submission depends on the lover’s maintained prestige
Evidence
One must be careful to note that if for some reason the lover’s prestige is ruined, his blows and demands become odious to her: they are only worth something if they manifest the beloved’s divinity. In that case, it is intoxicatingly joyous to feel oneself the prey of a foreign freedom: for any existent the most surprising adventure is to find oneself sustained by the diverse and imperious will of another; one is tired of inhabiting the same skin all the time; blind obedience is the only chance of radical change that a human being might experience. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1863
Categorization
- XREF: Runs against The Reluctant Fundamentalist’s and Parable of the Sower’s portrayals of submission and change; also a counterpoint to Sartre’s bad-faith account of freedom. — connects to: Renouncing ego and control is required for authentic erotic reciprocity.; Even voluntary womanly submission requires man acknowledge his need for her — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 503; Passive sexual submission is not masochistic when the subject retains her freedom — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1009 (+6 more)