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    6 views23 pages

    Deleuze

    Uploaded by

    Baby

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    of 23
    Mesichim Coldness and Cruelty Gilles Deleuze Venus in Furs Leopold von Sacher-Masoch incising Sana tec incmiming. ering terns (her ak” Te ey el cat frig em) eben peli ote pala ety pero f Geng Bier abbr Pint the United Stef Amr ‘Cond Nhs ad anon, gd Ub fConge Cagiag Pablaton Dit nsec / sey Jen Bel tents bpp lene Conie Colne dat / yes Deen — Nenana sop wen cer Mie TO Siame Aah nner en sos ceri Sk Fresetatloe de Suber aoc erode cre ah et reget ts] u w vt vu vu 1% ix xl 0 a Contents Coupxss avo Cnurery Fonenond 9 The Languoge of Sade ond Mach 15 The RoleofDessiptons 25 re Sade and Mash Complnentay? 37 The The Women in Mech 47 Fuhr ond Meher 57 TheArof Mowe 68 Humor ony and he Law 91 From Consett 9 Pachamabsit and he Probl of Merch 103 The Desh In 122 Sedu Speegoand MaschicFgo 123 Venus tn Furs Compe fet 143, Append 4 Cldtood Memory and Rfecton onthe New) 273 Tho Coma af Mach 277 The Adena with Ladi 203 syndromes and symptoms, a symptom being the specif sign of an llnes, and a syndrome the mecting-plice or eossng point ‘of manifestations issuing rom very diferent origins and arising Within variable contexts, We would like to suggest that sade ‘masochism sa syndrome that ought tobe spi wp into ireduc- ble causa chains. It has been stated so often that sadism and ‘masochism ae found in the same person that we hare come to believe it. We need 0 go back tothe beginning and read Sule and Masoch Because the judgment ofthe clinician is prejudiced, wwe must take an entirely different approach, the hear pera, since is rom Hteratue that stem the original definitions fe Jam and masochism. es no aeiden that the names of two writ ers ere used as Iabes for these wo perversions. The crite! (in the teary sense) and the linia (in the medical tense) may be destined to enter nto 8 new relationship of mutual learning. Spmpeomatoogy I always question of athe clini specifier. ‘sof salism and masochism are not separable fromthe literary values peculiar to Sade and Masoch In place ofa dilcte which all coo realy perceives the ink betwesn opposite, we should 2im fora critical and cial appraisal able to revel the tly di ferential mechanismsas wel asthe attic orginaitles, Cuarren 1 The Language of Sade and Masoch toe Te a one ‘What are the uses of literature? The ames of Sade and Masoch hve been used to denote eno basic perversions anda ich they se oustanding examples of the eficieney of literature lesce "ue sometimes named after typical patients, but more ofc i is ‘he doctor's name thr i given tothe dscae (Roger disease, Parkinson’ disease, et.) The principles being this labeling Alesere closer analysis. The doctor dos not invent the ines, he dissociates symptoms that were previously grouped together, sd lnks up others ha were dissociated. In short he builds up « rofundly orginal clinical pctare, The history of meine can therefore be reguded under at least wo aspects, The first the iscoryoflineses, which may dsapear, become ls frequent, reappear or alter thle frm according co the sate of the society ad the development of therapeutic methods Intrewined with this sony sche history of symptomatology, which sometimes recedes and sometimes follows changes in therapy orn the "are of diseases: symptoms are named reamed ad regrouped Jn various ways. Progress from this point of vew generally means tendency tard greater speeiity, and Indicates a refinement ‘of symptomatology (Thus te plague and leprosy were mote com mon in the past not only for historical and socal reasons but because one tended to group under these headings various types of diseases now eased separately) Grest clinicians are the rete doctors: when a doctor gives his name oan illness tis ‘sa mor linguistic and semiologial step Inasmuch asa proper name is Hinked to «given group of signs that so proper nome i made conn gs Should we therefore cls Sade and Matoch among the great clinician? I i difficul to teat sadism and masochism om seve ‘with the plague leprosy and Parkinson disease: the word disease ‘clearly inappropriate. Nevrtheles, Sade and Masoch present ‘unparalled configurations of symptoms and signs. In coining the term masachiem,Kraf-Ebing was giving Masoch eed for hi ing redefined a clinical entity not merely i erm of the link ‘between pin and seal pleasure, but ia tennsef something more fadamentl connected with bondage and humiliation (there ae Tinting cases of masochism without algolgnia and even algolag- tla without matochism).! Another question we should ask I ‘whether Maroch doesnot present a symptomatology that is more tefined than Sade’ in tht i enables us to discriminate between Alsturbances which were prescusly regarded 38 dence. In any ‘ate whether Sade and Maroch are “patients” or elinicans or ‘oth, they are alo great anthropologists, ofthe type whose work succeeds in embracing a whole conception of man, culture and naar; they are slo gest aries nha hey discovered new forms of expression, new ways of thing and feling and an entirely original language. In principle, violence is something that does not speak, of speaks but litle, whe sexuality somelng char see spoken shout, Sexual modesty cannot he related to biologie er th ‘rise It would not be formalated as i “Iam les fad of| boeing touched and even of being seen than of being put into words.” What is the meaning of dhe meeting of violence and sex. ality in such excessive and abundant langue s that of Sade and Masoch? How ae we to sezoun forthe violent language linked with eroticism? na text that ought to insaldate all theories relt- {ng Sade to Nazism, Georges Bataille explains thatthe language of Soe is pradosiesl becouse cat of @ ve. Only the victim ean deserbe torture the torturer necessarily uses the hypocritical language of established order and power. “Asa pew ‘ral le the torturer does not ase the language of the violence ‘exerted by hm in the name ofan established authority; he uses the language ofthe authority... The valent man is willing to ‘esp quiet and connves at cheating... Thus Sade’ atte i - ‘metrically opposed to that ofthe torturer. When Side writes he refuses to cheat, bu he ateibutes hi own titude to people who in real fe could only have been sllent and uses them to make selfcontadictory statements to other people”? ‘Ought we co conclude thatthe language of Masoch is equally paradoxical In this instance because the victim speaks the _gge ofthe torturer he eto himsel, with ll the hypoctsy of he roreuet? What is known as pornographic literature isa literature re duced to fe roperatives (do thi, do that followed by obscene descriptions. Violence and eroticism do mee, but ina idimen- ‘ary fihion. Imperatives abound inthe work of Sade and Masochs ‘hey are isued by the cruel lbertne of by despotic woman. Descriptions also abound (although the function of the descrip tonsa wel asthe nature of their obscenity te sting ifr fet inthe tw author) Ie would appear that both for Sade and for Masoch language teaches its ll significance when it acts Airey on the senses. Sade The One Handed and von Day ef ” Sadom hinges on tales told tothe libertines by “women cho: icles" and in priciple dhe heroes may not take any initiative in atieiption ofthese tales. Words ae at their most poser when they compel the body to repent the movements they sug: est and “the sensations communicate by the er ae the mest aswell enjoyable and have the keenest impact.” In Nasoc’ i 2 in his ftion, love alae ae always sat in motion by anon ‘mous leters, by the use of pseudonyms or by adverssement in newspapers. They must be regulated by contracts tha formalie and verbalize the behavior of the partner. Everything must be seated, promised, announced and carey described before being accomplished. However, the work of Sade and Masoch cannot bbe regarded as pomograpy: fe merits the more exalted title of “pomology” because its erotic language canner be reduced 9 the clementry funetions of ordering and describing. ‘With Sade we witness an atonishing development of the deronstatve use of language. Demonstration a higher Fone: ‘ion of language makes its appearance between sequences of ce tf aint i praeynacue. Ths i the clue co the meaning of repettvenes in Side’ writing and ofthe monotony fads. In practice, however, the litertne is confined oils: ‘eating his total demonstration with partial inductive process borrowed from secondary natu. He cannot do more than accel «rateand condense the motions of partial violence He achieves, ‘he accelcation by multiplying the numberof his vietims and ir salvings. The condensation on the other hand implies that silence mus not be sitet onder thes of hopes o impale or ven be govermed by the pears it miht ard, see hoe pers woudl bind hit secondary nature, bot mt Be ened cld lod a condense hey coldnesth cone of demo mae eon ene he wel knoe pty the erie the elicool fthe pomesogi with ch Sse cnt he deplonble“enthsam of ie por owap Erchosn preci wha edits a Rt ed hol ih ay (se soy dd when thing we pb Ilya hea et ad ot dep ea pan or ge bu bape Thi apathy des of coune produce mens lene tre, ut lime is tpl oan oe pep inscondary nate een cringe ppt nari ind ar) btn the conry he pli of eating ate inthe go and oud the gy nd wegung be ee el Wisin sho th plano demons eo, Ie inerrant tar condcting Wis denonton, spe at the demote ornate he dex fnetton sceleates and cond ita conled mane ba ane yan mea pense wih ry and gu ‘uel nd mt ear on ores: crcl con ad ging ‘ction, both of which afr th ai ood libertine equa sarc flea Inthe nr th merken in ane "Youve been axed by two Ieplies you have noted ins you ate okie at ome of our companion soa be 1 faetion b> it The deeripions mst be precise bth pletantly stimulated by matters commonly held to be fetid or Impure, and you are similarly surprised that ou volupsuous fae ules can be powerfully excited by actions which, in your view, bear none but the emblem of ferocity..." In both eases iti through the intermediay of description and the accelerating and condensing effec of repetition that che demonstrative function achieves ts strongest impact, Hence t would appear thatthe ‘obscenity of the descriptions in Sade i roundel in hls whole conception ofthe negative and of negation. In gon she Pare Pcl Freud ditnguthed between the ie instincts and the death instincts, Eros and Tharatos. But in ‘order to understand thie distinction we must make further and ‘more profound distinction between the death or destructive Instincts and the Death Iniine. The former are actly given or enhbited nthe unconieious, but always in combination with the life instincts; this combination of the death instinct with Eros is asi were the precondition of the “presentation” of ‘Thanos. So tit dstrocton nd the negative at workin destruc: ton, always manifests itself as the other face of constuction and unification as govemed by the plete principle. Tit the sense in which Freud is able vo state cat we donot find No (pure negation in the unconscious, since all opposites coincide there By conerat when we speak ofthe Desth Instinct, we refer to ‘Thanatos, the absolute negation, Thanatos as such cannot be amen in psychic Ife, exen In the unconscious It, 8 Fred pointed out in his admirable tex, estentily silent, And yet we rust speak off fori determinable principle, the founds tion and even more of psychic life. Everything depends on it though a Freud point vt, we can ony speak of en specula te or mychial erm “The diincion between the death or destructive fnstints and ‘the Death Instinct seems in fct to conespond ¢o Sade dstine- tion between the two natures or the two elements. The site her appears to kav et imwel the kof chinking out he Death Instinct (pre negation) ina demonstative form, ani only able to achieve this by muldplying and condensing the atvtes of component negative or destructive instincts, But the question ow arses whether there is no et anther “method” besides the speculative saistic one. Trea has analyzed forms of resistance which in various ways imply a process of diavowal (Herning, lewefng Hrengang [Lacan has shown the significance ofeach of these ferns). eight Seem that diavowal is, generally speaking, much more super al than a negation or even a partial destruction. ut this not ‘, fori represents an entirely diferent operition, Disarowal should perkaps be understood a the pont of departure ofan ope ation tht consists neither in negating nor even destroying, but rather in radially contesting the validity ofthat whichis i sus pends belief in and neutralizes the given in such away that anew horizon opes up beyond the gven and in place of it.The clearest, example given by Freud is feishisms the fetish isthe image or substiuce ofthe female phallus, chat the means by which we eny that the woman lacks a penis The ftshit's choice ofa et ish is determined by the lst object he saw asa chil! before becoming aware ofthe msing pen (a shoe, for example nthe case ofa glance directed from the fect upward). The constant return to this object, this point of departure enables him to val ‘ate the existence ofthe organ that is in espe, The fetish i ‘therefore not symbol ata, ut ae were ronen ete, o> Simensional image photograph ro which one returns repeatedly to exorcise the dangerous consequences of movement, the harm: ful discoveries tht resule fom exploration; i represents the last Poin at which ic was sil posible to believe... Thus it appears ‘hat feishiam sist ofall disvowal (No, the woman doesnot Tac pis); econ it ia defensive neutron (ince, con aay to whas happens with negation, the knowledge ofthe site sion aft s penis, but ina suspended, neutralized form; in the third place it ia protective and iealzing neutralization (lore belie infernal phallus i self experienced ata pro- testofthe ea gains the real remains suspended or neutral ined in the ideal, the better to shield itself agunst the painful assarenes of rity) Fetishism, as defined by the process of dkavoval and suspen sion of belief belongs essentially co masochism. Whether it also hha a place in sadism is very complex question. There is no

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