Quote Originally Posted by gagged_Louise View Post
Psychologists have sometimes suggested that the damsel-in-distress fantasy theme is somehow based on the Oedipus complex: the bound woman represents Mom whom the boy is trying to win over and protect from his evil father. Now, the point whether the oedipal fixation actually exists, and in what sense, is a critical bone of contention among psychoanalysts too, and in any case that theory doesn't explain why girls feel thrilled by seeing bound and helpless women on tv and so on.

I think you're on to something in that Story of O invites an instinct to protect her, even if it's a hopeless one, but the way the story is told it also invites identification with her. What O feels when she's bound, whipped and used is never described, so if you're a sub you're compelled to imagine for yourself her pain and the way her mind and soul turns to find release in being used and tortured.
Dear gagged_Louise,

You present an interesting interpretation of the DID reflex most males exhibit. Males do tend to interact in a hierarchical manner while females prefer (dare I say) bonding. This means that “normal” male maturation involves a testing of one’s place in the hierarchy, usually by rebelling against the patriarch at some point. I suspect that has little to do with the matriarch in most cases.

The ‘instinct’ to protect the weak, is at its root quite possessive, (at least speaking for myself) though gentlemanly behavior and chivalrous codes try to mask this. From the basic biological POV the male’s only claim to his progeny is through possession of the woman that bears them.

The thing about O though, the reason I started this thread, oh so very long ago, is that I sense she is flawed, deeply and fatally, and that is the reason the story had no workable ending. I’m just not sure what that flaw might be and I’m very open to suggestions.

Mad Lews