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This is the version from 20 Jul 07, 7:56 PM. The full history of this entry will show any more recent versions.

ICcode for "Story of O"

"Histoire d'O" (English title: "Story of O" ) is a
[about=sadomasochism]sadomasochistic[/about] novel by Pauline Reage,
revealed a few years before her death as being the pen name of French
author 
[about=Anne Desclos]Anne Desclos[/about] (1907-1998), who also wrote
under the name of Dominique Aury.

Published 1954 in French, it is a fantasy of female
[about=submission]submission[/about] about a Parisian fashion
photographer who is [about=Blindfold]blindfolded[/about],
[about=Bondage]chained[/about], [about=Whip]whipped[/about],
[about=Scarification]branded[/about], made to wear a
[about=Mask]mask[/about], and taught to be "constantly available" for
[about=Oral sex]oral[/about], [about=Vagina]vaginal[/about], and/or
[about=Anal sex]anal[/about] [about=Sexual
intercourse]intercourse[/about]. In February 1955, it won the French
literature prize Prix des Deux Magots, although this did not prevent the
French authorities bringing obscenity charges against the publisher. The
proceedings were eventually halted by the Minister of Justice, but a
publicity ban was imposed for a number of years.

A very poor English translation appeared in France simultaneously with
the first French edition. The first American edition was published in
1965, in a new translation by "Sabine d'Estree", now known to be a
pseudonym of the literary translator Richard Seaver. Eliot Fremont-Smith
(of the "New York Times") called its publishing "a significant event."

A sequel, "Retour a Roissy" ("Return to Roissy," but often translated as
"Return to the Chateau"), was published in 1967.

One view of the novel is that it is about the ultimate
[about=Objectification]objectification[/about] of a woman. The heroine
of the novel has the shortest possible name, consisting solely of the
letter O. Although this is in fact a shortening of the name Odile, it
could also stand for "[about=Objectification]object[/about]" or
"orifice," an O being a symbolic representation of any "hole."

The book has been the source of  various terms that are used in the
[about=BDSM]BDSM[/about] subculture such as
[about=SAMOIS]SAMOIS[/about], the name of the estate belonging to the
character Anne-Marie, who brands O.

A film, "The Story of O", was made in 1975 by director Just Jaeckin,
starring Corinne Clery. The film met with far less acclaim than the
book.  It was banned in the United Kingdom by the British Board of Film
Censors until February 2000.

A Brazilian miniseries in ten episodes with Claudia Cepeda was made in
1992 by director Eric Rochat, who was the producer of the original 1975
movie.


[heading]Further Reading



[item]Story of O by Pauline Reage ISBN 0552089303 

[item]Return to Roissy by Pauline Réage


[heading]See also


[item][about=Sadism and masochism in fiction]Sadism and masochism in
fiction[/about]

[item]Compare with "[about=Venus in Furs]Venus in Furs[/about]"


[heading]External links


[item] [url=http://www.angelfire.com/in2/lasoldeleo/O1.html]The complete
text of the Story of O[/url]

[item] [url=http://www.storyofo.co.uk/Auryobit.html]An obituary of
Dominique Aury[/url]

[item] [url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A651070]BBC article on the
"Story of O" and its author[/url]

[item]
[url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1268403,00.html]Observer
article about Dominique Aury and the "Story of O"[/url]



(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the
[url=http://www.londonfetishscene.com/wipi/index.php/Story_of_O]Story of
O[/url] article in Wipipedia.)

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