The story of O.
‘Erotic’ French book from 1954
Made forbidden in 1965 in Denmark when it was released.
Terrible story. Good book.
I read the full thing. I was weirded out and baffled at the same time.
The story has something; even though I did not like it.
Even less did I like the ending; which wasn’t even there.
The ending was taken out, but it was said what would have happened.
A young lady called O, is sent to Roissy by her boyfriend. A somewhat a castle-like building somewhere far away with a secret society. Seems like a high-class whorehouse. This is a place where the men wear robes and they decide what happens at all times. The woman O is sent here to be ‘raised’. Merely as a slave. Much more a prostitution slave.
This seems as much as a disgusting setting for a story, but her feelings towards her boyfriend, her master and being a ‘slave’ gives the story depth.
The story wasn’t exactly what I’d call ‘well-told’. It’s a lot like: ‘then she did that, he said that and.. and.. and..’ Not much build-up for a story, but it was still worth the read. Maybe it was just the way it was translated.. Who knows.. - I read it in Danish.
O is brought to Roissy by her boyfriend, Rene, to be ‘raised’ - as a slave without her knowing precisely what she is saying yes to. She loves him and trusts him though, so she goes along. Rene then gives her away to a another man, Sir Stephen, who is now her new ‘owner’ - who very brutally marks his ‘ownership’ with piercings and whatnot. He decides everything for her - and quite often he ‘lends’ her out for sexual encounters. She goes along with this because she is told it’s what Rene wants and she loves Rene, so she does whatever to please him. Though she is very inflicted with her feelings towards Rene and Sir Stephen. She is confused about her own feelings and theirs.
We hear about her sexual experience and her experience with whips, other girls, sex and all that it has. We hear of her feelings. Her feelings of being a slave. Her feelings of being scared and confused. Confused on who is really owning her and why they want to do all of this to her.
In ‘O Returns’ a second book, O returns to Roissy. Sir Stephen gives her back to Roissy and the people there and he then tries to sell her to someone. But it turns out Sir Stephen has been trouble all along. She is free.
But she doesn’t want to be free. Now she is without Rene and Sir Stephen. But she likes being here.
All the girls at Roissy all have the option to leave at anytime they want. But she likes feeling needed and therefore does not wish to leave.
It is fully understandable the story was made illegal in some countries at that time.
Have you read it? What did you think?