Conference: The Pain of Words: Narratives of Suffering in Slavic Cultures (May 9-11, 2008, Princeton)
Daniel Rancour-Laferriere
darancourlaferriere at COMCAST.NET
Thu Nov 1 19:35:27 UTC 2007
Dear Robert,
Actually, my short list includes both types. Vasilii Grossman wrote
about the "slave soul" ("rabskaia dusha") of Russia, for example, while
Avvakum himself was a masochist who actively sought punishment for
himself. His autobiography is filled with grisly scenes of flogging,
burning, mutilation, starvation, forced labor, and other horrors - all
welcomed in the name of Western Civilization's paradigmatic masochist,
Jesus the Christ. Symbolist poet Viacheslav Ivanov wrote of the
Russians: "Hic populus natus est christianus."
The term masochism derives from Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-95), who
was primarily concerned with erotogenic masochism. The cult of
suffering which is widespread in Russia, on the other hand, involves
what Freud termed moral masochism, and is generally termed just
masochism or masochistic personality disorder in current psychoanalytic
theory (e.g. in PDM). Most masochists do not actually derive pleasure
from the pain they invite, but are compelled by other factors, such as
guilt or shame or depression. An example would be Tolstoy in his quest
for God. People who think masochism is only the sort of thing depicted
in VENUS IN FURS are not up on current theory.
Although there is a cult of suffering in Russia, I do not believe that
MOST of the widespread suffering and pain endured in Russia during the
twentieth century was masochistic in nature. For example, most victims
in the war against Hitler's invading forces were not victims because
they were masochists, but because of other factors outside of their
control (including the psychiatric problems of both Stalin and Hitler).
The victims' narratives of pain and suffering elicit profound sympathy,
or even despair, or rage. On the other hand it is more difficult to
sympathize with the masochistic Avvakum, or, to take a more extreme
example, the folkloric figure of Ivan durak, who actually elicits
laughter when he is playing the fool and getting himself painfully
beaten time after time.
"Pain and suffering" happens to people, human beings - not to "words" or
"narratives." The latter phenomena are signifying mechanisms, eloquent
at best, and unrecorded for the vast majority of victims.
With regards to the list,
Daniel R-L
Robert Chandler wrote:
>I had not realized that Daniel Rancour-Laferriere, or anyone else, had
>implied that these writers are all THEMSELVES masochists. I had imagined
>R-L mentioned these writers because he thought that some of them, at least,
>had something interesting to say ABOUT masochism.
>
>R.
>
>
>
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