Editing Story of O

{{short description|1954 novel by Pauline Réage}}
{{About|the novel|the 1975 film|Story of O (film){{!}}''Story of O'' (film)|the film sequel|Story of O: Chapter 2{{!}}''Story of O: Chapter 2''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox book
| name           = Story of O
| image          = Histoire d'O - couverture.jpg
| caption        = Cover of the 1962 edition
| alt            = 
| author         = [[Anne Desclos|Pauline Réage]]
| country        = France
| language       = French
| cover_artist   = 
| series         = 
| genre          = [[Erotic novel]]
| publisher      = [[Jean-Jacques Pauvert]]
| release_date   = 1954
| media_type     = Print
| pages          = 
| isbn           = 
}}

'''''Story of O''''' ({{langx|fr|'''Histoire d'O'''|link=no}}, {{IPA|fr|istwaʁ do|IPA}}) is an [[erotic novel]] written by French author [[Anne Desclos]] under the [[Pseudonym|pen name]] Pauline Réage, with the original French text published in 1954 by Jean-Jacques Pauvert.

Desclos did not reveal herself as the author until 1994, 40 years after the initial publication. Desclos stated she wrote the novel as a series of love letters to her lover [[Jean Paulhan]],<ref name="Bedell">{{cite news
|date=24 July 2004
|first=Geraldine
|last=Bedell
|title=I wrote the story of O
|url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,,1268461,00.html
|work=[[The Guardian]]
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080324213052/http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0%2C%2C1268461%2C00.html
|archive-date=24 March 2008
|url-status=dead
|access-date=20 March 2008
}}</ref> who had admired the work of the [[Marquis de Sade]]. The novel shares with the latter themes such as love, [[Dominance and submission|dominance, and submission]].

== Plot ==
''Story of O'' is a tale of [[female submission]] involving a beautiful Parisian fashion photographer named O, who is taught to be constantly available for [[Oral sex|oral]], [[Vaginal sex|vaginal]], and [[Anal sex|anal]] [[Sexual intercourse|intercourse]], offering herself to any male who belongs to the same [[secret society]] as her lover. She is regularly stripped, blindfolded, [[Bondage (BDSM)|chained]], and [[Flagellation#Erotic use|whipped]]; her anus is widened by increasingly large [[butt plug|plugs]]; her [[labia piercing|labium is pierced]] and her buttocks are [[Branding persons#Persisting practices|branded]].

The story begins when O's lover, René, brings her to the château in [[Roissy-en-France|Roissy]], where she is trained to serve the members of an elite club. After this initial training, as a demonstration of their bond and his generosity, René hands O to his elder stepbrother Sir Stephen, a more severe master. René wants O to learn to serve someone whom she does not love, and someone who does not love her. Over the course of this training, O falls in love with Sir Stephen and believes him to be in love with her as well. During the summer, Sir Stephen sends O to an old mansion in [[Samois-sur-Seine|Samois]] solely inhabited by women for advanced training and body modifications related to submission. There she agrees to receive permanent marks of Sir Stephen's ownership, in the form of a [[human branding|brand]] and a steel tag hanging from a [[labia piercing]].

Meanwhile René has encouraged O to seduce Jacqueline, a vain fashion model, and lure her to Roissy. Jacqueline is repulsed when she first sees O's chains and scars, although O herself is proud of her condition as a willing slave. But Jacqueline's younger half-sister becomes enamored of O, and begs to be taken to Roissy.

At the [[climax (narrative)|climax]], O is presented as a [[Sexual slavery (BDSM)|sexual slave]], nude but for an owl-like mask and a leash attached to her piercing, before a large party of guests who treat her solely as an object. Afterward, she is shared by Sir Stephen and an associate of his who is referred to only as "The Commander".

Some early editions included several different variations of an epilogue which note that Sir Stephen later abandoned O, though there is debate as to whether Desclos intended it to be included in the finished work; in one such version, O is so distraught by the threat of this abandonment that she insists she would rather die and asks for permission to commit suicide, which is granted.<ref>{{cite book|title=The story of O|first=Pauline|last=Réage|publisher=Ballantine|year=1973|isbn=0345301110|quote=''There exists a second end to O's story. In that version, O, seeing that Sir Stephen was on the verge of leaving her, preferred to die. Sir Stephen gave his consent.''|page=[https://archive.org/details/storyofo00reag/page/203 203]|url=https://archive.org/details/storyofo00reag/page/203}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://storyofo.info/The%20Death%20of%20O.htm|title=On the Death of O|website=The complete Story of O website|access-date=2018-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325211805/http://www.storyofo.info/The%20Death%20of%20O.htm|archive-date=2018-03-25|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Roissy triskelion iron ring signet.svg|thumb|144px|right|One version of the Roissy [[triskelion]] ring described in the book]]
[[File:Ring der o.jpg|right|thumb|144px|Movie-style [[Ring of O]], as sold in Europe.]]

== Publishing history ==
In February 1955, ''Story of O'' won the French literature prize [[Prix des Deux Magots]], but the French authorities still brought [[obscenity]] charges against the publisher. The charges were rejected by the courts, but a publicity ban was imposed for a number of years.

[[Olympia Press]] published the first English edition in 1965. [[Eliot Fremont-Smith]] (of ''[[The New York Times]]'') called its publication "a significant event".

==Criticism==
A critical view of the novel is that it is about, and derives its erotic power from, the ultimate [[sexual objectification|objectification]] of a woman. The heroine has the shortest possible name. Though this is in fact a shortening of "Odile", it could also stand for "object" or "orifice", an O being a symbolic representation of any "hole". The novel was strongly criticized by many [[feminists]], who felt it glorified the abuse of women.<ref>
{{cite book
|author-link=Andrea Dworkin
|last=Dworkin
|first=Andrea
|title=Woman Hating: A Radical Look at Sexuality
|url=https://archive.org/details/womanhating00dwor
|url-access=registration
|location=New York
|publisher=Dutton
|isbn=0-452-26827-3
|year=1974
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|author-link=Susan Griffin
|last=Griffin
|first=Susan
|chapter=Sadomasochism and the Erosion of Self: A Critical Reading of Story of O
|title=[[Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis]]
|editor-first=R. R.
|editor-last=Linden
|location=East Palo Alto
|year=1982
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite book
|author-link=Joan Smith (writer)
|last=Smith
|first=Joan
|title=Different for Girls: How Culture Creates Women
|location=London
|year=1998
}}</ref> An article by [[Susan Griffin]] that appears in ''[[Against Sadomasochism| Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis]]'' (reprinted from Griffin’s book ''Pornography and Silence'' with an introduction) criticizes the novel; Griffin argues that ''Story of O'' shows "how a pornographic society turns a woman's heart against herself."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Griffin|first1=Susan|editor1-last=Linden|editor1-first=Robin Ruth|editor2-last=Pagano|editor2-first=Darlene R.|editor3-last=Russell|editor3-first=Diana E. H.|editor4-last=Star|editor4-first=Susan Leigh| display-editors = 3|title=Against Sadomasochism: A Radical Feminist Analysis|date=1982|publisher=Frog in the Well|location=San Francisco|pages=184–201|chapter=Sadomasochism and the Erosion of Self: A Critical Reading of ''Story of O''}}</ref>

When the film ''[[Story of O (film)|Story of O]]'' was released, ''[[L'Express (France)|L'Express]]'' magazine ran a feature on the novel and film. This resulted in ''L'Express'' being picketed by feminists from the group [[Mouvement de libération des femmes]], who found the novel and film objectionable.<ref name="ad" /> Journalist [[François Chalais]] also criticized ''Story of O'', claiming the novel glorified violence; he described the novel as "bringing the [[Gestapo]] into the boudoir".<ref name="ad" />

== Hidden identities ==
The book's author [[Anne Desclos]] used a pen name, then later used another pen name, before finally, just before her death, revealing her true identity. Her lover, Jean Paulhan, wrote the preface as if the author were unknown to him.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

According to [[Geraldine Bedell]], writing in 2004,<ref name="Bedell" /> "Pauline Réage, the author, was a pseudonym, and many people thought that the book could only have been written by a man. The writer's true identity was not revealed until ten years ago, when, in an interview with John de St. Jorre, a British journalist and sometime foreign correspondent of ''The Observer'', an impeccably dressed 86-year-old intellectual called Dominique Aury acknowledged that the fantasies of castles, masks and debauchery were hers." According to several other sources, however, Dominique Aury was itself a pseudonym of [[Anne Desclos]], born 23 September 1907 in [[Rochefort-sur-Mer]], France, and deceased 26 April 1998 (at age 90) in Paris.

The Grove Press edition (U.S., 1965) was translated by editor [[Richard Seaver]] (who had lived in France for many years) under the pseudonym Sabine d'Estrée.<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/A651070
|orig-year=13 November 2001
|date=3 November 2006
|title=The True Story of 'The Story of O' by Pauline Reage
|publisher=[[h2g2]]
|access-date=2012-11-15
}}</ref>{{unreliable source? |date=November 2012}}<ref>{{Cite news|title = Richard Seaver, Publisher, Dies at 82|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/arts/07seaver.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 7 January 2009|access-date = 18 June 2015|issn = 0362-4331|first = Bruce|last = Weber}}</ref>

=== Jean Paulhan ===
[[Jean Paulhan]], the author's lover and the person to whom she wrote ''Story of O'' in the form of love letters, wrote the preface, "Happiness in Slavery". Paulhan admired the [[Marquis de Sade]]'s work and told Desclos that a woman could not write like Sade. Desclos took this as a challenge and wrote the book. Paulhan was so impressed that he sent it to a publisher.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guernicamag.com/features/ciuraru_6_15_11/|title=The Story of the Story of O|first=Carmela|last=Ciuraru|date=11 June 2011|work=[[Guernica (magazine)|Guernica]]|access-date=31 December 2013}}</ref> In the preface, he goes out of his way to appear as if he does not know who wrote it. In one part he says, "But from the beginning to end, the story of O is managed rather like some brilliant feat. It reminds you more of a speech than of a mere effusion; of a letter rather than a secret diary. But to whom is the letter addressed? Whom is the speech trying to convince? Whom can we ask? I don't even know who you are. That you are a woman I have little doubt."<ref>
{{cite book
|title=''Story of O''
|publisher=Ballantine Books
|page=xxiv
}}</ref> Paulhan also explains his own belief that the themes in the book depict the true nature of women. At times, the preface (when read with the knowledge of the relationship between Paulhan and the author), seems to be a continuation of the conversation between them.

In an interview<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKI51n69P6Y Interview] YouTube min 10:00</ref> Paulhan explained that O, in a religious-like obsession, was seeking the loss of responsibility for her body and mind much like many religious women seek to surrender themselves to the mercy of God. In both cases it is the joy of destruction. Paulhan was also quoted: "To be killed by someone you love strikes me as the epitome of ecstasy". Discussing the ending, Paulhan states, "I too was surprised by the end. And nothing you can say will convince me that it is the real end. That in reality (so to speak) your heroine convinces Sir Stephen to consent to her death."{{citation needed |date=November 2012}}

One critic has seen Paulhan's essay as consistent with other themes in his work, including his interest in erotica, his "mystification" of love and sexual relationships, and a view of women that is arguably [[sexist]].<ref>
{{cite book
|last=Syrotinski
|first=Michael
|title=Defying Gravity: Jean Paulhan's Interventions in Twentieth-Century French Intellectual History
|publisher=SUNY Press
|year=1998
|pages=74–75
}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[Emmanuelle Arsan]] claimed the ''Story of O'' inspired her to write her own erotic novel ''[[Emmanuelle (novel)|Emmanuelle]]'' (1967).<ref name="ad">
{{cite book
|last=Destais
|first=Alexandra
|chapter=Réage, Pauline
|title=The Encyclopedia of Erotic Literature
|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaerot00brul_126
|url-access=limited
|editor1-link=Gaétan Brulotte
|editor1-first=Gaétan
|editor1-last=Brulotte
|editor2-link=John Philips
|editor2-first=John
|editor2-last=Philips
|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaerot00brul_126/page/n1122 1080]–1086
|location=London
|publisher=Routledge
|year=2006
|isbn=978-1-57958-441-2
}}</ref>

A sequel to ''Story of O'', ''Retour à Roissy'' (''[[Return to Roissy]],'' but often translated as ''Return to the Chateau'', ''Continuing the Story of O''), was published in 1969 in French, again with Jean-Jacques Pauvert, ''éditeur''. It was published again in English by Grove Press, Inc., in 1971. It is not known whether this work is by the same author as the original.

The town [[Samois-sur-Seine]] is mentioned in ''Story of O'' as  the location of the fictional mansion managed by Anne-Marie, a [[lesbian]] [[dominatrix]]. In 1978, the name [[Samois]] was adopted by a [[lesbian]]-[[feminist]] [[BDSM]] organization based in [[San Francisco]] that existed from 1978 to 1983. It was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States.<ref>{{cite book|last=Jeffreys|first=Sheila|author-link=Sheila Jeffreys|title=The Lesbian Heresy|year=1993|publisher=Spinifex|location=North Melbourne, Vic., Australia|isbn=978-1-875559-17-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0FFWxDu9gn0C&q=samois+%22first+lesbian+s%2Fm%22&pg=PA130|page=130}}</ref>

In 2007, the [[National Leather Association International]] inaugurated awards for excellence in SM/fetish/leather writing. The categories include the Pauline Reage (a pen name of [[Anne Desclos]], author of ''Story of O'') award for fiction novel.<ref name="Bedell"/><ref name="nla2">{{cite web|title=NLA-I Accepting Nominations for Writing Awards|url=http://www.chicagoden.net/2012/12/13/nla-i-accepting-nominations-for-writing-awards/|publisher=Chicago Den - The Midwest's Fetish Newspaper|access-date=1 April 2018|archive-date=13 April 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130413163844/http://www.chicagoden.net/2012/12/13/nla-i-accepting-nominations-for-writing-awards/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2020, Anne Desclos was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://leatherhalloffame.com/index.php/inductees.html |title=> Inductees |publisher=Leatherhalloffame.com |access-date=2020-01-01}}</ref>

== Adaptations ==
=== Film ===
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2020}}
American experimental director [[Kenneth Anger]] made a 20-minute short film version, ''l'Histoire d'O'', in 1961.

French director [[Henri-Georges Clouzot]] wanted to adapt the novel to film for many years, which was eventually done by director [[Just Jaeckin]] in 1975 as ''[[Story of O (film)|Histoire d'O]]'' (''Story of O'') produced by [[Eric Rochat]] and Gérard Lorin, starring [[Corinne Cléry]] and [[Udo Kier]]. The film met with far less acclaim than the book. In the United Kingdom it was refused a certificate by the [[British Board of Film Censors|BBFC]], and was not passed until February 2000.

In 1975, American director [[Gerard Damiano]], well known for ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]'' (1972) and ''[[The Devil in Miss Jones]]'' (1973), created the movie ''[[The Story of Joanna]]'', highly influenced by the ''Story of O'', by combining [[Motif (narrative)|motifs]] from one of the book's chapters and from [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]'s ''[[No Exit]]''.

In 1979, Danish director [[Lars von Trier]] made the short movie entitled ''[[Menthe – la bienheureuse]]'', as an [[Homage (arts)|homage]] to ''Story of O''. His 2005 film ''[[Manderlay]]'' was also inspired by the book, particularly Paulhan's introduction.<ref>
{{cite news
|last=Bell
|first=Emma
|title=Lars von Trier: Anti-American? Me?
|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lars-von-trier-antiamerican-me-321010.html
|access-date=2015-08-08
|work=[[The Independent]]
|date=10 October 2005
}}{{dead link |date=November 2012}}</ref>

Five years later, in 1984, actress [[Sandra Wey]] starred as "O" in ''[[Story of O - Chapter 2]]'', written, directed and produced by Eric Rochat.

In 1992, a [[Brazil]]ian [[miniseries]] in 10 episodes entitled ''A História de O'' starring [[Claudia Cepeda]] was written, directed and produced by Eric Rochat, who was the producer of the original 1975 movie.

In 2002, another version of ''O'' was released, called ''[[The Story of O: Untold Pleasures]]'', with [[Danielle Ciardi]] playing the title character.

===Comics===
In 1975, it was adapted for comics by the Italian artist [[Guido Crepax]]. Both the original and Crepax's adaptation were parodied for comics in 2007 by [[Charles Alverson]] and John Linton Roberson.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.jlroberson.org/comix/smut/oh/oh_00.html
|title=Story of OH!
|first1=Charles
|last1=Alverson
|first2=John
|last2=Roberson
|year=2007
|access-date=2012-11-15
|archive-date=10 March 2010
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310085150/http://www.jlroberson.org/comix/smut/oh/oh_00.html
|url-status=dead
}}</ref>

=== Documentaries ===
''Writer of O'', a 2004 documentary film by {{Ill|Pola Rapaport|de}}, mixed interviews with re-enactments of certain scenes from the book. In the documentary, the real author of ''Story of O'', Dominique Aury (actually a [[pen name]] of [[Anne Desclos]]), talks about the book ''A Girl in Love''. This book was written about how ''Story of O'' was written.

A documentary was also made for [[BBC Radio 4]] entitled ''The Story of O: The Vice Francaise'', presented by [[Rowan Pelling]], former editor of the ''[[Erotic Review]]'', which looked at the history of the book and its author [[Anne Desclos]].

''[[Erotica: A Journey Into Female Sexuality]]'', a documentary film by [[Maya Gallus]] produced by [[Red Queen Productions]] in 1997, featured the final interview with 90-year-old Dominique Aury (a pen name of ''Story of O'' author [[Anne Desclos]]) before she died. In the film, she recounts the extraordinary love story behind ''Story of O'' and marvels that she has reached such a grand age.

== References in culture ==
The Irish songwriter [[Damien Rice]] mentions ''Story of O'' in his song 'Amie': 'Amie, come sit on my wall / And read me the story of "O..."'. The album which 'Amie' is part of is called [[O (Damien Rice album)|''O'']].

In Frasier Season 5 Episode 3 “Halloween”, Roz Doyle attends a Halloween party dressed as O.

== See also ==
*[[1975 in film]]
*[[Dominance and submission]]
*[[Sadism and masochism in fiction]]
*''[[Story of O - Chapter 2]]''
*''[[Venus in Furs]]''
*''[[The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty]]''
*''[[Fruits of Passion]]''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.storyofo.info/ The complete ''Story of O'' website]: all about ''Histoire d'O'' and Dominique Aury
* {{IMDb title| id=0073115 | title=Histoire d'O}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0087412 | title=Histoire d'O: Numéro 2}}
* {{IMDb title| id=0147791 | title=Story of O, the Series}}
* {{IMDb title| id=0176185 | title=The Story of O: Untold Pleasures}}
* {{IMDb title| id=0424584 | title=Writer of O}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1954 French novels]]
[[Category:French erotic novels]]
[[Category:BDSM literature]]
[[Category:LGBTQ BDSM]]
[[Category:French LGBTQ novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in Paris]]
[[Category:Works published under a pseudonym]]
[[Category:French novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Novels adapted into comics]]
[[Category:French novels adapted into television shows]]