Venus in Furs

In the manuscript, Severin vacations in the Carpathian Mountains in an inn run by Madame Tartakovska. A beautiful young widow from Lemberg also stays at the inn, though Severin has not met her.

Severin thinks of himself as a dilletante in everything, including poetry, art, and love. He becomes obsessed with a statue he assumes to be of Venus in a garden, and he purchases Titian’s Venus with a Mirror, calling it Venus in Furs and writing poetry by Goethe on the back. Severin fantasizes about being dominated by a woman, thinking of Holofernes and Judith or Samson and Delilah, both men betrayed by women.

By the statue, Severin sees a real woman and runs, recognizing her the next day as the widow. Severin lends the widow some books through Madame Tartakovska, realizing too late that Venus in Furs is in one of the books. Severin hears the widow laugh and wonders if she is laughing at him.

At night, Severin finds the statue of the Venus draped in furs and panics, finding the Venus come to life as a woman on a bench wearing furs. He flees to the inn, calling himself a donkey, and the Venus follows him, laughing.

Severin meets the widow outside one morning, noting her red hair and green eyes that are like precious stones. Her name is Wanda von Dunajew, and Severin says she is his Venus. Wanda laughs at Severin, explaining how amused she was by his picture and poem in the book.

They discuss the nature of sexuality. Wanda explains that she thinks pleasure is all that matters, criticizing the modern, Christian perspective on love as sexless and eternal. She romanticizes the Greeks, explaining how she read Greek classics as a child; she thinks the pure, unadulterated passion of gods and goddesses is superior to rigid social norms and conventions.

Severin tries to disagree, but he is enchanted by Wanda, calling her “Venus” and noting that she would need enslaved people to do her bidding. Wanda says she has a large fur to trap Severin and asks him if he wants to be her “slave.” He says there is no equality in love, adding that he needs a woman to take power over him without “nagging.” Severin confesses he is still afraid of Wanda. Severin says he and Wanda spend every day together, and he imagines her as various Greek figures, dreaming of painting her portrait and giving her more furs.

Severin writes a poem titled “Venus in Furs,” including the first stanza in his manuscript in which he professes to be Wanda’s “slave.” In the garden, Severin kisses Wanda, then takes off her slipper to kiss her foot, but Wanda flees.

Later, Wanda calls Severin, and they discuss their feelings for each other. Severin says he is obsessed with and in love with Wanda. He asks her to marry him. Wanda says Severin is interesting and that she cares for him, but she is unsure if her feelings would last more than two months. Severin is offended, and Wanda explains that she needs a man who can dominate her entirely, not a man who kneels at her feet.

Severin kneels at her feet, saying he wants either an entirely simple, faithful woman to marry and live with, or he wants all the pain and misfortune of loving a goddess. Severin tells Wanda to choose whether to marry him or make him her “slave,” and she chooses to make him her “slave.” Wanda says they will live the next year as though they were married, deciding whether or not to marry at the end of the year. Severin says he is like the martyrs who sought out suffering, and Wanda cautions Severin to avoid becoming a martyr to a woman.

Severin tells Wanda about his childhood, including how he loved literature and art, avoiding physical beauty as something vulgar. He worshipped a small statue of Venus, kissed it, and dreamed of it coming to life and punishing him. When a maid kissed him, he shunned her entirely. His aunt, Countess Sobol, who wore furs, once tied him down and whipped him. This act of whipping made him realize his “supersensuality”—his excessive feeling for beauty.

He then attended university, studying everything he could. He still visited his aunt and worshipped her, lying at her feet. After an affair with an upper-class woman, who left Severin for another man, he swore off virtuous love, desiring a woman who could be honest about her infidelities. Wanda enjoys Severin’s story, saying he could corrupt a woman entirely.

Wanda invites Severin to her room wearing furs, and they sit by the fire. Severin explains that furs produce electricity, which makes them exciting. He claims that all strong women he sees in history are always portrayed in furs, embodying his ideal of a dominating woman. Wanda does not think she is such a woman, but Severin repeats his desire: that Wanda dominate him rather than leave him, becoming a demon if she cannot be a faithful wife. Wanda notes that Severin might not like true domination. She hints that she is being corrupted by Severin’s desires, making her want to dominate him. Wanda confesses she loves Severin more than any other man.

Wanda brings Severin to a shop where she buys whips and collars. They part ways, and Severin finds Wanda exiting a furrier’s. Wanda confirms that Severin wants her to mistreat him, confessing that she feels a desire to hurt him. Severin journeys the mountains to calm down, and Wanda comes to his room after his return. She is dressed in furs. She whips him, complaining that they are only acting. Severin tells her to hurt him earnestly, and she does, commanding him to be silent and stay on his knees. Wanda starts to enjoy it, then she leaves.