Page:Psychopathia Sexualis (tr. Chaddock, 1892).djvu/137

he is not very virile. In spite of associations with females, his relations with them are limited to innocent attentions. At the same time, his desire to devote himself to women that are cold toward him is remarkable. Since his twenty-fifth year he has noticed that females, no matter how ugly, always excite him sexually, whenever he discovers anything domineering in their character. An angry word from the lips of such a woman is sufficient to give him the most violent erections. Thus, one day, he sat in a café and heard the (ugly) female cashier scold the waiters in a loud voice. This threw him into the most intense sexual excitement, which soon induced ejaculation. Z. requires the women, with whom he is to have sexual intercourse, to repulse and annoy him in various ways. He thinks that only a woman like the heroines of Sacher-Masoch’s romances could charm him.

Cases like this, in which the whole perversion of the vita sexualis is confined to the sphere of imagination,—to the inner world of thought and instinct,—and only accidentally comes to the knowledge of others, do not seem to be infrequent. Their practical significance, like that of masochism in general (which has not the great forensic importance of sadism), is confined to the psychical impotence to which such individuals, as a rule, become subject; and to the intense impulse to solitary indulgence, with adequate imaginary ideas, and its results.

That masochism is a perversion of uncommonly frequent occurrence is sufficiently shown by the relatively large number of cases that have thus far been studied scientifically, as well as by the agreement of the various statements reported.

The works concerning prostitution in large cities also contain numerous statements concerning this matter.

Léo Taxil (op. cit., p. 228) describes masochistic scenes in Parisian brothels. The man affected with this perversion is there also called “slave.”

Coffignon (“La corruption à Paris”) has a chapter in his book entitled “Les Passionels,” which contains contributions to this subject.

It is interesting and worthy of mention, that one of the most celebrated of men was subject to this perversion, and describes it in his autobiography (though somewhat erroneously). From “Jean Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions” it is evident that he was affected with masochism.