CHAPTER XXI What Love Owes to Sadists and Masochists

 Love that inflicts¹ suffering and love which craves² suffering are travesties³ on love, for normal love gives joy and craves joy.

Yet, it may be that a too perfect adaption, one vouchsafing⁴ constantly to the mates the security they seek in each other's arms would soon pall⁵ on them. They might not remain attached to each other any longer than the animals who, in the majority of species, part as soon as they have fulfilled their biological mission.

A perfectly⁶ normal couple might die of boredom⁷. What makes animals, when they have not been slightly perverted⁸ by contact with human beings, so uninteresting, is their absolute normality.

A very slight touch of "perversion⁹" in at least one of the mates, seems necessary if the novelty of the relationship is not to wear off too soon.[Pg 213] Maybe I should not say perversion, but perverseness¹⁰.

The normal husband who would die rather than hurt his life mate cannot compete with the romantic, lover, a little mysterious, unreliable, suspected of flirting¹² with other women, who "keeps a woman guessing," pretends at times to be indifferent and has to be won over and over again.

The normal husband whose affection is taken for granted and who always says the proper thing at the proper time, remembers all anniversaries and celebrates them officially, pales in comparison with a tender, masochistic lover, whom every unkind gesture seems to wound deeply, whose affection is tinged¹³ with a melancholy¹⁴ longing¹⁵, who treasures little sentimental¹⁶ memories which his earnestness makes at times rather poignant¹⁷.

The Sadistic¹⁸ Lover carries a woman off her feet by the daredevil things he may indulge in when away from her. The masochist touches deeply the motherly chord in her by the acts of kindness and devotion he may perform for others, by his charitable or professional activities.

The Vamp. How much the world, especially the world of art, owes to the slightly sadistic, "vampish" woman, who, if she is endowed with much physical[Pg 214] beauty sets, a little cruelly, all the males competing for her favors. How many flaming poems of passion, what priceless canvasses¹⁹, statutes²⁰ and monuments has she conjured²¹ up out of her admirers' minds. Even the perverse¹¹ female beasts of the Italian Renaissance²² made love infinitely²³ romantic.

On the other hand, what worshipful tenderness meets even the memory of the patient Aude who silently closed her eyes and died when Roland was brought home dead, of Solvejg, waiting with saintly resignation for the return of the rover Peer Gynt. Of course the sadistic braggart²⁴ earns much hatred²⁵ and the whimpering masochistic male much scorn. The sadistic vamp gets shot by jealous lovers and the clinging masochistic vine is called a pest. To the lovers who are not unbearably²⁶ normal and whose slight pituitary instability causes them to do and say the unexpected, love owes its poetry, the love life its charm and its inspirational power.

All other things being equal, when a slightly sadistic male, seeking as his mate the image of a pliant²⁷ mother, meets a slightly masochistic female who seeks the image of the powerful, domineering father, there are many chances that the match will, for a long period of time, retain its original qualities.

[Pg 215]

The sadistic female, on the other hand soon emasculates the masochistic male. Sadistic mates and masochistic mates land in the divorce court, the former throwing at each other charges of cruelty, the latter, for unfaithfulness of one or both mates, who seek in adultery relief from the monotony of their too peaceful existence.

1 inflicts   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Bullfrog 50 Inflicts poison when your enemy damages you at short range. 牛娃50对近距离攻击你的敌人造成毒伤。
• The U.S. always inflicts its concept of human nature on other nations. 美国总是把自己的人权观念强加于别国。

2 craves   

渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• The tree craves calm but the wind will not drop. 树欲静而风不止。
• Victory would give him a passport to the riches he craves. 胜利将使他有机会获得自己梦寐以求的财富。

3 travesties   

n.拙劣的模仿作品，荒谬的模仿，歪曲( travesty的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• What is the dolphin and whale cause of such travesties upon earth that we have experienced? 在地球上我们所体验的这类悲剧中，我们海豚鲸鱼的带来了什么？ 来自互联网

4 vouchsafing   

v.给予，赐予( vouchsafe的现在分词 )；允诺

参考例句：

• When Cowperwood returned she snarled at him without vouchsafing an explanation. 等柯柏乌回来的时候，她不由分说地就向他痛骂起来。 来自辞典例句

5 pall   

v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕

参考例句：

• Already the allure of meals in restaurants had begun to pall.饭店里的饭菜已经不像以前那样诱人。
• I find his books begin to pall on me after a while.我发觉他的书读过一阵子就开始对我失去吸引力。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

8 perverted   

adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落

参考例句：

• Some scientific discoveries have been perverted to create weapons of destruction. 某些科学发明被滥用来生产毁灭性武器。
• sexual acts, normal and perverted 正常的和变态的性行为

9 perversion   

n.曲解；堕落；反常

参考例句：

• In its most general sense,corruption means the perversion or abandonment.就其最一般的意义上说，舞弊就是堕落，就是背离准则。
• Her account was a perversion of the truth.她所讲的歪曲了事实。

10 perverseness   

n. 乖张, 倔强, 顽固

参考例句：

• A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness spirit. 温良的舌是生命树，乖谬的嘴使人心碎。
• A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is spirit. 说安慰话的舌头是生命树；奸恶的舌头使人心碎。

11 perverse   

adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的

参考例句：

• It would be perverse to stop this healthy trend.阻止这种健康发展的趋势是没有道理的。
• She gets a perverse satisfaction from making other people embarrassed.她有一种不正常的心态，以使别人难堪来取乐。

12 flirting   

v.调情，打情骂俏( flirt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Don't take her too seriously; she's only flirting with you. 别把她太当真，她只不过是在和你调情罢了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• 'she's always flirting with that new fellow Tseng!" “她还同新来厂里那个姓曾的吊膀子！ 来自子夜部分

13 tinged   

v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• memories tinged with sadness 略带悲伤的往事
• white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣

14 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

15 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

16 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

17 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

18 sadistic   

adj.虐待狂的

参考例句：

• There was a sadistic streak in him.他有虐待狂的倾向。
• The prisoners rioted against mistreatment by sadistic guards.囚犯因不堪忍受狱警施虐而发动了暴乱。

19 canvasses   

n.检票员，游说者，推销员( canvass的名词复数 )v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的第三人称单数 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He canvasses by singing, and the votes have really increased a lot. 他唱歌为自己拉票，票数还真是增长了不少呢。 来自互联网
• Even the canvasses on the restaurant's walls are up for sale. 连餐厅墙上的绘画作品也能出售。 来自互联网

20 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

21 conjured   

用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现

参考例句：

• He conjured them with his dying breath to look after his children. 他临终时恳求他们照顾他的孩子。
• His very funny joke soon conjured my anger away. 他讲了个十分有趣的笑话，使得我的怒气顿消。

22 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

23 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

24 braggart   

n.吹牛者；adj.吹牛的，自夸的

参考例句：

• However,Captain Prien was not a braggart.不过，普里恩舰长却不是一个夸大其词的人。
• Sir,I don't seek a quarrel,not being a braggart.先生，我并不想寻衅挑斗，也不是爱吹牛的人。

25 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

26 unbearably   

adv.不能忍受地，无法容忍地；慌

参考例句：

• It was unbearably hot in the car. 汽车里热得难以忍受。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She found it unbearably painful to speak. 她发现开口说话痛苦得令人难以承受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 pliant   

adj.顺从的；可弯曲的

参考例句：

• She's proud and stubborn,you know,under that pliant exterior.你要知道，在温顺的外表下，她既自傲又固执。
• They weave a basket out of osiers with pliant young willows.他们用易弯的柳枝编制篮子。