A Meditation on the Dark Side of the Erotic
The shocking masterpiece, The Story of the Eye by the shock-philosopher Georges Bataille was a multi-layered emotional and intellectual experience. The writing itself paled in comparison to his less fictional, philosophical works like Erotism: Death and Sensuality. I found the writing flat which was an odd dichotomy alongside the overtly shocking and multi-textured narrative soup of sexuality and violence. The eyeball (as well as the ever-present egg) became a character in this twisted tale that was also a great contemplation of certain madnesses and its inherent relationship to sexual arousal and fantasy.
Eyes are an almost-constant theme in Surrealist art and writing and this short but intense book also has it as a major focus of sexuality in particular and the depths of the human condition and its psychology in general. Eggs are traditionally symbols of fertility and it is such in this story, being “birthed” by Simone with the “assistance” of milk and her lover. These especially are focused images with the character of Simone’s sexual obsessions escalating from eggs to eyeballs, and then to Marcelle, the object of desire. Marcelle occupies the convention of the hysteric … the woman driven mad not only by her own mind but as a result of her sexual desires and the desire others indefinitely feel for her. Simone and Marcelle echoed the character of Nadja in Andre Breton’s masterpiece. Nadja.
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in surrealist art, literature, and definitely philosophy. If you like this, I highly and without hesitation recommend: Erotism by Georges Bataille; Nadja and Mad Love by Andre Breton; Women in Dada by Naomi Sawelson-Gorse; Women and Surrealism with one of the scholars being one of my favorite professors ever, Gwen Raaberg; and Behind Closed Doors: The Art of Hans Bellmer by Therese Lichtenstein.
Enjoy! But …
And just a warning: This book is very explicit and is on par with the dark eroticism of the Marquis de Sade.
