Patience Is Not A Virtue
People often say 'patience is a virtue' but strictly speaking, it's not one of The Seven Heavenly Virtues. Interestingly, justice is one of the seven and I believe this fact and popular misconception of patience are at the heart of a lot of the Marquis de Sade's writing. This theme is central to his story Justine in which it could be said bad things happen to good people. For the reader there's a sense of schadenfreude about the trials and tribulations of Justine.
Schadenfreude is an old German word with no direct translation into English. By definition it's when a person finds delight and pleasure in the misfortunes of others. It was a common thread in much of Sade's writings and it remains a core element of dominance and submission to this day. I can't recall offhand when it was (many hundreds of years ago) but the Roman Catholic Church actually released a Papal Decree defining schadenfreude as 'sinful'. This is an interesting perspective since many people would consider schadenfreude as being a form of justice. For example, how often do we see the CEOs of vast corporations swindle money from the people who trust them and get away with it? Occasionally we see them trip up in some way and be brought crashing back to earth. Rare would be the person who wouldn't find at least a modicum of delight in this, and that is what schadenfreude is all about.
In a play sense, I experience much delight to see women lured into and caught in embarrassing situations. The knowledge that she might also find pleasure in this is what makes it work for me. It's a kind of a consensual schadenfreude, if you will. Sade even went so far as to write about it as a kind of justice in action. For him, there was no "Good things come to those who wait" axiom we have today. Instead, he held the firm view that patience isn't a virtue and those who believe it is, often are punished for thinking so. I tend to agree with the Marquis on this. Then again, if you're somebody like me who thinks punishment is a good fun thing, then everything is right with the world and the earth can continue spinning happily on its axis throughout the universe.
Schadenfreude is an old German word with no direct translation into English. By definition it's when a person finds delight and pleasure in the misfortunes of others. It was a common thread in much of Sade's writings and it remains a core element of dominance and submission to this day. I can't recall offhand when it was (many hundreds of years ago) but the Roman Catholic Church actually released a Papal Decree defining schadenfreude as 'sinful'. This is an interesting perspective since many people would consider schadenfreude as being a form of justice. For example, how often do we see the CEOs of vast corporations swindle money from the people who trust them and get away with it? Occasionally we see them trip up in some way and be brought crashing back to earth. Rare would be the person who wouldn't find at least a modicum of delight in this, and that is what schadenfreude is all about.
In a play sense, I experience much delight to see women lured into and caught in embarrassing situations. The knowledge that she might also find pleasure in this is what makes it work for me. It's a kind of a consensual schadenfreude, if you will. Sade even went so far as to write about it as a kind of justice in action. For him, there was no "Good things come to those who wait" axiom we have today. Instead, he held the firm view that patience isn't a virtue and those who believe it is, often are punished for thinking so. I tend to agree with the Marquis on this. Then again, if you're somebody like me who thinks punishment is a good fun thing, then everything is right with the world and the earth can continue spinning happily on its axis throughout the universe.
posted by Mister Pervert at 9:02 AM
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