Todestrieb
"Todestrieb" is the word Freud used to describe the "drive towards death, self-destruction, and the return to the inorganic" (in the words of Wikipedia's article on the death drive). Freud made controversial and contradictory statements about the relationship of Eros and Thanatos (sex and death) that have left people puzzling ever since.
Searching "sex and death" online comes up with lots of results that include statements like, "These things don't seem to go together, but..." I have to wonder if those people are truly being honest.
Pleasure and pain definitely go together, and not just for those into kink/BDSM. Some might appreciate the sensual thud of a flogger to the lower back. But even those with vanilla tastes can appreciate the exquisite emotional pain of knowing that this night with a lover will be the last.
What's more, people often act out their self-destructive urges through sex. I'm not just talking about extreme sex practices. These can be loving and healthy, just as "normal" sex can be disastrous. I mean that sometimes, when it comes to sex, we like to do what hurts.
And sex and death go together even more. People kill for sex (see just about any Blues song, but maybe start with "Bring Me My Shotgun"). They die for it (see Juliet's famous lines: "I will kiss thy lips; haply some poison yet doth hang on them, to make die with a restorative."). And I can't think of anything that would make me want sex more than knowing I would die tomorrow.
That last line is at the core of "Less Than a Day," my short story that's forthcoming on this site.
When I wrote this story, I wasn't sure I could find anywhere to publish it. I was proud of its heat and emotion, but worried about its darkness. I'm proud to have found a good home for it, and am looking forward to Forbidden Fiction's other erotic explorations.
I write a wide range of erotica. I've been asked to tone down stories that were considered too dark. I've also written pieces about sweet married sex. But I have a special personal and philosophical interest in dark erotica, and that's where I plan to focus this blog.
Thanks for reading--I look forward to discussions in comments and on the site's forums.
- Eros and Thanatos
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Comments
#1 Last Wish
Exactly. How many people over the years have said that if it was the "last night" before the world ended, they would spend it having sex? It's not a rare answer. And it's also why an increased desire for sex can come with (or its reverse) a brush with death either personally (i.e. having just been in danger) or indirectly (the loss of someone you knew).
In Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, the character Blanche asserts that the "opposite of death" is desire. Which built on a very old (classical Greek) idea of sex and desire being complementary opposites. And we all know that "passion" can often end in death (or birth).
I do look forward to see more of his discussion when you story is posted as well. Less Than A Day (and the rest of the Touched By Death collection) is an good way to open up the sex/death conversation. I am very much looking forward to writing the introduction to the collection.
Excellent post and I do hope to see more discussions on themes like this. The blogs and forums can be a wonderful place to talk about the literary side of the erotic (erotic side of literature) that is often ignored by our culture.
#2 Opposite of death
Thanks! Absolutely agreed on the brush with death effects. The "opposite of death" idea is important here, I think: people feel a need to assert that they're alive, and sex is the ultimate way to do that.
As far as discussions go, the community features of the site are a big part of what I'm excited about. Can't wait to see how they work with fiction modules!