A bit late to the game!

This is a post that will reveal my relative newbie status in femdom.  Although I have been enjoying my life as a Mistress for the last couple of years, my adult years leading up to that time were sheltered when it came to kink.  I never watched porn as an adult and my illicit reading was limited to Anne Rice (I still love her!).  I was open to playing kinky games, but my experience with the outside world of kink was limited at best.

Over the last couple of years my horizons have certainly broadened.  I regularly read kinky sites, I play with strap-ons, I visit adult stores, and I try to find porn that interests me.  Last year, I added "The Story of O" to my netflix streaming queue.  I didn't know much about the movie except for the synopsis on Netflix - but it seemed interesting enough to me.  For some reason, I didn't actually sit down to watch it until this week.  I can't believe I waited so long.

Let me preface my thoughts on the movie itself with saying that I am assuming that most of the readers here have watched the movie or read the book.  So I am not offering any expert critique with this post, simply my observations and feelings.  The movie is based on the same titled book by Pauline Reage (a pseudonym for Dominique Aury or Anne Desclos - sources differ, though I believe it was Ms. Aury) written in 1954.  I did not know that the author was a woman when I first watched the movie - but after watching it I was not the least bit surprised.  Most people that I've asked seem to remember that the movie is about a woman taken as a slave to a French chateau.  That is certainly a huge part of the story, but there is so much more that takes place outside of the chateau as well.

The movie opens with "O", a beautiful young woman, being driven to a country estate with her lover, Rene.  He is instructing her that he will be delivering her to a place where she will be expected to obey whatever is demanded of her - for him.  He removes her bra and panties and watches her make her way to the door of the lovely castle.  My first good impression with the writing was in the opening scene while the narrator describes the scene... and after she goes in, restarts by saying... "Another version of the same beginning was simpler and more brutal."  I loved the line and all that preceded it.  I was already hooked! 


Anyway - back to the action.  O is delivered to new masters and submits to them because of her love for her first master, Rene.  While there, she is initiated into the new lifestyle by being used by the men and whipped, all while Rene observes.  He has never been harsh with her and his prior dominance was loving and sensual.  She is prepared and taken care of by several other female slaves (there appear to be no male slaves).   During her stay there, she is whipped and overseen by her valet, Pierre.  A man she refuses to look directly at and someone she later confesses she loves because of Rene.  When the appropriate time comes, and I don't know how that is decided, Rene returns for her and they go back to Paris and her life as a fashion photographer.  She is noticeably happier and more serene than she was before she left.

Over the course of time, O is given to another master, Sir Stephan - the one for whom she was orignally intended and groomed.  Rene disappears into the background and the story becomes focused on O and Sir Stephan.  Along the way, she is encouraged to take a female lover that she desires in hopes of leading her into the lifestyle for Rene.  Sir Stephan wants to teach O to obey him even though he does not love her and to take the yoke of others for him as well.  Throughout, O is tested and always given the option of leaving.  She never does and actually thrives with each new challenge.  She eventually is pierced and branded for Sir Stephan and he eventually loves her. 

I loved seeing the evolution of both O's submission and dominance in the movie.  She seems to embrace both halves of the same coin with confidence and joy.  I enjoyed the narration of the woman as action and scenes changed.  There are some beautiful scenes of whipping (I thought) that take place at a location, not the chateau, meant for female slaves to be branded and pierced.  O received a whipping by a fellow slave and also had the opportunity to give a whipping.  All of this took place to classical music being played by the 'house mother' at the location.  Later, Sir Stephan gifts O with a replica of the room that O was whipped in - either for her to whip someone or receive whippings. 

The final scene of the movie was my favorite - and even though my thoughts here are full of spoilers, I won't ruin the final surprise.  But I will say that I almost applauded!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the movie and book.  I honestly expected the movie to be a bad cliche of bdsm.  I was happily pleased that in my opinion - it wasn't.

 Here is Part 1 of Dominique Aury's story... "The Lovers of Roissy"
Part 1