Sadomasochism in MetamorphosisAs I discussed in class, I believe there are elements of possible sadomasochism between the characters in the book Metamorphosis. There are elements of sadomasochism between Gregor and his father, Gregor and Grete, Gregor and his boss, as well as the residents and family. To understand what sadomasochism really is, you need to know how it originated and what its definition is. The concept of sadism was invented by a man named the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814). The Marquis de Sade was a French soldier and writer who, from childhood, frequented prostitutes and developed a taste for sexual perversions. He was later imprisoned several times for his mistreatment of prostitutes. After his arrival at the Bastille in 1784, he began to write erotic novels in which he fully expressed his sexual fantasies. His most famous literary work was The Adversities of Virtue (1787). His works are well known for their very graphic descriptions of sexual perversions. His last years were spent in an insane asylum in Charenton, where he wrote plays for his fellow inmates to perform. His compulsion to physically and sexually abuse others is what caused the sadism. The definition of sadism is: 1. deriving sexual gratification from the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on another. 2. Pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty. 3. Extreme cruelty. 4. The act or fact of deriving sexual gratification from the infliction of pain on another. 5. A psychological disorder in which sexual gratification arises from suffering inflicted on others. 6. Sexual pleasure obtained by inflicting harm (physical or psychological) on another. 7. A sexual perversion in which gratification is obtained by inflicting physical or mental pain on another. (www.dictionary.com/sadism)The concept of masochism was invented by a man named Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1836-1895). He was an Austrian novelist famous for his erotic novels. In these novels, the characters dwell at length on the sexual pleasure derived from pain. The subject reflects Sacher-Masoch's personal life. He had two wives and several mistresses with whom he acted out the sexual fantasies described in his works of fiction. Venus in Furs (1870), which is his most read book, reflects his fetish for furs..