Story of O

The Story of O is a 1954 erotic novel written by French writer Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage. Explicit and intense in tone, the work centers on the sexual life and fantasies of O, who engages in sadomasochistic play with her lover and several other figures, both men and women. At the time the novel was written, women in Europe faced an atmosphere that was repressive both sexually and professionally, leading many to assume the work was written by a man.

The novel begins as its female protagonist, O, is taken to a mansion in Roissy, near Paris, by her lover, René. There, O is subjected to the sadistic desires of four men, who collar O, tie her up, whip her, and use her for sex. After returning O to Paris, René takes her to meet his stepbrother, Sir Stephen, who makes O his submissive and “property” in the real world outside Roissy. Following several months of using her, Sir Stephen sends O to a woman, Anne-Marie, to have the permanent marks of his ownership imposed. O’s labia are pierced and rings are inserted in them, and his initials are branded onto her buttocks. O then goes to Cannes with Sir Stephen, René, and Jacqueline, a model O knows through work. There, naked except for an owl mask, O is taken to a mansion courtyard and examined by various dancing couples, before Sir Stephen and a man called “the Commander” have sex with her. Through O’s sexual exploits, the narrative explores themes related to gender norms and binaries, the role of clothing in identity, and humiliation as it relates to the social self.

This guide refers to the 1972 Corgi Books edition, translated by Sabine d’Estree.

Content Warning: The source text contains graphic sexual content, including depictions of bondage and sadomasochism, adolescent sexuality, and nonconsensual sexual encounters. The source text also refers to suicidal ideation.

Plot Summary

Story of O is divided into four parts, with no chapter breaks. This guide contains four analysis sections, each corresponding to one of these parts.

In Part 1, the novel’s protagonist, O, meets with her lover, René, in a Parisian park, and is driven to a mansion outside of the city. Once inside, she is stripped and fitted with a collar and bracelets before being taken to the library and presented to four men, including René. The men have sex with O and whip her, explaining afterward that during her two-week stay, she must never deny herself to any of them. After a week, René tells O that he is leaving the chateau but will be back in seven days. Toward the end of the second week, O is chained up in a dungeon for several days and used by various men who blindfold her. At the end of this time, René takes O home, O noticing as they drive away that the village nearby is called “Roissy.”

In Part 2, O returns to her apartment in Paris and meets Jacqueline, a model, through her job as a fashion photographer. Two weeks later, René arranges for him and O to meet his English stepbrother, Sir Stephen. At Sir Stephen’s house, O is asked if she consents to being their common property, and she agrees. René leaves, and Sir Stephen asks O to masturbate in front of him. When she refuses, he slaps her and tells her that she must learn submission without love. In the following months, O notices that René constantly defers to Sir Stephen. This comes to a head when O asks René to spend the night with her on an evening that she had been promised to Sir Stephen. René refuses O’s request and betrays her to Sir Stephen. This leads to Sir Stephen punishing O in a way that she recognizes René never could. On a subsequent day, Sir Stephen tells O that she will be marked permanently as his property before returning to Roissy, and she must lure Jacqueline there as well.

In Part 3, O tries seducing Jacqueline, but initially fails. One evening, after O sees Jacqueline’s messy apartment, René suggests that O invite Jacqueline to live with her. Jacqueline agrees, and a few days later, she and O sleep together. In the days afterward, Sir Stephen takes O south of Paris to the house of a woman called Anne-Marie. O is asked if she consents to wearing Sir Stephen’s irons and insignia, without knowing how they will be imposed. O agrees, and she starts living in Anne-Marie’s house with three other women, who take turns whipping each other. During her stay, Anne-Marie pierces O’s labia to insert metal rings holding disks with Sir Stephen’s name on them. On the day of her departure, Sir Stephen returns, and O’s buttocks are branded with a red-hot iron bearing his initials. On returning to Paris, Sir Stephen takes O to dinner with his friends, to whom he shows her marks, before leaving her for them to use.

In Part 4, Jacqueline sees O’s marks when walking in on O in the bath. O explains that these denote her ownership by Sir Stephen, to whom René gave her. A week later, O goes on holiday with Jacqueline, René, Sir Stephen, and Jacqueline’s half-sister, Nathalie. Nathalie catches O and Jacqueline making love one day and tells O that she knows about her relationship with Sir Stephen through Jacqueline. She also asks if she can be taken to Roissy, and Sir Stephen agrees. After this, O discovers that René loves Jacqueline, and not her, which she accepts because she considers Sir Stephen to be a superior master. Sir Stephen takes O to meet a large man called “The Commander.” The following evening, Sir Stephen drives O, who is naked except for an owl mask she has chosen, and Nathalie to a nearby mansion, where people are dancing in a courtyard. The Commander, who is also there, moves O and Nathalie into a corner, and various dancers inspect O, who remains static and silent. At dawn, Sir Stephen and the Commander remove O’s mask and have sex with her in the courtyard’s center. In an “alternate ending” included in some editions of the novel, O finds out that Sir Stephen is going to leave her and, with his consent, decides to die by suicide.