Story of the Eye (French: L'histoire de l'œil) is a 1928 novella written by Georges Bataille that details the increasingly bizarre sexualperversions of a pair of teenage lovers, including an early depiction of omorashi fetishism in Western literature. It is narrated by the young man looking back on his exploits.
An unnamed boy in late adolescence initiates a strange sexual relationship with his distant cousin Simone when she indulges the narrator's dare to place her bare buttocks in a cat's saucer of milk. Simone and the narrator consummate their erotic desire at a cliff in front of his villa, involving their friend Marcelle in their activities; the pair soon reveal themselves to be exhibitionists, going so far as to have intercourse in full view of Simone's widowed mother. At one point, Simone develops a fetish for inserting soft-boiled eggs in her vagina and anus. The couple engage in a sadomasochistic orgy with other teenagers, which ends with Marcelle having a mental breakdown. The narrator runs away from home and moves in with Simone after stealing his father's money and gun. Marcelle, meanwhile, is admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
Simone and the narrator break Marcelle out of the hospital, but when she recognizes a wardrobe she hid in during the orgy, she hangs herself in a psychotic break. The couple wind up having penetrative sex in front of her body. To escape the legal consequences of Marcelle's suicide, the pair flee and take refuge in Spain. They meet the depraved English aristocrat Sir Edmund, who is happy to accommodate their lifestyle. Edmund tells Simone about the tradition in the aristocracy to eat the testicles of a recently killed bull while watching bull-fighting, and Simone demands the raw testicles of a bull be given to her when they are watching the famous matador El Granero. As Granero is impaled by a bull and his right eye is ripped out of its socket, Simone sticks one of the raw testicles up her vagina and has an orgasm at the same moment El Granero dies.
The three visit a Catholic basilica, where Simone seduces a handsome priest by masturbating while confessing inside of the confessional. Sir Edmund excitedly undertakes a blasphemous parody of the Catholic Eucharist involving desecration of the bread and wine using the priest's urine and semen; Simone strangles the priest to death during his final orgasm. Simone removes the priest's right eye and inserts it into her vagina while continuing her sexual relationship with the narrator. The trio evade the priest's murder investigation and head for Andalusia, where they buy a yacht to continue their debauchery on African soil.
In a postscript, Bataille reveals that the character of Marcelle may have been partially inspired by his own mother, who suffered from bipolar disorder, while the narrator's father is also modeled after his own unhappy paternal relationship. In an English-language edition, Roland Barthes and Susan Sontag provide critical comment on the events.
Barthes: Metaphors of the eye and liquid
Roland Barthes published the original French version of his essay "Metaphor of the Eye" in Bataille's own journal Critique, shortly after Bataille's death in 1962. Barthes' analysis focuses on the centrality of the eye to this series of vignettes, and notices that it is interchangeable with eggs, bulls' testicles and other ovular objects within the narrative. He also traces a second series of liquid metaphors within the text, which flow through tears, cat's milk, egg yolks, frequent urination scenes, blood and semen.
Furthermore, he argues that he does not believe that Story of the Eye is necessarily a pornographic narrative, given that these structuring chains of metaphors do provide coherent underpinning sequences.
Cultural references
Danish punk rock band Iceage references this book in the song "Ecstasy", and vocalist Elias Bender Rønnenfelt cited Story of the Eye as an influence in writing the album You're Nothing.[1][2]
In the movie Weekend Corrine, the female lead, recounts an orgy she participated in, many of the details of which are derived from the first two chapters of Story of the Eye.[3]
The 1974 Italian/Belgian co-produced Eurocult film Simona, which stars Laura Antonelli and Patrick Magee, is an avant-garde adaptation of Story of the Eye that was written and directed by one-time Belgian filmmaker Patrick Longchamps.
^Pelly, Jenn (10 January 2013). "Iceage". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^"Iceage - Ecstasy Lyrics". SongMeanings. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
^Fairfax, Daniel (17 March 2017). "Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^"of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal Lyrics". Genius. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
Bibliography
Bataille, Georges (1977). Story of the Eye. New York: Urizen Books. ISBN0-916354-90-3.
Sontag, Susan (1969). "The Pornographic Imagination". Styles of Radical Will. London: Secker and Warburg. ISBN0-436-47801-3.
January 29, 2023
story, french, histoire, œil, 1928, novella, written, georges, bataille, that, details, increasingly, bizarre, sexual, perversions, pair, teenage, lovers, including, early, depiction, omorashi, fetishism, western, literature, narrated, young, looking, back, ex. Story of the Eye French L histoire de l œil is a 1928 novella written by Georges Bataille that details the increasingly bizarre sexual perversions of a pair of teenage lovers including an early depiction of omorashi fetishism in Western literature It is narrated by the young man looking back on his exploits Story of the EyeCover of the French editionAuthorGeorges BatailleOriginal titleL histoire de l œilTranslatorJoachim NeugroschelCountryFranceLanguageFrenchGenreErotic fictionPublished1928 in French 1978 Urizen Books NY in English Translated by Joachim Neugroschel Media typePrintPages127 Penguin Books edition ISBN0 14 018009 5 Contents 1 Plot 2 Barthes Metaphors of the eye and liquid 3 Cultural references 4 Adaptations 5 References 6 BibliographyPlot EditAn unnamed boy in late adolescence initiates a strange sexual relationship with his distant cousin Simone when she indulges the narrator s dare to place her bare buttocks in a cat s saucer of milk Simone and the narrator consummate their erotic desire at a cliff in front of his villa involving their friend Marcelle in their activities the pair soon reveal themselves to be exhibitionists going so far as to have intercourse in full view of Simone s widowed mother At one point Simone develops a fetish for inserting soft boiled eggs in her vagina and anus The couple engage in a sadomasochistic orgy with other teenagers which ends with Marcelle having a mental breakdown The narrator runs away from home and moves in with Simone after stealing his father s money and gun Marcelle meanwhile is admitted to a psychiatric hospital Simone and the narrator break Marcelle out of the hospital but when she recognizes a wardrobe she hid in during the orgy she hangs herself in a psychotic break The couple wind up having penetrative sex in front of her body To escape the legal consequences of Marcelle s suicide the pair flee and take refuge in Spain They meet the depraved English aristocrat Sir Edmund who is happy to accommodate their lifestyle Edmund tells Simone about the tradition in the aristocracy to eat the testicles of a recently killed bull while watching bull fighting and Simone demands the raw testicles of a bull be given to her when they are watching the famous matador El Granero As Granero is impaled by a bull and his right eye is ripped out of its socket Simone sticks one of the raw testicles up her vagina and has an orgasm at the same moment El Granero dies The three visit a Catholic basilica where Simone seduces a handsome priest by masturbating while confessing inside of the confessional Sir Edmund excitedly undertakes a blasphemous parody of the Catholic Eucharist involving desecration of the bread and wine using the priest s urine and semen Simone strangles the priest to death during his final orgasm Simone removes the priest s right eye and inserts it into her vagina while continuing her sexual relationship with the narrator The trio evade the priest s murder investigation and head for Andalusia where they buy a yacht to continue their debauchery on African soil In a postscript Bataille reveals that the character of Marcelle may have been partially inspired by his own mother who suffered from bipolar disorder while the narrator s father is also modeled after his own unhappy paternal relationship In an English language edition Roland Barthes and Susan Sontag provide critical comment on the events Barthes Metaphors of the eye and liquid EditRoland Barthes published the original French version of his essay Metaphor of the Eye in Bataille s own journal Critique shortly after Bataille s death in 1962 Barthes analysis focuses on the centrality of the eye to this series of vignettes and notices that it is interchangeable with eggs bulls testicles and other ovular objects within the narrative He also traces a second series of liquid metaphors within the text which flow through tears cat s milk egg yolks frequent urination scenes blood and semen Furthermore he argues that he does not believe that Story of the Eye is necessarily a pornographic narrative given that these structuring chains of metaphors do provide coherent underpinning sequences Cultural references EditDanish punk rock band Iceage references this book in the song Ecstasy and vocalist Elias Bender Ronnenfelt cited Story of the Eye as an influence in writing the album You re Nothing 1 2 In the movie Weekend Corrine the female lead recounts an orgy she participated in many of the details of which are derived from the first two chapters of Story of the Eye 3 American indie pop band of Montreal references this book in the song The Past is a Grotesque Animal from the album Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer 4 Adaptations EditThe 1974 Italian Belgian co produced Eurocult film Simona which stars Laura Antonelli and Patrick Magee is an avant garde adaptation of Story of the Eye that was written and directed by one time Belgian filmmaker Patrick Longchamps Georges Bataille s Story of the Eye 2004 experimental film adaptation of the novelReferences Edit Pelly Jenn 10 January 2013 Iceage Pitchfork Retrieved 14 March 2019 Iceage Ecstasy Lyrics SongMeanings Retrieved 14 March 2019 Fairfax Daniel 17 March 2017 Weekend Jean Luc Godard 1967 Senses of Cinema Retrieved 8 March 2019 of Montreal The Past is a Grotesque Animal Lyrics Genius Retrieved 10 July 2022 Bibliography EditBataille Georges 1977 Story of the Eye New York Urizen Books ISBN 0 916354 90 3 Sontag Susan 1969 The Pornographic Imagination Styles of Radical Will London Secker and Warburg ISBN 0 436 47801 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Story of the Eye amp oldid 1132427216, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
