When I read The Story of O, I learned two things.

The first is there is freedom to be found in willful slavery, in giving up any and all power you might’ve had and entrusting your decisions to be made by someone else. Choosing to be a slave becomes a philosophical, religious and liberating act.

The second thing I realized is the profound sadness involved in wanting to completely possess someone. You will never know if you do, and the fact is no one can be completely owned: he or she will always be him or herself, no matter how much he or she loves you. To judge/base love on whether you can possess someone is futile, and there’s a whole new brand of sadness and loneliness in that futility.

The master becomes the slave, and the slave becomes free.

-LZ.