As Vênus pervertidas

a transgressão sexual em A Vênus das Peles, de Sacher-Masoch, Senhor Vênus, de Madame Rachilde, e “Paixão Lésbica”, de Carlos Vasconcelos

Abstract

The article analyzes the representation of sexual transgression in three literary works: Venus in Furs (1870), by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch; Monsieur Vénus (1884), by Madame Rachilde; and the short story “Paixão Lésbica” (1922), by Carlos Vasconcelos. From the perspective of sexual dissidence, the study investigates how these narratives subvert social and sexual norms through characters who challenge traditional roles of gender, desire, and power. In Venus in Furs, transgression occurs through an erotic servitude contract between Severin and Vanda, in which pleasure is linked to pain, humiliation, and consensual submission. The relationship is marked by a power dynamic that eroticizes both physical and emotional pain, defying heteronormative and patriarchal standards. In Monsieur Vénus, gender role reversal is central. Raoule, an aristocrat who assumes masculine traits, dominates Jacques, a young artist with an effeminate appearance. Their relationship deconstructs gender binarism and questions the naturalization of sexual roles. Lastly, Vasconcelos’s short story “Paixão Lésbica”, set in New York, narrates the relationship between Jessie and June, two women who defy social norms by living a lesbian love story. June adopts a masculine appearance to protect Jessie from harassment, and the two engage in a relationship marked by Decadentist references and transgressive eroticism. Although they approach the theme in different ways, the three works share the construction of “perverted Venuses”, characters who embody forbidden desires and dissident sexual practices, revealing literature’s subversive potential in critiquing gender and sexuality norms.