The Sadomasochistic Homotext: Readings in Sade, Balzac, and Proust

The Sadomasochistic Homotext is a work in which sadomasochism, homosexuality, the place of the father and the perversion of language intersect. In the texts discussed, a rebellious group seeks to usurp the authority of the father through the use of language. This book examines novels of Sade, Balzac and Proust. It reveals how marginal sexuality is related to the paradigm of Freud’s ‘primal horde’: the law of the Father is constantly called into question, and literature becomes the locus for this challenge.