Pleasure of Pain: Interrogating the Concept of Masochism in Jean Rhys’ Novels

Abstract

The novels of Jean Rhys (1890-1979), published in the 1900s, championed a new corpus of feminist writing, with emphasis laid on the trials and tribulations of twentieth-century women. The psychological trauma experienced by women because of contemporary social codes, forms the prime concern of Rhys, presenting a unique way of tackling gender issues. This article explores the masochistic tendencies that constantly overshadow Rhys’ works in the context of female characters’ relishing their bleak, morbid life. Through a detailed analysis of her novels Quartet (1928) and Good Morning, Midnight (1939), the article argues that Rhys’ use of masochism is a literary device meant to emphasize the magnanimity of the female personae, as opposed to the sexually pervasive masochism identified by twentieth-century psychoanalytic theorists.