Venus in Furs

Severin is exhausted after the whipping, and he questions whether it happened. His wounds tell him it was not a dream, and he feels even more in love with Wanda. The next day, Wanda regrets whipping Severin, telling him she will only mistreat him when wearing her furs. That night, they renew their embraces, and Wanda speculates Severin is only interested in these sexual games because of his strenuous virtue earlier in life. Severin bites Wanda while embracing her, drawing blood.

Wanda’s friend arrives. Her friend is a divorced woman with a husband and a lover at home, and she finds another lover for herself while telling Wanda that she is too good for Severin. Wanda spends a lot of time with her friend, and Severin worries that she does not love him. Wanda reports that her friend wants Wanda to go to the capital to find a better man; Severin tells Wanda to do as she pleases. Wanda tells Severin she loves him, but she cannot see him as a husband. Severin renews his desire to become Wanda’s “slave,” even suggesting they move to a country where enslavement is legal. Wanda likes this idea, and she says that Severin can only bear for Wanda to sleep with other men if he does not feel ownership over her.