His numerous books of fiction present over and over again the same theme: the domineering woman, "clad in furs," who tortures a weak helpless man. We behold in Sacher-Masoch a clear case of physical weakness and glandular insufficiency. His endocrines, in particular his adrenals and gonads, required the actual stimulation of pain (whipping) before they could react properly to a sexual stimulus. It is a curious coincidence that among all forms of stimulation used to accelerate the gait of beasts of burden or draft horses, the whip is the most commonly used the world over and that, on the other hand, perverts of the masochist type have, the world over and at every age of history, more frequently resorted to the whip to torture themselves than to any other means of physical punishment. =The Masochist is Like a Weak or Tired Horse.= Why does whipping make a horse go faster? Not merely on account of the fear or pain which the beast experiences, but because that fear and pain MAKE HIM STRONGER. The adrenalin liberated by the fear-and-pain-producting stimulus stiffens every muscle in his body and his strength is doubled. This is why frightened animals or insane people in a panic can perform feats of strength of which they would be absolutely incapable in a normal state. Masochism is much more, however, than an organic attempt at compensating for glandular inferiority and acquiring in a morbid way increased sexual potency. It is a neurotic expedient whereby an inferior man or woman compensates for his or her weakness thru more weakness. By belittling themselves, by disparaging their own ability, masochist lovers can take advantage of their mate, let him bear all responsibilities. =Shoe Fetishism.= We understand from that point of view the meaning of the shoe fetishism which Krafft-Ebing has noticed in male masochists. In fact Hirschfeld states that every male shoe fetish is a masochist. To the masochist, the shoe, especially the high buttoned shoe, is symbolical of woman's power, of her ruthless cruelty. He sees himself trod on by that shoe, he imagines that shoe pressing on his neck, pinning his head to the ground. Curiously enough, long gloves seem to arouse the same ideas in the mind of the male masochist. Both shoes and gloves are found in the dreams or visions of neurotics, symbolizing the female organs. A masochist wrote once: "The gloved hand of a woman, altho like her foot, smaller and prettier than a man's, can wield the whip powerfully over her slave whose greatest joy consists then in kissing his mistress's shoes while submitting to that punishment." =Craving for Humiliation.= The masochist welcomes every form of humiliation and not infrequently derives great pride from his "patience," "tolerance," "self-sacrifice," "martyrlike resignation" etc. Like Sacher-Masoch himself, some men, husbands or lovers, (pimps, cadets, etc.) have been known to enjoy the sight of their wife or mistress in another man's arms.