Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 3: Analysis of the Sexual Impulse; Love and Pain; The Sexual Impulse in WomenEllis, Havelock
Science
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 3: Analysis of the Sexual Impulse; Love and Pain; The Sexual Impulse in Women
Ellis, Havelock
Sex; Sex (Psychology)
A careful and elaborate study of a completely developed sadist
has been furnished by Lacassagne, Rousset, and Papillon
("L'Affaire Reidal," _Archives d'Anthropologie Criminelle_,
Oct.-Nov., 1907). Reidal, a youth of 18, a seminarist, was a
congenital sanguinary sadist who killed another youth and was
finally sent to an asylum. From the age of 4 he had voluptuous
ideas connected with blood and killing, and liked to play at
killing with other children. He was of infantile physical
development, with a pleasant, childish expression of face, very
religious, and hated obscenity and immorality. But the love of
blood and murder was an irresistible obsession and its
gratification produced immense emotional relief.
Sadism generally has been especially studied by Lacassagne,
_Vacher l'Eventreur et les Crimes Sadiques_, 1899. Zoösadism, or
sadism toward animals, has been dealt with by P. Thomas, "Le
Sadisme sur les Animaux," _Archives d'Anthropologie Criminelle_,
Sept., 1903. Auto-sadism, or "auto-erotic cruelty," that is to
say, injuries inflicted on a person by himself with a sexual
motive, has been investigated by G. Bach (_Sexuelle Verrirungen
des Menschen und der Nature_, p. 427); this condition seems,
however, a form of algolagnia more masochistic than sadistic in
character.
With regard to the medico-legal aspects, Kiernan ("Responsibility
in Active Algophily," _Medicine_, April, 1903) sets forth the
reasons in favor of the full and complete responsibility of
sadists, and Harold Moyer comes to the same conclusion ("Is
Sexual Perversion Insanity?" _Alienist and Neurologist_, May,
1907). See also Thoinot's _Medico-legal Aspects of Moral
Offenses_ (edited by Weysse, 1911), ch. xviii. While we are
probably justified in considering the sadist as morally not
insane in the technical sense, we must remember that he is, for
the most part, highly abnormal from the outset. As Gaupp points
out (_Sexual-Probleme_, Oct., 1909, p. 797), we cannot measure
the influences which create the sadist and we must not therefore
attempt to "punish" him, but we are bound to place him in a
position where he will not injure society.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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