There is a thrill in frightening experiences; this explains the popularity of horror films, roller coasters and haunted house tours. So many people embrace their fears in order to get the thrill they want. In the novel Bastard out of Carolina, Dorothy Allison interweaves themes of sexuality and fear, showing how danger can incite desire, provided it is welcome. Allison uses the character of Bone to demonstrate how fantasy can be used to transform fear into an enjoyable experience. Fear, although considered a negative emotion, is not necessarily the most destructive force possible, especially when it arises solely from fantasy and not from an actual risk of harm. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Allison illustrates this in Bone by having her recoil from Daddy Glen's advances while obsessing over them in the privacy of her bed. When she is first attacked by him, she derives no pleasure from it, stating that "it scared me, his big hand between my legs and his eyes sparkling in the darkness (46)". Subsequently, she expresses the wish that it had only been a dream (48), because the reality of the attack arouses a real fear that Daddy Glen, stronger than Bone and in a position of authority, could do to him. A dream, on the other hand, would be exciting. Even though the assault was not actually a dream, Bone creates one, fantasizing about pain and fear during masturbation: I would imagine being tied up and put in a haystack while someone sets the straw on fire dried. I could totally imagine it swinging on my hand. The waking dream consisted of struggling to break free as the fire burned brighter and hotter. I don't know if I came when the fire reached me or after having imagined escaping it. But I came. I had an orgasm on my hand at the fire dream. (Allison 63) When alone, without risk of violent rage from Glen, she is able to desire rather than withdraw, taking an active part in her horror fantasy while in the horror of her reality, she can only remain passive and powerless. too afraid to move. (47) Sex and fear are often linked. Georges Bataille, author of Story of the Eye, a book that certainly incorporates elements of horror into an erotic work, said on this subject that sex itself scares people. “Man is constantly afraid of himself,” he said. “His erotic impulses terrify him.” It particularly emphasizes the fear of incest (Brain 28), which is very present in Bastard out of Carolina, Glen being a father figure to Bone. These feelings of horror don't always dampen sexual arousal, instead making it more exciting. As Bone says of one of her masochistic fantasies where Glen beat her, "it was scary, but it was also exciting (112)." In Bone's mind, the intersections between sex and fear are largely due to his family history. The stories his uncles and aunts tell him instill in him an eroticization that could be considered frightening. His Aunt Alma tells him, for example, that his Uncle Earle has "evil looks and a body...made for sex (Allison 24)." His aunt Ruth also describes Earle as having "just enough nastiness in him to keep a woman interested (25)". His uncles also joke about Glen's character, his violently huge hands and his "horse cock", saying that a woman would never leave him (61-2). Bone's own mother, Anney, is confused by feelings of fear and desire. When presented toDad Glen, “his eyes bore into her and grew even darker. She then blushed and smelled her own sweat, nervously unable to tell whether it came from fear or desire (13). This uncertainty, although terrifying, excites Anney, and her daughter seems to follow her in this direction. The uncertainty and anticipation is what makes fear so exciting. When Bone masturbates to the fantasy of fire, she doesn't know whether she's escaping the fire or being consumed by it, but she knows that one of these thoughts makes her come. Bone's sexual climax can be linked to the climax of a story arc, where an intense confrontation occurs and it is uncertain whether the protagonist will overcome it or not. Fear and uncertainty cause an adrenaline rush; this arousal can be converted into sexual arousal, a theory known as arousal transfer. In his book Masochism and the Self, Roy F. Baumeister mentions a study on arousal transfer that dealt specifically with fear, in which male subjects who had just crossed "a high suspension bridge that swayed with the wind" were much more likely to flirt with a pretty woman on the other side than those who remained on dry land (138). Baumeister goes on to compare this to masochism, arguing that bondage situations, like those Bone fantasizes about, are sexually arousing because they give the masochist a feeling of vulnerability (139). Vulnerability means a lack of control, a lack of certainty, which creates a feeling of excitement in the body, which can then be transferred into sexual arousal. However, masochists who engage in consensual sexual activity usually exercise some level of control, no matter how subtle. As Baumeister writes earlier in his book: “It looks like the dominant has taken control, but then again, it's usually the masochist who desires [servitude] (77). » Bone takes pleasure in controlling her fantasies when in reality she has no control over Daddy Glen. His beatings and attacks are not at all wanted by him. What she desires then seems to be some control over her lack of control, which is the paradox of masochistic desire. The beating encourages him to take the unpleasant and turn it into pleasure through sexual fantasies. This isn't unique to Bone's character; Theodor Reik, Freud's student and associate, said that "anxiety and fear...fear and horror...are unpleasant in themselves and yet they trigger sexual arousal." Reik says these feelings may be the initial cause of childhood masturbation. Recalling Bone's fantasy of a haystack fire, a woman imagined herself being on a butcher's block to achieve orgasm. Another woman traced her sexual desire to be slapped to her childhood (Brain 174). It seems to be common for children to turn frightening situations into satisfying sexual fantasies. This concept is further illustrated in Bastard out of Carolina through Bone's younger sister, Reese, who also seems to enjoy the fantasy of being attacked without actually being attacked. The terror she experiences while fighting her imaginary attackers is a “simulation of terror,” the only one that can be pleasant (Allison 176). As Staci Newmahr writes in her book Playing on the Edge: Sadomasochism, Risk, and Intimacy, sadomasochism can often be cathartic: “Some participants play with the express goal of healing from past trauma. » She even specifically mentions incest-related trauma, stating that "among incest survivors, incest play can sometimes be an example (95)." Healing comes not from ignoring trauma, but from transforming it into fantasy, just likeBone wished his abuse was just a dream. By accepting the fear and masturbating to the thought of it, Bone was able to take back a part of herself that would have otherwise belonged to Daddy Glen if she had tried to forget him. In Bone's case, her fantasies reflect the abuse she suffered. However, as Anita Phillips says, “Masochistic pleasure does not simply reflect inequality and injustice…it eroticizes them…They are…made tangible, observed, participated in, enjoyed, performed, exhausted.” It is the fantasy, the “theatrical” qualities of masochism that make such inequalities bearable (54). Bone is able to escape his real-life abuse by acting out and exhausting him. Unlike her relationship with Daddy Glen, there is an end to the fear in her fantasies: when she reaches orgasm. As Phillips writes, "a sadomasochistic sex scene bears little resemblance to actual emotional or physical violence (54)." For Bone, the difference between his sexual fantasies and his actual abuse is huge. She masturbates thinking that Glen is beating her, but in her imagination she does not scream and kick in protest like she does in real life. She imagines herself strong in the midst of horror, “with clenched teeth, making no sound, no shameful cry, no begging (Allison 112).” This fantasy ends up helping her become stronger in real life, refusing to scream during the beatings, which helps her endure them by giving her some control over the situation (234-5). In addition to the masochistic fantasies serving as a coping mechanism for his abuse, they also seem to serve as a coping mechanism for the intense guilt Bone feels, both from Papa Glen's anger and the pleasure he she later withdraws from it. Baumeister argues that masochism is more likely to eliminate feelings of guilt through escape rather than atonement (98-100). The thrill can change a person's emotional state, causing them to forget or escape their feelings of guilt. In contrast, atonement, or the removal of guilt by suffering for one's wrongdoings, tends to be more superficial in sadomasochism. In Bone's case, however, masochistic fantasies offer a combination of both escape and atonement. Escape comes from sensation. She feels bad about some things, but masturbating makes her feel good. This focus on physical sensations is a major feature of sex therapy, often used to increase sexual pleasure (Baumeister 124). Bone also has an obsession with atonement, as indicated by the fact that she goes to a new church every Sunday to be baptized. Bone is entranced by the fear of God as well as her horrific sexual fantasies. She says that what she craves is “this moment where she stands on the line between salvation and damnation (Allison 151). » Just like in his haystack dream, it is the fear of uncertainty that drives him in the church. His active imagination transforms even feelings of spiritual guilt into fantastical things that one desires. An important example of Bone turning something scary into something pleasant is the fish hook she finds at the bottom of the river. Aunt Raylene discovers the children playing recklessly and she tells them, "It's for trawling, for dragging." You go down into the river and they'll use something like that to bring you back up in pieces (186). Bone then has nightmares about the hooks, but despite their frightening associations, she desperately wants one for herself. She is obsessed with it until she finally sneaks it out of Ratline's basement; she uses the scary object as a sort of sex toy, to make herself.