Catharsis

alias x

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Jul 24, 2005
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This is a rather strange idea that popped into my head. I should first mention that while I'll explain the idea in chronological order, I'm not sure what order would be the best way to tell the story. I will mention that this is not really an erotic story: Jerkers should go elsewhere. The story is about a rape victim, but it is not about the rape. It is not the traditional literotica rape story: No mention of revenge on the rapist is made, the victim doesn't enjoy it, etc. I think I have a powerful idea here, mainly because I felt myself almost cry coming up with this idea. It is very depressing.

She is standing on a bridge, about to commit suicide. A guy walks up to her. He doesn't introduce himself and they don't know each other. However, he does, much to her shock, ask her if she'll go out with him on a date.

When she asks him what in the world he is thinking, he explains himself. His explanation will be entirely honest and will consist of some mix of the following reasoning:
1. He's really shy. Being rejected by her somehow doesn't bother him because she's about to die anyways. Yes, this is weird. But he still says it.
2. If she says yes, then her beautiful face will be in the world that much longer.
3. He thinks the world will be a better place with her in it.

She ends up going out with him. He doesn't ask why she was suicidal, but she eventaully tells him. He had already somewhat guessed on his own, though.

Eventually, she told him she wanted to hit him. It was a rather unhealthy response to the rape. She wanted to feel empowered, not against him but against the rapist. He accepted it. She did eventually have sex with him, but she always hit him before sex (and quite frequently hit him regardless). He loved her and accepted this. He took it silently; it wasn't about him, he was merely a tool. It was somewhat eerie in that even on the first time, he was completely silent, though she was screaming at him the entire time and hitting him as hard as possible, even using a paddle.

He was careful to hide the bruises. He did not consider it an abusive relationship. There was an understanding that she was abusing her rapist, not him. She never apologized and cuddled afterwards and she never made sexual contact afterwards. Not once did he show any signs of expectations to the contrary.

He had, in past relationships, been into masochism. Nonetheless, he felt no joy in the beatings...it was not about love or sex at all. He never told her about this past because he knew the very possibility that he might enjoy what she did would destroy her.

Besides him and her, only her mother knew about the beatings. When asked what she got out of them, he could not give a good answer, except to say that whatever she got, it was something she needed and could not find somewhere else.

The beatings continued into their marriage, but after about 9 years of marriage, she told him that she did not need them anymore.
 
You have two stories ideas here, not one.

1) Story idea of a man who takes a suicide on a date--she might kill herself afterwards or not.

2) Story of a rape victim wife using her husband for a cathartic recovery.

If you keep the story as is, then you run into a the problem of making the guy have all the power:In a story about rape and recovering from rape, it seems kinda wrong that the guy gets to:
1) save her from suicide
2) give her a sense of self-worth because HE thinks she's pretty, etc., rather than letting her discover her own self-worth (do you believe that a rape victim should rely on how others regard her in order to feel that she didn't deserve to be raped and that her life is worth living?).
3) gives her a way to express her rage without ever hurting him (so to speak)
4) eventually transforms her from injured soul into perfect wife.

The way you have it now, the guy, symbolically at least, rapes the woman of all power to heal herself. I also wonder why, after being raped, she'd let a strange man approach her and not jump or run. That she would go on a date with him.

Split the story in two, however, and you end up with a pair of very interesting ideas and potentially powerful stories.

In the first one, you have two people who save each other--one literally (from suicide) and one figuratively (from lonliness). The man who asks a woman to go on a date with him before she kills herself is intreguing, to say the least.

The second story should be about a husband and wife--the wife is raped, and they both deal with their feelings about this. The wife feels anger, etc. The husband feels shamed and furious that he wasn't able to protect the wife. One wants to punish the rapist, one wants to be punished for not stopping the rapist. Both get catharsis out of the sadomasochist acts.

That's what I would recommend you do. I think by creating two focused stories, rather than one rambling one, you'll get more energy and power and better, more balanced characters.
 
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Wow. That was very insightful. You're completely and totally right. Now, if only someone would write this stuff.
 
alias x said:
Wow. That was very insightful. You're completely and totally right. Now, if only someone would write this stuff.

Well, I'll happily take the guy dating the girl on the bridge story if you're just looking for someone to write the story. I think it's a great idea.

But can you give me a hint of why this image appealled to you? I know we've cut off the rape story aspect--but is there any other direction you see it going? Did you want any eroticism in it at all? What section of Lit do you see it in (Romance?)?

As "Catharsis" fits for the rape story--what title fits for this one?
 
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The rape story aspect was really a separate idea, I just didn't realize it until it was pointed out.

Lets see if I can recall how I came to the bridge idea. My memories of it might be inaccurate but I'll give it a go.

Hmmm. The bridge story came to me after I'd read a story about it on storiesonline. Anyhow, the reason one of the characters attempted suicide was because she felt so lonely. She ended up finding love afterwards.

At this point, I thought that if I ever saw someone at that point, I could not only soften their loneliness and save their life, I could also get a date. Normally I'm too shy to ask someone out but I realized that in this case, I'd likely have no issue over-coming it because A) The benefit acheived if the answer is yes is much higher (suicide doesn't happen) and B) The cost of being rejected is lower (for some reason, the thought of being rejected by someone suicidal doesn't bother me as much).

I guess the reason this image appeals to me is because the guys position really appeals to me. The idea saving someone's life by doing something as pleasureable as dating them seems so nice. The idea of suicide kind of angers me. I think of it in terms of someone removing themselves from the world despite how important they might be to it. The idea of stopping it so "easily" (scare quotes since it would take more than just the moment on the bridge before the urge was gone) seems pretty empowering.

I can imagine that even if the match was unsuccessful (i.e. the two became close friends but didn't end up falling in love), they guy would feel more confident later. "I should ask this girl out. The worst that could happen is that she'll reject me. If I can ask a girl out who might die if she rejects me..."


As for a title, the best I can think of is, "That Day on the Bridge." And this is definitely a romance story.
 
alias x said:
Normally I'm too shy to ask someone out but I realized that in this case, I'd likely have no issue over-coming it because A) The benefit acheived if the answer is yes is much higher (suicide doesn't happen) and B) The cost of being rejected is lower (for some reason, the thought of being rejected by someone suicidal doesn't bother me as much).

That's intersesting. Okay. I can write this. One last thing...can you describe the girl to me. Give me everything you can, including what she's wearing. If not, that's alright, but it would help. For example, any actress who might play her if this was a movie?

Also, time of year and "place." I don't mean a specific place, like New York City...I mean a type of place. Small town? City? East Coast? West? Europe?

Don't worry about the guy--I've an image for him in mind, unless you have some strong reason to want a certain type.

Oh, and does anything pop to mind on what guy/girl do for a living? If not, that's okay.

As for a title, the best I can think of is, "That Day on the Bridge." And this is definitely a romance story.

I agree that it's romance. Is sex okay? I see the meeting as happening at night, not during the day. I think we can get a better title. Let's see how the story develops.

If you're okay with me running with this, I will.
 
That's intersesting. Okay. I can write this. One last thing...can you describe the girl to me. Give me everything you can, including what she's wearing. If not, that's alright, but it would help. For example, any actress who might play her if this was a movie?
I have no vision of how the girl looks. I don't really envision my stories as I read them. My mind's eye is plain-text.


Also, time of year and "place." I don't mean a specific place, like New York City...I mean a type of place. Small town? City? East Coast? West? Europe?
I'd say a mid-sized town in the US but I don't care that much.


Don't worry about the guy--I've an image for him in mind, unless you have some strong reason to want a certain type.
As before, I have no vision of the guy's appearance.


Oh, and does anything pop to mind on what guy/girl do for a living? If not, that's okay.
Both going for PHDs at the same college, but in completely different fields (and thus they don't know one another).


I agree that it's romance. Is sex okay? I see the meeting as happening at night, not during the day. I think we can get a better title. Let's see how the story develops.
Sex is fine. And yes, my title isn't that good. It was just the best I could come up with.


If you're okay with me running with this, I will.
Sure. And if you feel like changing anything, feel free.
 
alias x said:
Sure. And if you feel like changing anything, feel free.

Okay. I'm on it. I'll let you know when I finish and submit it.
 
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Finished and Posted!

Alias X:

Happy New Year.

The Lady on the Bridge story is finished and posted. What you told me regarding the story idea turned out to be, as you'll see, quintessential to the tale, to creating the point of view character. It went in it's own direction.

You'll find it in the Romance Section. The title:
"Till Dawn"
http://english.literotica.com:81/stories/showstory.php?id=234597

Enjoy! And thanks again, so very much, for the inspiration. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
 
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