Fierce Women by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. The Mystery about Publishing Confusion

Abstract

The collection of stories Fierce Women is one of just a few available works by Sacher-Masoch for a Polish reader. Although Masoch’s works are set in Galicia, many of his works have not been translated into Polish yet. There is only Venus in furs, being the most recognizable, which has been studied in a great number of papers so far. Despite the fact that there is a detailed examination of Masoch’s biography, his literary legacy seems to be an infinite fountain of reflections and studies, e.g. the bibliographical inconsistencies. In fact, there are a couple of versions of the Fierce Women collection. As a result, the Polish and German versions may be inconsistent. The following paper aims to highlight this problem leaving aside a popular discourse about Venus in furs and the notion of masochism.