Spankings in Books?

[Skull612]

Hey any of you ever read Robert Jordans "The Eye Of The World" series?

[Madcat]

Yep, all of them, multiple times.

I think Jordan was one of us, almost all of his books, even when he was using a pseudonym, have spanking references.

[Erebus]

Jordan definitely was a fan of spanking but I never really cared for the way he illustrated it in his books and I ended up strongly disliking it.

- He failed to ever acknowledge in his books the sexual aspect of spanking (even though its high frequency clearly showed it was one of his fetishes) ; in fact, there isn't a single consensual spanking in all the series.

- The spankings and the references to spanking (or whipping, birching, etc.) are way too many. It sometimes seems that Jordan was putting them everywhere he could.

- Spanking is mostly used to humiliate strong female characters (because Jordan was an even bigger fan of domination/submission and - I suspect - had some "interesting" views of gender relations).

These factors made me find the spanking themes in the Wheel of Time frustrating and annoying (it's also a small part of the reasons why I ended up disliking the series after reading the first nine books).


Speaking of other authors, I greatly enjoyed the first book of the "Kushiel" series by J. Carey and the spankings it contains do not feel forced at all : the smart heroine, Phèdre, has a masochistic streak a mile wide.

[Shadow Master's Penalty]

Not everyone is into the sexual side of spanking, actually. Could be he's one of them who's not. I know I'm not. My fantasies and stories are all non-consensual too (someone's in trouble for some reason) and include whipping and caning as well as spanking. I've admittedly not read the series (want to! just haven't had the time yet), but it sounds like he may be a more general BDSM'r than /just/ a spanko.

That's not to say you /should/ like the series or his style - "to each their own," I always say - just wanted to sound in for the other side of the view. Your arguments /against/ him actually make me want to read the series /more/. *SHEEPS*

Hugs and spanks!
SMP

Use every man after his desert, and who should ‘scape whipping?
- William Shakespeare (Hamlet, II.ii)

Originally Posted by Erebus

- He failed to ever acknowledge in his books the sexual aspect of spanking (even though its high frequency clearly showed it was one of his fetishes) ; in fact, there isn't a single consensual spanking in all the series.

- The spankings and the references to spanking (or whipping, birching, etc.) are way too many. It sometimes seems that Jordan was putting them everywhere he could.

- Spanking is mostly used to humiliate strong female characters (because Jordan was an even bigger fan of domination/submission and - I suspect - had some "interesting" views of gender relations).

[Erebus]

Originally Posted by Shadow Master's Penalty

Not everyone is into the sexual side of spanking, actually. Could be he's one of them who's not. I know I'm not. My fantasies and stories are all non-consensual too (someone's in trouble for some reason) and include whipping and caning as well as spanking. I've admittedly not read the series (want to! just haven't had the time yet), but it sounds like he may be a more general BDSM'r than /just/ a spanko.

I understand your point. But you're talking of spanking stories, in which the spankings (consensual or not) are the center and the purpose of the whole thing. Jordan was writing a heroic fantasy series and the many BDSM elements he inserted in it feel contrived and forced (not quite as heavy-handed as the Gor series, but quite repetitive).

Of course, tastes differ (a lot). While I can enjoy non-consensual spankings (whippings, canings or whatever) in spanking/BDSM stories, I have little taste for them in other fiction genres, which may explain my opinion.

As I mentioned, the BDSM elements were not the main reason I stopped enjoying the WoT. Rather, it was the fact that the pace had slowed down to a crawl (after the first few novels, the 800-pages books of the series could each have been condensed into a 300-pages book without losing any of the plot). Also, the characters were annoying me... actually, that reason may well be related to BDSM : I couldn't stand the fact that almost every single relation between a man and a woman was some sort of power play.

[Nene]

There was a swat in Christine by Stephen King.. also there was a spanking threat in another one of his books called Pet Sematary.. xD

[Shadow Master's Penalty]

Originally Posted by Erebus

I understand your point. But you're talking of spanking stories, in which the spankings (consensual or not) are the center and the purpose of the whole thing. Jordan was writing a heroic fantasy series and the many BDSM elements he inserted in it feel contrived and forced (not quite as heavy-handed as the Gor series, but quite repetitive).

Of course, tastes differ (a lot). While I can enjoy non-consensual spankings (whippings, canings or whatever) in spanking/BDSM stories, I have little taste for them in other fiction genres, which may explain my opinion.

As I mentioned, the BDSM elements were not the main reason I stopped enjoying the WoT. Rather, it was the fact that the pace had slowed down to a crawl (after the first few novels, the 800-pages books of the series could each have been condensed into a 300-pages book without losing any of the plot). Also, the characters were annoying me... actually, that reason may well be related to BDSM : I couldn't stand the fact that almost every single relation between a man and a woman was some sort of power play.

Sorry for the late reply! I don't have ready access to a computer right now, having to rely on my work compy. TT~TT

Actually, I was talking about any genre of story, at least for my own tastes, but yeah, I can see your point about things feeling crow-barred into the plot. And pacing and characters are certainly be a turn-off.

[Skull612]

I wouldn't say he was more into BDSM. I believe that just fit the setting in the novels more. It's set in a past-like world and switchings and all that were more common then. I don't think all of the spankings were nonconsensual though. Read the last...you read to nine right erebus? The last two then? I dunno. I've lost coun of how many there are.

[SuzieQzie]

In the book "To kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, the main character, Scout, received a few spankings xD

[Bastet]

There's also the Sleeping Beauty series by Anne Rice. That one is mostly spanking and sex^^