The Tears of Eros

by Georges Bataille, Peter Connor (Translator)

Tears of Eros is the culmination of Georges Bataille's inquiries into the relationship between violence and the sacred. Taking up such figures as Giles de Rais, Erzebet Bathory, the Marquis de Sade, El Greco, Gustave Moreau, Andre Breton, Voodoo practitioners, and Chinese torture victims, Bataille reveals their common death. This essay, illustrated with artwork from every era, was developed out of ideas explored in Death and Sexuality and Prehistoric Lascaux or the Birth of Art . In it Bataille examines death—the "little death" that follows sexual climax, the proximate death in sadomasochistic practices, and death as part of religious ritual and sacrifice. "Bataille is one of the most important writers of the century."— Michel Foucault Georges Bataille was born in Billom, France, in 1897. He was a librarian by profession. Also a philosopher, novelist, and critic he was founder of the College of Sociology. In 1959, Bataille began Tears of Eros , and it was completed in 1961, his final work. City Lights published two of his other Story of the Eye and The Impossible . Bataille died in 1962.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Art, Theory, History, France, French Literature

213 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

French essayist, philosophical theorist, and novelist, often called the "metaphysician of evil." Bataille was interested in sex, death, degradation, and the power and potential of the obscene. He rejected traditional literature and considered that the ultimate aim of all intellectual, artistic, or religious activity should be the annihilation of the rational individual in a violent, transcendental act of communion. Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, and Philippe Sollers have all written enthusiastically about his work.

Reviews

[hanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely bought this book because the cover matches my favourite blue nail-polish exactly. really, I didn't understand a word he was saying but I looked impossibly chic while reading it.

[Eddie Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The doors of my mind have only recently opened to (and been opened by) Bataille, so what I say about The Tears of Eros will necessarily be that of a novice. There’s a thrill, tinged with anxiety, of being an intellectual novice at the age of 45.

We have hanging in our house a woodblock print done by a friend of ours of a gaunt and cigarette smoking Joan Didion. Worked into this portrait is a quote of hers - I know what nothing means and keep on playing. I have not read a single book of Didion’s, but this quote means a lot to me. I read it as an inspirational message, as does my wife, but I know our individual interpretations of it are fundamentally different, though I have no interest in discussing this difference of interpretation with her. It is enough that the phrase has significant meaning, however different, for each of us.

It means so much to me because in recent years my spiritual path (or search for authenticity) has become centered on nothingness. Truth exists, but only as founded on nothingness, which for me means that no thought or construct of meaning can contain truth. It’s not exactly a matter of faith, but very similar. Faith too often is nothing more than faith in a pat (and simple-minded) thought. My concern is to be, to go, beyond thought, and to play as if suspended in this profound void of non-thought (spewing forth thoughts, ironically). And this concern is at the root of Bataille’s search also, though there are fundamental differences between Bataille’s and my involvement with this concern. These differences primarily involve Bataille’s seeming isolationist nature, while for me these “higher reaches” of nothingness are suffused with interpersonal connectivity, but I won’t go into this any further.

In The Tears of Eros this nothingness, this ineffable peak beyond all thought, is illustrated by an ancient cave painting. In this cave painting a gored buffalo (with entrails spilling out) is charging or has charged the man responsible for its mortal wound. This man is apparently dead or dying, a victim of his victim the charging buffalo, and is sporting a quite prominent erection. This painting serves as a kind of shorthand code for Bataille’s concerns: a primal linking of eroticism and death, a linking of peak ineffable experience (spiked with despair) and vanishment. - (As an aside, for Bataille “eroticism” is not necessarily the sexual but is rather purposeless sensual enjoyment as opposed to work or utility. This bears some similarities to Aleister Crowley’s adage For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result.) - This painting is so significant for Bataille as a representation of his non-verbal concerns that he wisely does not kill its significance by discussing it; he merely hints at its profundity, teasing the reader to briefly grasp its meaning beyond the words provided. This painting serves as a kind of flashing window, a window flashing in and out of apprehension, into the charged nothingness that Bataille pursued to the ends of his thoughts, and beyond.

An even more extreme and illustrative example of his concerns is saved for a very brief discussion at the end of the book. It is a photograph of a Chinese man undergoing horrible torturous mutilation. In the picture both the man’s arms have been lopped off; his pectorals have been sliced off; and a man is in the process of sawing through one of his legs. Bataille asserts that the face of this man, with eyes raised heaven-ward a la St. Joan of Arc, is expressing a kind of joy or transcendence (coupled with extreme pain and despair obviously), and so has served as profound inspiration for him (he owned a copy of the picture and spent much time contemplating it).

This example did not convince me, as other details of Bataille’s arguments throughout the book did not convince me. At times his fervor to believe what he himself was writing led him to see in things only that which corresponded with his thought. As when he asserts that apes (and all animals by extension) have no concern for their dead, and when he says that apes have no sense of humor. I don’t think either of these is totally true. These are only quibbles, but were enough to form chinks in the armor of his thoughts; but then again, Bataille is not concerned overmuch with logical argument, being more an aesthete or a poet, so in a way these chinks only make his thought even more authentic to me, as passion trumps logic any day.

[Keith [on semi hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second read on George Bataille's essays on Eroticism & Humanity.

I strongly feel with my interest in Bataille as a writer & poet and to those less familiar with his vast work, knowing of him mainly for his earliest work - 'Story of the Eye', having not yet read 'Prehistoric Painting: Lascaux or the Birth of Art' (1955), I'm happy to have taken this journey reading firstly 'Erotism: Death and Sensuality' (1957) and this - 'The Tears of Eros' (1961) - as a second installment to in this set of essays.

There are many fine pieces of historical and cultural referencing throughout this work, leaning heavily into the Surrealism and French work for which Bataille is known.

There are little bits of trivia for the die-hard Bataille fan that may actually be available online; some nice articles about his ancestry and marital ancestry (unrelated to the book itself) is here: https://genealogiehistoiredefamilles.....

The wider - and lesser-mentioned - circle of Bataille's protégé is a spot throughout the book which is intriguing.

As I've seen on other reviews, there won't be much more to this than that mentioned above, and likely that is for the die-hard fan. All the same, an education none-the-less and a quick trip down the path of history of which I love to delve as often as possible and for as long as possible.

If you're a Bataille fan, give it a shot, I know you will; if you're not, become one.

[Talie · Rating 3 out of 5]

در غار لاسکو نقاشی‌ای هست که فکر باتای را به خود مشغول کرده. مردی با صورت پرنده در حال نعوذ دراز کشیده در کنارش گاومیشی است که روده‌هایش آویزان است با نیزه‌ای در شکم. کنار مرد عصایی است با سر پرنده. باتای در اروتیسم مرگ و خشونت میبیند و این نقاشی را شاهد آن می‌داند. سکس حیوانات اروتیک نیست فقط تولید مثل است چون حیوانات مرگ را نمی‌شناسند. باتای هنر  اروتیک (بیشتر نقاشی و طراحی) از دوره‌‌ی غارها تا قرن بیستم را بررسی کرده. بیشتر در آن مرگ، سادیسم، وحشت و غرابت دیده اما گاهی هم آن را سبک و سرخوشانه یافته. واقعیت این است که کتاب استدلال قوی‌ای ندارد. اشاره‌های سطحی و گذرا به هنر اروتیک و البته ساد دارد. ما بیشتر با شهود باتای سرو کار داریم. مخصوصن در بخش پایانی که به عکس‌های مربوط به مجازات تکه تکه شدن در چین می‌پردازد. باتای در چهره‌ی مرد در حال تکه تکه شدن سرخوشی(اکستاسی) میبیند.
و اینجاست که وحشت مذهبی در قربانی را به اروتیسم ربط می‌هد.
از نقاشی‌ها و طراحی‌های و عکس‌های کتاب لذت بردم. شاید بتوان کتاب را بدون خواندن متن با بررسی همین‌ها خواند.
 

[Mary Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Philosophers don't get to write about history anymore because they don't write anything that makes sense. It's the new law, established by me.

My problems with this book are... many. First is that it is way too vague and homogenizing. The book covers the entire history of civilization (mostly Western, except when he takes Chinese torture victims and Voodoo practitioners out of context for no reason) in 200ish pages, the majority of which are taken up with illustrations. So of course he can't actually say anything, he can only scrape up some vague examples of situations which were both erotic and violent. He entirely eschews any *context* for *why* a civilization would mingle ideas of sex and violence, or what the long-term implications are of that phenomenon. Does it perpetuate violence? Does it normalize sex? Who knows--certainly not Bataille!

Obviously I'm a scholar of the twenty-first century but I really felt like something was left to be desired from his interpretation. I wanted to hear about gendered dimensions of violence. I wanted to hear about drugs and alcohol. I wanted to hear about class differences. I wanted to hear about race and culture. I wanted ANYTHING that was an actual dimension of this phenomenon.

If this were a freshman philosophy paper I'd fail it.

He also does this irritating thing of saying that something is erotic and horrifying but doesn't explain why it is erotic. At the end, he has g r a p h i c images of a Chinese man having his flesh hacked off while he is still alive. In this picture the man's ribs can be seen but he is wearing a kind of glassy-eyed expression, presumably caused by the opium which was given to these victims so that they did not pass out from the pain. I clearly understand the tragic part of this example. HOWEVER, he does not explain what is supposed to be erotic about this. He hints that the smile is indicative of a kind of ecstasy on the behalf of the tortured man? Yikes!

If he just wanted to write about his gore-related sexual fetishes he could have kept those to himself.

[od1_40reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tears of Eros was Bataille’s final work. Completed in 1961, he never got to see it in print as he died in 1962. Which of course meant he had no idea that it was banned/censored by the French Government upon it’s publication.

Bataille has become infamous for his obsession with the links (as he saw it) between pleasure and pain, sensuality and violence, ecstasy and death. So this book is a fitting culmination of his work. More of an art book in a sense, as it is filled with art throughout the ages depicting images of violent depravity, erotism and ultimately death.

The book’s real notoriety however stems from the inclusion at the end of book of a couple of incredibly graphic photos of someone undergoing the Chinese torture of a 1000 cuts. Images which apparently Bataille kept on his desk and looked at every day.

Personally I’d issue a warning with this book due to those images, which I guess I’m doing here. They are brutal, in the most literal sense of the word, and horrific. (I’ve now sealed the book up in mylar, which is how it will probably stay, as personally I don’t want to see these images again, or for any unsuspecting guest to find them.)

Anyone with a serious interest in Bataille’s work however has to explore this book at some point, as it gives a unique insight into the writer and philosopher’s mind. But do know what you’re letting yourself in for before you open it.

[Matthieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally given three stars back in '08 (read in September of 2007), but after a second reading, I've decided to add an additional half-star (rounding up to four). Bataille's a strange cat. Despite some fascinating information here (e.g., the painting(s) in the Lascaux pit), the lack of substance behind Bataille's theories/assertions often reduces the text to a series of disjointed declarations.

[Valéria]

My 800th book on this app… I shall finish the small review I intend to post by the end of the day… interesting work but I have my honest doubts in regards to its basis…

[Tosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Georges Bataille's great (illustrated) book on the connection between eroticism and death. The two doorways one can't avoid, yet we are drawn to its power. One of the great poetic essayists, Bataille is sort of like the moment one wakes up from a feverish dream. You have a memory of that dream, but then you are not fully awake.

[boredroom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up due to a search for a better understanding of sexual attitudes and life. I grew up with views from religions and schools about abstinence from sex while coping with my own libido instincts. This book liberates me as a human to understand why humans have sexual impulses; why death is not as scary even without any religion; and finally why I find myself comfortable in expressing my sexual thoughts while living amongst Asians who are mostly conservatives.

[Inge Janse · Rating 3 out of 5]

(disclaimer: ik heb hier een week cursus over gevolgd onder leiding van Lacan- en Bataille-kenner Marc de Kesel, maar alle denk- en weergavefouten hieronder zijn natuurlijk voor eigen rekening)

Dit is een bizar boek. Om zoveel redenen. Zo. Veel. Redenen. Maar ik ga het gewoon proberen.

Ten eerste: dit boek op zichzelf is niet te volgen, tenzij je een enorm Bataille-kenner bent, en snapt waar de schijnbaar oppervlakkige tekst écht over gaat.

En dat écht, dat is dus (hier kom ik op zeer glad ijs) de filosofie van Bataille dat we ons moeten realiseren dat de dood onderdeel is van het leven, dat we daar bang voor zijn, dat de realisatie van die angst voor de dood ons helpt om oprecht te leven, en dat we een gevoel kunnen krijgen van die dood via grensoverschrijdend gedrag, zoals in de erotiek, geweld en kunst. De dood, stelt Bataille, is niet iets dat we op afstand moeten houden (door het te negeren) of moeten trivialiseren (zoals religies doen, door het te vervangen door een hiernamaals waar de dood geweldig is, want slechts een toegangspoort tot de hemel), maar iets waar we ons zeer ernstig bewust van moeten zijn. De angst voor de dood is namelijk verantwoordelijk voor veel van ons gedrag, vergelijkbaar met wat ook Freud betoogde met zijn doods- en lustdriften.

Ten tweede: de inleiding is ondanks die kennis dan nog steeds onnavolgbaar. Die J.M. Lo Duca, die voor een al ernstig zieke Bataille al het beeldwerk verzamelde en het boek redigeerde, is een dusdanige fanboy on steroids dat hij geen enkel idee meer heeft dat er misschien ook een lezer is om rekening mee te houden.

Ten derde: de brief wisseling tussen Lo Duca en Bataille kun je vrolijk overslaan, tenzij je net als Lo Duca zo'n hyperfetisj hebt op Bataille dan zelfs zijn boodschappenlijsten voorbestemd zijn voor de eeuwigheid. Doe je dat niet, dan raak je al oneindig in de knoop voordat het boek goed en wel begint.

Ten vierde: de intro van Bataille is geen introductie tot het onderwerp! Verre van. Het is zijn conclusie, in een handvol kernachtige woorden en zinnen. Denk dus niet dat je daarmee in het boek landt. Je kunt het beter pas lezen als je net als ik een studieweek erop hebt zitten (en zelfs dan is het nog kabbalistische chaos, zelfs voor experts op dit vlak).

Ten vijfde: de collectie afbeeldingen is hartstikke leuk, maar veel daarvan hebben feitelijk niets te maken met het thema.

Ten zesde: wie dit boek (en dus Bataille) leest vanuit het kader van emperische wetenschap (zoals ik), die stoot zijn neus enorm. Er is zoiets als reguliere wetenschap, en dat is een afgebakend domein van de wereld die we daarmee kunnen leren kennen. En er is zoiets als filosofie die het zelf centraal stelt, dit zelf onderzoekt, en zo er beter achterkomt hoe wij als een zelf ons verhouden tot die wereld, en wat dat betekent voor hoe wij die wereld kunnen begrijpen. Bataille zit compleet in dat tweede domein. Dus ja, zijn argumenten voor waarom de primitieve culturen het zo lekker voor elkaar hadden qua besef van de dood, en het belang van offers, geweld en erotiek, die rammelen oneindig. Maak niet de fout, zoals ik, om Bataille daarop af te wijzen. Een veel interessantere aanpak (ik kwam hier pas laat achter, maar beter laat dan nooit) is om te kijken wat Bataille ons over onszelf kan leren. Dan nog steeds geloof ik niet in zijn verhaal, maar überhaupt de realisatie van het onderscheid tussen de semi-objectieve buitenwereld, en de oneindige invloed van mijn zelf op hoe en wat ik over die buitenwereld kan weten, is een geweldige.

(dit is mystiek voor gevorderden, dus een poging het concreet te maken: Aristoteles stelde dat er geen scheiding is tussen lichaam en geest, Descartes zei van wel, en die overstap veranderde het vertrekpunt van hoe we naar de werkelijkheid kijken volledig; als Bataille gelijk heeft, dan heeft dat ook enorme invloed op hoe we ons tot de werkelijkheid verhouden, en waarom we doen wat we doen)

Ten zevende: Bataille is objectief geen, ik herhaal, geen goed schrijver. Mocht je dus denken dat het aan jezelf ligt: nee, absoluut niet. Bataille is een psychopathische nachtmerrie voor elke eindredacteur. Maarja, dat probleem zit ook inherent verbonden aan wat Bataille wil doen. Hij schrijft over zaken die zich onmogelijk in woorden laten vaten. Woorden zijn vehikels van de te kennen buitenwereld, terwijl hij juist omschrijvingen wil geven van die ongekende wereld van het zelf. Taal is voor Bataille vragen om problemen, maar hij kan niet anders. Arme Bataille.

Ten achtste: wil je nog je wekelijkse portie abjecte gruwelijkheden meepikken, dan is het afsluitende hoofdstuk over de Chinese martel- en doodpraktijk van de duizend sneden (inclusief beelden die je nog jaren zullen achtervolgen) een enorme aanrader.

Ten negende: er zitten echt verdacht veel mooie kunstwerken in het boek. Goed, ze zien er niet uit, in zwart-wit en slecht gereproduceerd. Maar zelfs in deze b-uitvoering van de realiteit zie je dat er veel moois gemaakt is in deze wereld.

Ten tiende: en veel bizars ook. Mon dieu, wat is er in kunst veel van onze collectieve gekte neergeslagen.

Ten elfde: ergens heb ik het te doen met Bataille. Hij wil iets vertellen dat zich niet in taal laat vangen, krijgt ondersteuning door een redacteur die stiekem zijn eigen boodschap in het boek wil zetten, en hij heeft de connotatie van een perverse, morbide en wereldvreemde man. Terwijl Bataille gewoon heel graag wil dat we het aandurven om ons leven ten volste in het gezicht te kijken door onze angst voor de dood serieus te nemen.

Ten twaalfde: het boek kostte me 40 euro, de cursus bijna duizend. Dit is mijn duurste recensie ooit. En het was het waard ook.

PS Het meest hilarische inzicht is dat het christendom (en feitelijk elke religie en elk systeem dat regelt oplegt aan zijn volgers) in Batailles filosofie wel aan zichzelf ten onder móet gaan, maar ook heel aantrekkelijk is (en ik opeens begreep ik mijn zwaar christelijke jeugd beter). Want: een religie bestaat bij gratie van mogelijke zondes. En die zondes vinden wij mensen heerlijk, want die vormen een mogelijkheid tot transgressie, en daarmee een glimp van gene zijde. Waarna die religie nog meer zondes in het leven moet roepen om die transgressies ook weer te voorkomen. Waarna wij mensen die óók weer willen begaan. Ad infinitum. Feitelijk zijn religies transgressiemachines. Bedankt, religies!

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

The usual Bataille waffle on eroticism and death, this time with the inclusion of a lot of pretty pictures. The images make up the bulk of the book, and in short are often far more engaging than the obtuse points attempting to be made by the incredibly sparse text.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book disturbed even me.

[Cláudio · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Num primeiro passo, o sentido deste livro é abrir a consciência à identidade que existe entre a «pequena morte» e uma morte definitiva. Desde a volúpia, o delírio, até ao horror sem limites."

[João Pinho · Rating 4 out of 5]

[edições sistema solar]
Infelizmente, Bataille não conseguiu concluir todos os seus pensamentos, aprofundar a análise em torno das imagens perturbantes que nos mostra (morreu no ano seguinte). Ainda assim, é fascinante a consciência das suas próprias limitações, de que o seu pensamento ao pouco se estava a apagar.
Dito isto, penso que vale a pena ler a par do Erotismo (1957).

«Só por si, a actividade sexual difere do erotismo; a primeira manifesta-se na vida animal, e só a vida humana revela uma actividade que talvez defina um aspecto "diabólico" a que o nome de erotismo convém»

«Desde tempos muitos antigos, os homens tiveram um conhecimento alarmado da morte»

«O que eu de repente via, e me aprisionava na angústia - mas ao mesmo tempo libertava dela - era a identidade destes perfeitos contrários que, ao êxtase divino, contrapõem um horror extremo [...] A religião, toda ela, se baseou no sacrifício. Mas só um interminável desvio permitiu aceder ao instante em que os contrários parecem visivelmente ligados, em que o horror religioso expresso no sacrifício, como sabemos, se liga às profundezas do erotismo, aos derradeiros soluços que só o erotismo ilumina».

[Marc Borrás · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otro que hacía tiempo que quería releer.
No me ha pegado tan fuerte como la primera vez que me comí este texto, pero sigue siendo una delicia.
Obviamente, es fácil descalificarlo simplemente como una paja mental, pero solo Bataille es capaz de hacerse una tan hermosa.
El texto lo creo de una belleza en su narración supina, y aunque algunas ideas son sacadas de datos hoy día superados (especialmente todo lo referente a la prehistoria) mientras otras se formulan prácticamente como psicoanálisis, pero que todo eso me da igual.
Las ideas que expresa el autor son geniales, la selección de imágenes muy sesuda y su prosa como pocas.

[Leonardo Rodríguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fulgurante y glacial. Lástima que la única ilustración de esta edición algo incómoda, sea la por lo demás fascinante "Mujer" de Hans Bellmer en la portada. No es libro sólo para leer sino para ver.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder if the makers of Martyrs had this in mind.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

--A collection of dirty and violent pictures that touches on eroticism and death: I read it and laugh. Only in the face of horror does the fragmentary totality of being become uncovered--

[Ayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

He ate with this

[Conrado · Rating 2 out of 5]

Diferente da incrivelmente caótica Experiência Interior, Bataille conseguiu nesse opúsculo fazer algo satisfatório em termos de ordem e estrutura, e providencia uma leitura muito mais fluida e rápida (levando apenas umas duas horas para terminar). Grande evolução; meus parabéns a ele.

Vamos ao resto. Ao invés de uma resenha formal, me limitarei a pequenas observações toscas que vieram à cabeça durante minha leitura da obra. Estas devem ser vistas mais como meras primeiras impressões do que como críticas produzidas por um extenso período de reflexão.

[A páginas mencionadas são da edição de bolso do livro, publicada pelas Éditions 10/18, 2004]

1. Eu sinto que Bataille nunca realmente chega a tocar no ponto que ele quer falar sobre na tese (a saber, a identificação de erotismo - que ele toma como um estado emocional (p. 59) - e morte). Ele dá vários exemplos desde as pinturas de Lascaux a ritos religiosos europeus, a pintores modernos até breves considerações acerca do vodu e da tortura lingchi chinesa. Apesar da amplitude de exemplos abarcados por Bataille, ele nunca fala exatamente o que há ali que une os temas de erotismo e morte - qual o aspecto identificador que une os dois universos. Pior ainda, Bataille nem sequer explica a sua noção de erotismo, deixando uma lacuna crucial no entendimento do leitor a despeito do seu esforço em falar sobre o erótico em um determinado exemplo. Além disso, a maioria de seus comentários são demasiado curtos para ser de qualquer valor intelectual, pois no momento em que há uma sugestão de profundidade, Bataille para e se vira a outro tópico. Há também um tanto de asserções antropológicas que me parecem bastante especulativas e gerais às quais não são providenciadas quaisquer fontes que as sustentem (especialmente na primeira parte da obra).

2. Bataille diz que a religião é em sua base subversiva (p. 95). Essa afirmação parece superficialmente plausível quando ele apela a festas dionisíacas na religião romana, mas que me parece extremamente implausível quando olhamos para religiões extremamente regradas como judaísmo. Mesmo além desse ponto, eu falho em ver como transgressividade poderia ser uma característica essencial da religião, uma vez que outros tipos de atividade compartilham essa característica (p. ex. certas formas de pornografia, gêneros de filme como horror, etc.).

Voltando ao parágrafo precedente, o problema aqui é que Bataille explora de maneira demasiado superficial a relação entre proibições religiosas e erotismo. Apesar de alguns pontos me parecerem interessantes e sugestivos nessa parte, Bataille não explica nada muito a fundo e se limita na maioria das vezes a escrever frases poéticas e vagas para resumir sua posição ou fechar (de maneira insatisfatória) um parágrafo/seção.

3. A escrita de Bataille continua bonita, mas há uma perda notável da intensidade presente em obras anteriores, escritas durante o período de juventude do autor. Se antes já não era pra lá de intelectualmente estimulante, nem os aspectos formais compensam muito agora.

No geral, eu não fiquei entediado, mas o livro me parece bem medíocre. Sendo a última obra de Bataille publicada em sua vida, eu imagino ser uma obra "conclusiva" que resume os vários tópicos que ele abordou em obras anteriores ao longo de sua vida. Sendo assim, eu provavelmente deveria retornar e pegar outros livros dele para preencher as lacunas encontradas aqui. Talvez isso me faça enxergar a obra com outros olhos, mas no momento tudo o que posso dizer é que não estou impressionado.

[andrea]

Breve historia del erotismo en el arte, reflexiones sobre la religión y el sadismo, lo dionisiaco, la muerte, el arte, y la conciencia de la finitud... Interesante, más extendido en El Erotismo, que aún tengo pendiente de leer. Las lágrimas de Eros parece más introductorio y aproximativo a la problemática que este último, donde supongo se encontrará la mayoría de la carga teórica.

[Skylar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best read with some understanding of Bataille (or reading his other work, namely Erotism), this visual essay of humanity, eroticism, and the connection of tears and laughter is exceedingly particular to the author and all the more worthwhile for it. If sex and death are not intertwined, do not read.

[ana]

"Sempre que se levanta o problema último da vida humana, só o humor lhe responde. Só o movimento do sangue responde à possibilidade de superar o horror."

x

"Mas o que significa a sobriedade, senão o medo a tudo o que não perdura, pelo menos ao que não teve aspecto de poder perdurar?"

[m]

didn’t say anything that really stood out to me, it poses as a good introduction to his work I think? the pictures are the best part, very very well chosen!

[Kas Molenaar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laat Georges maar schuiven.

[Sara Hasanova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katılmadığım çok fazla görüş vardı. Fakat, asıl sorun, verilen bilgilerin ilişkilendirilmesi ve akıcı olmamasındaydı bence. Yazarın sunduğu temel kavramlar olan savaş, ölüm, çalışma ve erotizm arasındaki bağı tam olarak anlayamadım sanırım.

[Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

El último libro de Bataille, reivindicado y reeditado póstumamente. La relación entre erotismo y muerte, entre lo sagrado y el horror, entre el goce y la imagen. Una iconografía espectacular. "¿Acaso existe una verdadera diferencia entre la poesía y el erotismo, o entre el erotismo y el éxtasis?"

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sublime.

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

'I say it in this book; and I can do so only under the emblem of tears. I write these desolate phrases in a state of mind quite the opposite of the delirious sangfroid that the name Erzsébet Báthory calls up. It is not a question of remorse, nor of a rage of desire as it was in Sade's mind. It concerns opening consciousness to the representation of what man really is. Faced with this representation, Christianity went into hiding. Beyond a doubt, mankind as a whole must forever remain in hiding, but human consciousness—in pride and humility, with passion and in trembling—must be open to the zenith of horror. Although Sade can be read with east today, it has not changed the number of crimes—even sadistic crimes—but it fully opens human nature to a consciousness of itself'