Sweet Suffering: Woman as Victim

In this volume, Dr Shainess introduces the complexity of masochism to a broad audience. She does this by skillfully weaving clinical material together with psychodynamic understanding, elucidating and clarifying the concepts she considers with case examples. Dr Shainess discusses the multiple determinants of masochism, including intrapsychic, cultural, and familial contributions. She argues that the roots of masochism begin early in life, through subtle communications within families and in society, and that the manifestations of masochism grow because these early patterns are repeatedly reinforced. She adds considerable substance to her thesis through reviews of historical, literary, and film contributions. These enliven and expand our perspective and enable us to understand the elusive picture of this omnipresent problem. While one might not necessarily be in agreement with her interpretation of some of the clinical data she presents, Dr Shainess is a perceptive and insightful clinician. She is very clear about what are