Mysticism of masochism

Using clinical and literary examples, the author arrives at a Jungian interpretation of masochism which, unlike various Freudian theories, construes masochism as an abortive attempt of the “becoming consciousness” on the path of individuation. Masochism would thus be a desire for the Other, i.e., for the self, and an attempt to express an aspiration to transcendence which fails to find its path.