Self-denial#
Summary#
Self-denial, particularly in its religious sense, is understood as a form of cruelty directed toward oneself. Practices such as self-mutilation, asceticism, desensualisation, and Puritanical repentance are driven by a secret allure and dangerous thrill of self-directed cruelty. This internalized cruelty operates as a hidden pleasure, revealing that self-denial is not the overcoming of the “wild beast” but its transfiguration into a spiritualized form.