fc

Bound
by
Contract

(The truth about
Gorean
Free Companionship)

~Art courtesy of An_Rach~

"There is no marriage as we know it on Gor, but there is the institution of free companionship, which is it's nearest correspondent. Surprisingly enough, a woman who is bought from her parents, for tarns of gold, is regarded as a free companion, even though she may not have been consulted in the transaction. More commendably, a free woman may herself, of her own free will, agree to be such a companion. Such relationships are not entered into lightly, and they are normally sundered only by death."

Outlaw of GOR, pg 54

The free companionship relationship is one of many things from Norman's works that has not made the transition from the books. It is a relationship of great depth and one which is almost never explored fully here in this virtual medium, and rarely spoken of in depth offline. It is submission. Plain and simple.... submission.

According to Norman, most free companionships were arranged. The woman was virtually sold for political or business reasons. The contract people are so fond of referring to was not one signed between two equals, but more of a "bill of sale" between the man and the woman's family. She had nothing to do with the negotiations.

However, there were some few brave free women who entered the free companionship of their own free will. In Norman's own words, they were to be commended. Why? Because she submits to him. Not the surrender of a slave, but submission in it's purest sense. Active submission as opposed to passive surrender.

When a slave begs a collar, she is slave. She has already surrendered herself to the will of the free. Now, should that collar be refused, she may suffer a little wounded pride, but she is still slave. Let's suppose she is collared. Perhaps it turns out to be not what she expected. He is more harsh, more demanding than she imagined. She can beg release. If it's granted, she is now unowned, but still slave. A little worse for the wear perhaps.. but her status has not changed. She is still as she was before. Slave.

A free woman however, who willingly enters into a free companionship takes a risk. She risks everything for the love of the man. She entrusts to him, not only her property and her body, but the most precious thing she has..... her freedom. One year. Hopefully forever, but one year at a time. What greater tribute could a woman bestow on a man than the gift of her total submission. Placing all that she has, all that she is, in his hands. Knowing full well the risk she takes. Knowing that there are no outs, except for enslavement or death.

One year. I wonder how many slaves would be so eager to beg a collar if they knew they'd be locked into it for at least one year with no chance of release. I'd bet not many. I wonder how many free women who are so quick to become a free companion (or to change them) ever think about the depth of the commitment and the risk taken. I wonder how many men who take a free companion are aware of the power and responsibility placed in their hands.

We have all heard Norman's opinion that "a taste of the slave ring can be beneficial to a companion who has forgotten her place." But do we truly understand the ramifications of that statement? In the morning after a night in chains, when the woman looks up and says,"Ok, honey... I've learned my lesson," there is no guarantee that he will unlock those chains. Instead of the lover she has come to know, she might just look up and see instead a man who has decided that he prefers her naked and chained. Where yesterday she was in a tavern at his side sipping Ka-la-na, tonight she just might find herself crawling naked across that same tavern floor to lick at his boots.

I can hear women now saying, "Oh, but he's my Love.... not my master." Blink and that could change. When you became his companion of your own free will, that is exactly what you agreed to. You became his. Some men, when faced with their woman's unacceptable behavior, say,"I can't punish her, she is free." Wrong..... she is female... Period. When you took her as your companion, you also assumed the responsibility for her behavior. You, by declaring publicly your companionship, agreed to keep this female firmly in her place in the natural order. When she agreed to be yours, she gave you the tool to do so....... her freedom.

Not what you thought? Not the romantic happily ever after, annually renewed love of a lifetime you imagined? No, it is not. The free companionship which Norman depicts is one of depth and complexity.... and submission. If that's not what you bargained for, I suggest you re-think. If that is not what your "relationship" is.... then it is probably not a Gorean free companionship.

Call it what it is............. or live up to what you call it.

I wish you well,

Dangrus

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