" On Ownership "

What does it mean to be owned by, literally to be the property of another human being? By definition, this means that one is that person's slave. Normally, this is considered to be among the most ignoble and undesirable states in which one can find oneself; but what of the case when one freely and willingly gives oneself, body and mind, heart and soul, to one's Mistress, to serve, obey, worship and adore Her, as Her property, Her slave? Perhaps paradoxically, for a submissive in service to a truly worshipful Mistress, this can be simultaneously one of the most humbling, even degrading, yet also ennobling experiences imaginable. When one becomes the property of a superior Mistress, there exists a bond of trust and communion in which the slave almost, as it were, becomes a part of the Mistress, and thus, in some sense, partakes of Her beauty and Her glory, Her superiority, while at the same time remaining Her lowly, humble slave, undeserving of the high honor even of basking in the glory of Her presence. There is something ineffably profound about the seeming contradiction between the humiliation of knowing that one is utterly Her slave, not worthy even to lick the ground beneath Her glorious feet, and the exaltation of being allowed by Her, at least figuratively, to do so anyway.

Another paradox about the Mistress/slave relationship is that, while faithfully serving a superior Mistress is, in one sense, a great responsibility, yet at the same time it relieves the slave of many responsibilities as well. Decisions which, previously to giving oneself into slavery, might have been difficult or painful, now all come down to only the simple question, "Does Mistress will it?" or "Will it please my Mistress?"Also, while it is the absolute duty of one who is owned by a Mistress to obey Her unhesitatingly and unquestioningly in all things, to suffer any pain, indignity or humiliation which it may please Her to bestow upon Her lowly slave, at the same time the slave is aware that the Mistress will never harm or endanger Her property, any more than would the owner of a thoroughbred horse or a purebred dog. This however, is not to be seen in any way as some sort of bargain or quid pro quo between the slave and the Mistress; it is simply that it is in the Mistress' best interest to see to it that Her property is kept in good condition. Often, this may entail duties or sufferings which are far from what the slave might have desired, but it is the Mistress' prerogative to use Her property as She decides, for Her pleasure and amusement, and the slave's responsibility to revel in any opportunity She may offer of serving and pleasing Her.

Finally, but by no means least importantly, there arises the question of loyalty. While a mere submissive may flit from one Mistress to another, serving any who may condescend to make use of them, a slave's loyalty is absolutely and only to his or her Mistress, and there is no question of the slave even considering worshiping or serving another, except under the Mistress' direct command, for Her pleasure and in service to Her. Naturally, as with any other of Her possessions, the Mistress may at any time that pleases Her decide to loan, give or sell any of Her slaves to anyone She chooses, but this is Her right, Her decision to make, and one in which the slave has no say, no choice, as the slave is merely one of Her possessions, to be used or discarded according to Her will alone. The best a slave can do in this regard is strive to serve Her so well as to be treasured by Her as a prized possession.

In short, the slave has no rights, any more than has a car or a boot or a piece of livestock. The slave also has no true possessions; the act of giving oneself to one's Mistress as Her property includes all that one formerly thought of as one's belongings, which now belong, as does the slave, to Her. The slave has only duties and responsibilities, and even these are few, and can be summed up as to serve, worship, adore, obey and please the Mistress in whatever way She desires, to the very best of one's ability, and hopefully always at least just a little bit beyond what one may have thought one's abilities to be. To the truly devoted slave, there is no joy, no pleasure, no satisfaction that compares with the knowledge of having pleased one's Mistress, one's owner. This is a consummation devoutly to be wished.