 Wanda von Dunajew, the novel's central female character, was modelled after Fanny Pistor, who was an emerging literary writer.The two met when Pistor contacted Sacher-Masoch, under the assumed name and fictitious title of Baroness Bogdanoff, for suggestions on improving her writing to make it suitable for publication.The framing story concerns a man who dreams of speaking to Venus about love while she wears furs.