Gorean Commands and Positions

Kneel

A Gorean slave girl in the presence of a free man or woman always kneels, unless excused from doing so. I had even learned to kneel when addressed by the guards and, of course, always, when approached by Targo, my master. A Gorean slave, incidentally, always addresses free men as “Master,” and all free women as “Mistress.”  CAPTIVE OF GOR; 7; Page 73

“A girl,” I told her, “on entering the compartment of her master, kneels.”
“I did not know, Master,” she said.
“Furthermore,” I said, “commonly, in the presence of a free man, the girl kneels.”
“Yes, Master,” she said, frightened.
I looked at her. I hoped that she was not stupid.  TRIBESMEN OF GOR; 10; Pages 46-47

The door opened and Susan entered, and knelt down and lowered her head. It is common for slaves to kneel when entering the presence of free persons. It is common, too, of course, more generally, for them to kneel whenever they find themselves in the presence of a free person, for example, if they are in a room and a free person enters.
“You may finish your work,” I informed the slave, from Cincinnati, Ohio.
“Yes, Mistress. thank you, Mistress,” said the girl. In a moment, then, she was again, on her hands and knees, with water and cloths, her bead down, rinsing and cleaning the tiles, thoroughly and carefully removing the residue of sticky, half-dried wine from them.  KAJIRA OF GOR; 19; Page 159

“Go now, over there,” he said, pointing, “and get in that line, where you see that small yellow flag. You will be in the chain of Borkon. He will be your whip master.”
“Yes, Master,” I said. Borkon, I realized, whoever he was, was he whom I must now strive to please. “Is that all, Master?”
“Yes,” he said. “Did you expect to be intricately measured, to be toe-printed, and such? You are not a high slave. You are a low slave, a mill girl.”
“Yes, Master,” I said. “Forgive me, Master.” I then leapt up and ran to stand in the indicated line. In a few Ehn I was joined there by Emily and Luta. The other girls were being sent to other lines.
In a few Ehn more we were approached by a short, muscular man in a half tunic. He came walking towards us, across the yard. He had emerged from one of the mill buildings. His arms were extremely thick. There was a whip at his belt.
When he stopped near us, we knelt, a common behavior for slave girls in the presence of a free man.
“Stand,” he said.
We stood. We straightened our bodies. He walked about slowly. KAJIRA OF GOR; 19; Page 270

“Kneel, Slave,” said Ligurious, defining the relationship between them.
“Yes, Master,” she said.
“Is that the fashion in which I have my women kneel before me?” he asked.
“Forgive me, Master,” she said, and put her head down to the tiles before him, the palms of her hands flat on the floor.  KAJIRA OF GOR; 19; Page 398

Certain of these things, such as failing to kneel in the presence of a free man, may be regarded as a capital offense on the part of a Gorean slave girl, even if it is inadvertent. It intent is involved in such an omission, it can be an occasion for death by torture.  PLAYERS OF GOR; 20; Page 252

I then walked as a slave, proudly, my shoulders back, gracefully and beautifully, as a woman owned by men. As an Earth female I would never have dared to walk in such a way. Such movements are probably indexed, like physical distances between individuals, to the culture. In Gorean culture, generally, it seemed to me that people stood closer to one another than I was accustomed to on Earth. In this way it was natural for men here, for example, to stand much closer to the scantily clad slave then the average man of, say, northern Europe, on Earth, would be likely to, to a woman of his area. Indeed, he usually stands up and draw her to him, taking her in his arms. The dynamic consequences of these proximities are minimized considerably, of course, by the fact that the slave often kneels in the presence of the free male. It is customary in the kneeling position to remain back a few feet from the male. The kneeling position, itself, expresses the servitude of the slave, and her submission. The distance serves three major purposes. It symbolizes in the distance, as well as in the differential in height, the social inferiority of the slave to the master. It puts the slave in a position where all of her, for the master’s delight, can be seen. A space between the slave and the free male so that the releasing of his rapacity is then likely to require a decision, and is less likely to be simply, reflexively, triggered. This is regarded as being particularly important when the slave is in the presence of a male who is not her master. The kneeling position, thus, interestingly, can occasionally provide a measure of security, if a somewhat tenuous one, for the slave, tending to reduce to some extent the frequency with which, in a culture with such interpersonal proximities, she might otherwise be subjected to unauthorized rape. This same tiny measure of protection, of course, puts her in much greater danger from her real master, for he, observing her, seeing her kneeling beautifully before him, can also delay in his considerations as to her suitable exploitations. How shall he use her? What shall he have her do, and so on. To be sure, sometimes he simply takes her and when he wants her, and almost by reflexive whim. She is his. The main reason why a slave kneels, of course, aside from such subtle and complex considerations, is simply that she is a slave, and that that position, accordingly, is appropriate for her.  DANCER OF GOR; 22; Pages 156-157

He, as she knelt, pulled her wrists behind her, crossed them, and bound them together. He then crossed her ankles and, with the same length of fiber, bound them to her wrists. Fulvius had earlier tied me in much the same manner. It is a common slave tie. In it the female is fastened in a position of subservience, cannot rise to her feet, is well displayed, cannot defend herself, and is utterly helpless.  DANCER OF GOR; 22; Page 438

“We are not of Ar,” I said.
“Oh,” she said, standing her ground, trembling a little.
“Are you accustomed to standing in the presence of free men?” I asked.
“I will kneel if it will please you,” she said.
“If you do not kneel,” I said, “it is possible that I may be displeased.”
She regarded me.
“Kneel!” I said.
Swiftly she knelt.  MAGICIANS OF GOR; 25; Page 121

Shortly thereafter I became aware of a presence behind me. I turned. There was a guardsmen there, a regular, not an auxiliary. I had never seen him before. He did not seem angry. I lifted Lavinia upward. “Ai!” I said, softly. I then put her to her feet in the doorway. She kissed at my arm, and kept her arms about me. Surely she was aware of the observer, as well. “Do you not know enough to kneel in the presence of a free man?” I asked her. Quickly she removed her arms from my body, smoothed down her tunic, and knelt, properly, in the doorway.  MAGICIANS OF GOR; 25; Page 398
 

Kudos to you, Mr. Norman for writing the Gorean series!
A rich, yet utterly simple saga; a world, a time, a people;
those of the Counter-Earth .. the planet .. Gor.
Thank you!

The material presented herein was researched and compiled by me, naia{Saul}.
The material referenced comes from John Norman's Gor Series, The Counter-Earth Saga.
This is a work in process.
Please, do not take, copy, duplicate, or use this work as your own.
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