It depends on how the machine is used. It could make her an "accidental" masochist—she associates torture with pleasure. It could give her a stockholm syndrome, or maker her addicted to the feelings of pleasure.
Doodles
Have you researched PTSD, accounts from torture and sexual abuse victims, etc?
I also think the OP is presented in a way that's hard to give more contructive discussion. There are many possible ways for a person to deal with trauma, depending on their personality and previous experiences.
Also, since you've decided to include torture in your work, you should read this essay
first. This is a sensitive subject, so I hope you know that you need to treat it as respectfully as possible.
edit again: I guess I should let you know that a sentence like this
edited 24th Dec '11 3:35:08 PM by melloncollie
I honestly can't give good advice on this, but I recommend you do what I would do in the same situation: open up Google and look around. Look for as much information you can, and work from there.
I changed accounts.
Fool
Considering we don't know anything about "her" or the context of this situation, there's no way to answer that question. I guess someone who's tortured would feel bad?
Honestly, just from the description you've provided, this sounds like a pretty awful idea.
For the rain it raineth every day.
read
Why? Torture is used all the time. A device like this was even used in the Animorphs. It's been done before.
oddly
Welcome, traveller, welcome to Omsk
The character would most probably feel very ashamed and disgusted with themselves for enjoying the treatment (even though they had no choice in the matter), and would probably suffer very far-reaching PTSD. Stockholm Syndrome may be likely, since the character would associate their captors with a nice experience.
And as others have said: for goodness' sake, treat this plot element with respect. Show that the character suffers from internal conflict (the body may feel pleasure, but the mind and judgment understands that it's actually abuse). Don't just toss in a story element like this for shock value or fanservice.
It does not matter who I am. What matters is, who will you become? - motto of Omsk Bird
Why does everyone assume I won't treat this with respect? Is it such a far-reaching problem in this community that writers care so little about their characters?
Anyway, thanks to those of you who pointed me to Stockholm Syndrome and PTSD research, it's been of much use to me. Please now allow this thread to die peacefully so another may fill its place.
@Glass pistol, don't take offense. We've just seen a rash of shallow writers.
Doodles
Yes, I understand. But still, I have a hard time believing some of the crap that gets out these days.
Me, I've already written three novels and I still don't consider myself good. But to sink so low as to torture one of my characters without respect, that's just a sickening level of disrespect.
Welcome, traveller, welcome to Omsk
Glass Pistol, I'd like to apologise for making assumptions about your writing. I've written works where the protagonists are tortured or have other nasty things happen to them, and you're obviously right that such a story can be written while still showing respect for the characters.
The OP of this thread pretty much sums up the trap I fell into: a lot of people on the internet tend to assume the worst when writers pitch their work (or otherwise discuss it without a sizeable excerpt), because they don't have enough material to form a judgment of the work's seriousness. (Also, on a personal note, pleasure-centre stimulating devices are High Octane Nightmare Fuel for me, which may have made my response harsher than it would have been otherwise.)
I'm writing a scene where the main character is interrogated while hooked up to an electric-pleasure-center-stimulater, but I want to hear from the rest of you.
How do you guys think this would affect her psyche in the short/long term?