Women appreciate cruelty, downright cruelty, more than anything else.

I am afraid that women appreciate cruelty, downright cruelty, more than anything else. They have wonderfully primitive instincts. We have emancipated them, but they remain slaves looking for their masters, all the same. They love being dominated. 

– Oscar Wilde,  Picture of Dorian Grey

Why do Women Fall for Bullies?  Regina Barreca, Ph.D, Psychology Today, July 17 2009