The four main characters of 120 Days of Sodom derive pleasure from the exertion of power over everyone around them. The victim characters have specific, strict duties and must obey exactly or be punished. The methodical power structure they assemble and the violent discipline the four main characters inflict on their victims are the most straightforward examples of the abuse of power and control in the book, but they oddly and in a roundabout fashion also exert control over themselves. Self control is certainly not a concept one would immediately associate with 120 Days of Sodom, but the way four use their so-called “regulations” for their plan for their own pleasure “by suspense” is another manner of enjoying control. The strident planning of the day by the hour, the schedule for the stories to be told, and the fixed dates for them to commit certain acts are all ways to restrain themselves. There are multiple instances of scenes where the four main characters at times leave a situation or act in a way so that they might not lose control of themselves. They make sure to avoid committing certain acts in order to stay within the boundaries they set for themselves in their 120 day schedule. There’s an interesting interplay between these scenes and the character’s complete lack of restraint otherwise. Their control of themselves cannot be a result of moral considerations, as they all both state and display their completely amoral outlook on life. They take their pleasure out of exerting control not just over others but over themselves, however it is likely that they would not enjoy someone else exerting power over them and being told what they can and cannot do. It is still the fact that they are the ones exerting control that matters. All their self control is for the same ends as nearly every other act they commit in the book: their own enjoyment.