While modern companion dolls seem like a product of the 21st century, their origins are surprisingly deep and varied, rooted not just in carnal desire but also in art, grief, and the timeless human fear of loneliness. Looking back, we find that the impulse to create an artificial human partner is a complex one.
One of the most cited, if embellished, origin stories comes from the art world. In the early 1920s, artist Oskar Kokoschka, devastated after a breakup, commissioned a life-sized doll made in the image of his former lover. He didn’t just use it for sex; he took it to the opera, sketched it, and treated it as his silent, tragic muse before eventually destroying it in a fit of passion. This story highlights a key motivation beyond sex: the desire to preserve a memory and combat the pain of loss. Earlier legends of “dames de voyage” used by sailors point to another core origin: profound isolation. For men at sea for years, a crude effigy was a way to combat the crushing loneliness of their existence. These stories reveal that from the very beginning, the drive to create these companions was about more than just physical release; it was an attempt to fill an emotional or psychological void.