Les Liaisons Dangereuses :: essays research papers

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a complex and disturbing portrayal of the noble class in pre-revolutionary France. Set in the late eighteenth century during the latter part of the Ancien Regime, Les Liaisons weaves a web of cold, calculated betrayal of the most immoral kind. The story unfolds in the form of earn written between the principal characters, giving it a unique literary texture. By using this style, de Laclos is able to give the reader a shockingly inside look at these people as they divulge their most intimate secrets and bring to fruition their sinister plans.The protagonists, The Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, consider it their lifes opposition to sadistically control and dominate those around them through sexual intrigue. These two villains are indeed locked in psychological combat to see who can actually out-do the otherwise in stalking, capturing and destroying the souls of others. Taking absolute pleasure in ripping any virtue from the hearts of t heir prey, Merteuil and Valmont wave their accomplishments in front of each other care spoils of war. The less the chance of surrender, the more relentless is the pursuit. The story begins with the Marquise de Merteuil corresponding with Vicomte de Valmont regarding a luscious new act of revenge, as she describes it, against the Comte de Gercourt. The young Cecile de Volanges has simply come home from the convent and her marriage to Gercourt has been arranged. However, before he can wed the innocent child, Merteuil proposes Valmont educate her, thus spoiling Gercourts fancy for untarnished convent girls. Valmont is benumbed in such an easy seduction and is far more aroused by the thought of lulling The Presidente de Tourvel, the very epitome of virtue, into submission. And so the tale unfolds. Valmont eventually beds the double-dyed(a) Cecile in order to humor Merteuil, however, the conquest of Madam de Tourvel is his passion and he indulges in this pursuit until he reaches the intended conclusion.Although, it would be a mistake to imbibe Valmont as anything but the monster that he is, there seems to be a small measure of actual affection for Tourvel, however short-lived. Once Valmont shares this strange and unhoped-for interest in Madame de Tourvel, The Marquise de Merteuil is enraged, considering it an appalling sign of weakness. In order to save face, Valmont returns to his ruthless ways, thus completing the destruction of Madame de Tourvel, who had ultimately fallen deucedly in love with Valmont.