Did She Fall Or Was She Pushed? Dangerous Liaisons Readalong 2024

It’s not for Gercourt’s pleasure, though — it’s to humiliate him. He ditched Merteuil humiliatingly, and as she knows he’s obsessed with marrying a completely innocent, convent-educated virgin, Merteuil wants to turn him into a public joke by making sure Cecile is not only no longer a virgin, but will turn out on her wedding night to be visibly sexually experienced and very far from the innocent convent girl Gercourt confidently thinks he’s married.

Merteuil stresses here as well that Cecile is dying for experience, and that she sees great potential in her — making it sound as if she thinks she’s doing her a favour!

I'll admit that I have to keep reminding myself, even though it's about a million years since I saw the Stephen Frears film adaptation, that 'Danceny is not Keanu Reeves. Danceny is not Keanu Reeves.'

(Though, to avoid spoilers, as Danceny turns out later on to be rather good at a spot of duelling, maybe he'd have been excellent at the Hunger Games...?

• Danceny returns looking like he just got picked for the Hunger Games.

🤣🤣

Yes Bishy that line really struck me too!

It’s is pretty standard Teenage Emo Boyfriend stuff, in a way — and classic male entitlement when he’s expecting her to have noticed his silence, his gloom etc and to have correctly interpreted them as signs of love, rather than just thinking her harp performance must be worse than usual that day, AND says how could she be angered by him displaying feelings she’s forced him to have, a passion she’s created herself, and that she’s his first ever love? And then he’s wheedling her into a reply, otherwise he’ll think she hates him…

Merteuil would just say ‘Down, boy!’ but of course poor, innocent Cecile goes down like a ninepin…

Phew finally caught up after a few days on holiday. For those asking the french just says "harpe" I had taken this to be a harp because it's the same word!

I already nerdily know what a clavecin is but that seems an odd mistake for a translator to make.

The whole business with the letter and the case is touching and naive, coming straight after Valmonts experienced rakes letter especially so.

What is striking me with every letter is everyone but everyone vousvois each other all the time, mother's, lovers, friends. It adds to the atmosphere of game and artificiality and gives the characters that little bit more reserve and distance. I do know it was totally normal at the time but today it really adds to the sense they're playing a courtly love game.

Another translation effect is some of the wit is definitely smoother in the french as you'd expect, Mme de Merteuils letter about her tryst with the Chevalier fairly zooms along, my penguin classic is a bit ploddy in comparison.

Can't wait to see what comes next.

Hope you don't mind I've posted the summary.
As was pointed out before, Schmoop do seem to try and set the narrative by putting odd comments at the bottom:

Maybe he thinks this sounds romantic?
If you're like us, you're screaming, "Wake up, girlfriend!" right about now.

• Letter 17: The Chevalier Danceny to Cécile de VolangesDanceny professes his love for Cécile. He's a mess.
• He tells Cécile that if she doesn't return his affections then his fate will be eternal misery.
• Basically, if he suffers, it's all her fault. One word from her will restore his happiness.
• Maybe he thinks this sounds romantic?

My kindle books refers to "harpsichord...I found hid among the strings" and my book says "he went to shut up my harp in its case... In the strings I found a letter"
And my book also has illustrations (which I did not realise - bonus!) which shows a harp.

There is the comedic scene in the film where they are practicing singing from the Opera on the harp and while Danceny re-positions Ceciles fingers, he pushes a note between the strings that reads "I love you." Cecile then continues with her singing while Mdm Merteuil winces.

I was wondering about that earlier.
The gaps between the strings of a harp can be quite wide, but this is a small harp for a salon, not a concert harp. Presumably the note was threaded in between the strings. The harp has a case or cover so she discovered the note on taking it off. That's how I understand it!

Finally a proper piece of news to tell Sophie!

Some English translations, slightly oddly, seem to translate 'harpe' as harpsichord (though that's 'clavecin' in French -- admittedly it's difficult to know how anyone could conceal a letter between the strings of a harp, or how a harp could be locked?

Valmont’s valet sent to seduce the chambermaid in the film adaptation (the one with John Malkovich and Glenn Close) was played by a very young-looking Peter Capaldi!

Feel like I'll be saying oops a lot 😂

Everyone's getting in on the intrigue but I missed it or misunderstood the bit about the seduction of the chambermaid by Valmont's valet. Oops de ma part 😳
Thank you Bishy and Shmoop!