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

So the Vicomte is as jealous of the Marquise's affection for the Chevalier as she is jealous of his attachment to the Presidente. Are they actually just in love with each other and playing these games to hide the depth of their feelings?

And what is the Presidente doing, setting a servant to spy on the Vicomte? Only a few letter ago, she was assuring Mme de Volanges that Valmonte seldom goes out and what he does is none of her business. Why would a happily married woman be so interested in what another man gets up to?

It's all very intriguing...

Letter 15: The Vicomte de Valmont to the Marquise de Merteuil

• Valmont and Merteuil aren't just playing treacherous games with others; they're playing each other as well.
• Determined not to be impressed by Merteuil's plot against her lover, Valmont tells Merteuil that she's under her lover's power and not the other way around.
• He's shocked that any other man could challenge the power he has over Merteuil.
• Meanwhile, Valmont's valet has, under orders, made love to a chambermaid in Valmont's aunt's place in an effort to get info about the household.
• He's discovered that Madame de Tourvel has been asking about Valmont's activities and told a servant of hers to follow and spy on him.
• Seems everyone's getting in on the intrigue.

It's almost as if Schmoop can't cope without an omniscient narrator so they are trying to be one. I think the summaries are more helpful than not, but they definitely bring an added viewpoint into the mix. When I was doing Ruth I had to sit on my hands not to add my own authorial comments, so I understand the temptation - and Schmoop is definitely going for an irreverent vibe here.

So...I haven't read the book before and have only the broadest idea of where it is heading. The Shmoops summaries are obviously written with the benefit of hindsight, and do seem to be dropping hints/spoilers.

This one makes no sense to me at all. I think we've worked out for ourselves that Merteuil and Valmont are well dodgy and we are not supposed to take them at face value. But is this saying that Cecile ia an unreliable narrator? Other than in that she is clearly very naive and a lot of stuff is going straight over her head?

I'm sure time will tell....

Letter 14: Cécile de Volanges to Sophie Carney

• Cécile tells Sophie that she cried her eyes out because she couldn't be with Danceny and Merteuil.
• The effects of Merteuil's plotting are becoming apparent.
• Cécile's affections for Danceny are growing and she's excited that he finds her prettier than Merteuil—at least according to Merteuil, who wants to get her excited about Danceny.
• Cécile finds that she's more concerned with her appearance lately. Wonder why.
• A good rule of thumb: don't assume that the information these characters provide is accurate. There's a lot of deception going on. Unreliable narrators abound.

Letter 13: The Marquise de Merteuil to Cécile de Volanges

• Merteuil offers to come over to keep Cécile's mother company.
• She suggests they listen to her and Danceny sing duets.
• Remember, everything's a plot with Merteuil. And with Valmont.

Chapter 10 - I was preoccupied with the awfulness of the "she wants it really" narrative and almost missed the elaborate game the Marquise is playing with the Chevalier. Blowing hot and cold, dressing up, reading licentious literature to get herself in the right frame of mind, and the final master stroke of telling the Chevalier he has the key, while keeping a copy in case she decides to take a different lover there. Also, telling the Vicomte he is the one she likes best but the Chevalier is the one she finds the most attractive. So much complex game playing!

Letter 12: Cécile de Volanges to the Marquise de Merteuil

• Cécile sends regrets that she can't attend the opera as her momma is under the weather.
• She's more sorry to miss Merteuil's company than she is the opera.
• She asks Merteuil to tell Danceny that she doesn't have the songbook he mentioned to her.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh yes, the writer's loquacious and convincing argument that a women must protest and pretend to resist so that she seems to be yielding to force. Chilling indeed. I don't think we are supposed to accept that as representative of the views of the day, as our conniving pair are so clearly self serving and immoral, but it seems plausible some men might have chosen to believe the argument.

@AgualusasLover I don't think it's in any way wrong for a woman to write a man or vice versa. I do think it slightly weakens the impact of the shock of the female character acting in a classically male way when you remember she has been invented by a man. It breaks the 4th wall for me because it reminds me that what I'm reading has been made up and it's not a real life character. But I agree he's created two most enjoyable dastardly villains.

Letter 11: Madame de Tourvel to Madame de Volanges

• Tourvel isn't concerned about Valmont and tries to calm her friend's fears.
• He's being all gentlemanly and not at all flirty. Deceptively, of course, but Tourvel doesn't know that.
• She's so assured of his virtue that she would be OK with having him as a brother.
• To her, Valmont shows all the signs of being on a path to redemption and reform.
• We get a very clear picture of how good Valmont is at creating this persona for himself
• If you're like us, you're screaming, "Wake up, girlfriend!" right about now.

Letter 10: The Marquise de Merteuil to the Vicomte de Valmont

• Merteuil teases Valmont that his obsession with the Madame de Tourvel is changing him. He's turning into a foolish schoolboy.
• She seems a little put out that she's not getting much attention herself from Valmont.
• She accuses him of falling in love with Tourvel.
• She thinks he should just take Madame de Tourvel rather than waiting for her to give herself to him.
• The Marquise claims that women love to be taken aggressively, since this gives them an excuse for giving in, even when it's what they wanted in the first place.
• She tells him about a romantic evening with her chevalier.
• After torturing him with suggestions that she was leaving, she arranged a series of events that left him lusting after her.
• She enjoyed watching how her words and behavior could make him crazy.
• She finally spent a steamy night with him in her bedroom; the reader gets all the details.

It is traditional that most of us will either be lagging behind or got carried away and raced ahead. It's surprisingly tricky to read one short chapter a day.

Love the Blackadder vibe! Given the slightly soft focus pic, I'm choosing to believe she has him gripped by the collars and is pulling him towards her in a forceful manner, though to be fair, it's much more likely she's pressing her hands against his chest in a much more passive stance.

The feather made me smile, remembering the Stockport Council RSE video where a man rather coyly chased a woman round the bedroom with a feather, leaving a generation of primary kids with a slight misapprehension about what the sex act actually involved.

Thanks for sharing.