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

Speaking of vengeance against men, Letter 85 is quite the doozy. I went ahead and posted it now even though it's actually the letter for tomorrow.

Letter 83: The Vicomte de Valmont to the Présidente de Tourvel

• He asks for another meeting with Tourvel. He's certain he could show her that he's not the bad guy she thinks he is.
• He appeals to her virtuous nature and claims that he's been misled all his life until he met her. Now he wants to become virtuous himself.
• Why should she be afraid of his love? He only wants to make her happy.
• It's he who should be afraid of seeing her again, because it would give her even more power over him.
• Even so, he's willing to make that sacrifice in order to tell her how he feels.
• What a guy.

Letter 84: The Vicomte de Valmont to Cécile de Volanges

• Valmont explains why he couldn't deliver a letter to her yesterday.
• He then asks her to get the key to her room kept on her mother's mantelpiece.
• He has a fake key to put in its place.
• He'll make a duplicate so he can get into her room.
• This would allow him to easily take and deliver the dangerous liaisons.
• He also suggests that she oil her door to keep its opening and closing quiet.
• Shmoop is getting a sinking feeling right about now.

Letter 85: The Marquise de Merteuil to the Vicomte de Valmont

• The Marquise conquers Prévan.
• She determines that she's the object of his lust by making him choose between her company and playing cards.
• (The guy must really love playing cards for this to be the decisive point for the Marquise.)
• They hang out in the company of others. Prévan speaks to her and another woman, but the Marquise can read the code in his words—the secret message in them for her.
• She pretends to be afraid of him. Apparently, men love this.
• She subtly suggests a place to rendezvous.
• They meet.
• The Marquise then arranges a chance for them to be secretly alone together after a card game.
• She's been carefully laying her trap in all her dealings with him, pretending to worry that they'll be discovered.
• They finally plan a way for him to sneak into her bedroom without anyone noticing. Prévan seems to be enjoying the hunt.
• To make it more convincing, the Marquise pretends to back out of the plan at the last moment.
• She then waits for the plan to play itself out over the next few days.
• On the arranged night, Prévan rushes to her room.
• As soon as he makes his move, she taunts him and clangs the bell for the servants. They show up en masse and one of them attacks Prévan.
• Prévan's led off under arrest and the poor wronged Marquise goes to her room to recover from the terrible trauma.
• Mission accomplished, and everyone's sure to hear about it.

I agree Fuzzy, I think Merteuil first learned how to wield power because she didn't want to end up a hapless victim. She wanted agency. But she also wants vengeance; there's her famous line, 'I was born to avenge my own sex and dominate yours.' (The reason she wants Valmont to sleep with Cecile, for instance, is that she has a grudge against Cecile's husband-to-be.' Cecile is just collateral damage in the grander project of getting vengeance against men.)

So as you say, Cornish, it's also power play for its own sake. It's not just a matter of survival; it's about pleasure and revenge.

This is the century of the Marquis de Sade as well... another writer for whom sexual pleasure is linked to domination and cruelty.

I think there is an element of self preservation in it as Merteuil had to learn how to cope and how to survive in society where men wielded power. There was no-one to guide or instruct her. However, once she learned the rules of the game, it was all about being powerful and in control and she became ruthless.

Thanks cassandre, that’s encouraging. It’s an interesting point about many professionally successful women. I suppose they have achieved within a system and therefore don’t want to challenge that system. With MdM though I don’t really see what is in it for her - it’s naked power play for its own sake rather than for material or career success?

I completely overlooked the reference to the secret about Valmont, hmm. I have no recollection at all of how that plot point unfolds... gosh, my memory can be poor.

Cornish, I'm not a fan of Merteuil either. She reminds me of a certain type of woman who gets to be successful in a male-dominated world by becoming even more ruthless than the men are. I'm sure there are women like that in the corporate world. And I've encountered a few older-generation women academics like that, who could be very cruel (sexist, even) to younger women in academia (eg me!). It's like they learn how to play/manipulate the patriarchal structure, so rise to the top in it (not an easy feat), but make no attempt to change that structure. To me, that's not feminism. But I do think Merteuil is a fascinating character and very well-drawn.

I'm also finding the drawn-out read a bit excruciating. I want to say that there is a lot of interesting narrative payoff in the second half of the novel, as the webs of intrigue grow increasingly complex... but I don't want to raise expectations too much!

MdM is congratulating herself on her cleverness and scorning people who open themselves to blackmail by writing love letters, but don’t her own letters incriminate her just as much? Um, YES. No spoilers, but you might be being quite prescient here!

Was intrigued when cassandre teased letter 81 and wondered if it would bring me round to MdM, but it hasn’t - there’s no sense of a Becky Sharp character doing what she needs to do. It is an eloquent letter and I agree that it stands out the more for being placed between Danceny and Cecile’s. I loved ‘In this unequal struggle our fortune is not to lose and your misfortune not to win’. But I’m struggling with the book - it’s like the W&P gambling scene being drawn out for a whole book - it’s the 18th century equivalent of setting out to get young girls to send nude photos just for the purpose of blackmailing them afterwards. MdM is congratulating herself on her cleverness and scorning people who open themselves to blackmail by writing love letters, but don’t her own letters incriminate her just as much? What she has on VdV better be good!

Thanks cassandre. Yes,* *I agree. Merteuil has put herself up on a pinacle, but you would wonder if it isn't a lonely place. She said earlier on that she would have liked to make Cécile her confidante. I'm also intrigued about the reference to Valmont's secret.

I was glad to see Cécile kick back a bit in her letter to Danceny. Good for her.

I went ahead and posted three summaries as I'm so keen to discuss Letter 81. 😁

I note that the super clever Letter 81 is sandwiched between the juvenile ramblings of Cecile and Danceny. Laclos likes his contrasting effects.

Agreed, Fuzzy, Merteuil is formidable! Though maybe more formidable in the English sense of the word than in the French one.

Anyway, I like this letter because it shows how Merteuil's cynical wielding of power is a response to a patriarchal society that deprives women of agency. She arrives in her husband's arms as a teenage virgin (as Cecile is meant to do), but it's not pleasure she's interested in, it's knowledge. 'I had no wish to enjoy [jouir]; I wanted to know.' The French word 'jouir' can also mean to have an orgasm...

In some ways, Merteuil can be seen as a feminist icon, but the problem as I see it is that she thinks she's different and superior to all other women. So there's no feminist solidarity whatsoever.

Even her chambermaid is effectively a slave as Merteuil can send her to prison at any moment.

Her status as a widow is important; it means that she's not under the control of a man. (When you're an unmarried woman, you're under the control of your parents; when you're married, you're under the control of your husband.) This means she can control her own finances. And of course, the fact that she isn't a virgin isn't a problem.

There's also the theme of education here: she wasn't educated, so she has effectively decided to educate herself.

She doesn't believe in love; for her, sex is all about power.

Letter 80: The Chevalier Danceny to Cécile de Volanges

• More whining from Danceny.
• Cécile is giving him less attention than he'd like.
• Love has become a torment to him. A torment.

Letter 81: The Marquise de Merteuil to the Vicomte de Valmont

• The Marquise de Merteuil ridicules Valmont for his lack of faith in her.
• He can't even begin to accomplish what she's done in her life. All his conquests have been too easy.
• Sure he's good looking (luck) and charming, but that's all he has going for him.
• He has really underestimated her, and she's not happy about it.
• She believes that men have it much easier than women in controlling their lives; it's too easy for them to be men's victims.
• Still, too many women give in to love and then are devastated by unfaithful men.
• Not her. She has created herself rather than being created by society's expectations of her.
• She gives a very long account of her ability to manipulate people without being manipulated herself.
• At the age of 15, she could read people better than most politicians and learned not to let her face give away her emotions.
• She learned only to reveal what she wanted to reveal, and was completely immune to others opinions about what she should do.
• She was naïve about sex, and decided to make a fake confession to a priest that she had done "everything that women do," even though she had no idea what she meant.
• The priest was so shocked that she figured it must be pretty exciting stuff that she should learn about ASAP.
• Fortunately, she was married soon after and learned what she needed to know with out having to have a risky affair.
• During and after her marriage she learned how to take pleasure from others and how to control her reputation.
• She pretended not to enjoy sex so her husband would never be suspicious of her.
• After his death, she carefully cultivated a reputation for prudery all the while plotting to become promiscuous.
• She was never afraid of her lovers because she always managed to find out some secret about them that she could threaten them with if they revealed their affair.
• In short, she can have Prévan, will have him, and she'll see to it that he doesn't speak against her afterwards.
• Throughout her life, her motto has been "conquer or perish."

Letter 82: Cécile de Volanges to the Chevalier Danceny

• Cécile scolds Danceny for telling her about how tormented he is. She doesn't think he has any reason to be upset with her.
• Giving him a taste of his own medicine, she blames him for her unhappiness.

More to the point, la Marquise does not intend to be beaten!

Exactly, cassandre. I completely agree. It was a malicious act on Prévan's part. He knew what he was going to achieve; the destruction of a female friendship.

The shmoop summary is wrong. Even the words 'mistresses' and 'gentlemen' supposes that the women are adjuncts of the men. A small thing, but annoying. As if women couldn't be the focus of the story even this one time!

Letter 81 today. There is a lot to discuss.
(Will Shmoop be able for it?!)

Mme Merteuil; c'est une femme formidable! She is amazing. As she says at the end of this letter 'il faut vaincre ou périr' and she has no intention of losing.

Actually the Shmoop summary of letter 79 works if you replace the word 'women' for the word 'men' in the sentence beginning 'Once upon a time.' So an error maybe? Still it seems a revealing error... men rather than women are assumed to be the main protagonists of the story.

You're right, @FuzzyCaoraDhubh , it was the women who were the three 'inseparables'! That's a really rubbish summary by Shmoop. It makes me quite cross! The whole point was a female friendship, which a man then destroyed.

Real female friendship seems very rare in this novel. And when we do find it, it's wrecked and then replaced by male friendship instead: male/male bonding between Prevan and the three male lovers whom HE has wronged. Ugh. This seems very emblematic of how friendship in the novel works.

Again and again, women are shown to be more vulnerable than men.

I can also see a comic side: Prevan saying to the jilted men, fine, I'll fight three duels, but let's just have breakfast first! However, it's chilling for the women, as you say.

Thanks cassandre! Weren't Les Inséparables three young women though?
Shmoop?! Or maybe it's just worded badly.

It's worse that Prévan targeted women. He tricked the three men but they got off lightly. The women's lives were ruined as a consequence. All for what? He sounds like a troublemaker.

Letter 78: The Présidente de Tourvel to the Vicomte de Valmont

• Madame de Tourvel defends her actions, saying that Valmont's reputation, behavior, and broken promises are the reasons for her coldness to him.
• She wonders how many times she has to explain it to him before he gets the point.

Letter 79: The Vicomte de Valmont to the Marquise de Merteuil

• Valmont gives some history about Prévan.
• Once upon a time, three young men, the best of friends, each took a lover.
• Society came to know them as the "inseparables."
• Prévan managed to join their social circle and figured out that the three couples weren't as close as they seemed.
• He plotted and carried out a plan to seduce all three mistresses and then turn the three gentlemen against their lovers instead of him. Everyone got to see it happen.
• This should be a lesson for the Marquise that Prévan is quite the dangerous schemer.

Letter 76: The Vicomte de Valmont to the Marquise de Merteuil

• In a message that screams "overreaction," Valmont tells the Marquise that she's deranged to think he's frightened of Prévan.
• He's sure that Prévan will brag about his exploits with her and destroy her reputation.
• He tells her that he was afraid Tourvel would escape his advances.
• He made a grand entrance at a dinner Tourvel was attending and as soon as she heard his voice, she looked totally thrown off balance.
• She finally has to leave the table on the pretext of getting some air.
• Later, he and some other guests go out to look for her in the garden.
• He later catches sight of her while going to his room. He spends some time imagining her naked.
• They exchange timid glances—at least, timid on her part, fake-timid on his.
• Needing a diversion to deliver Danceny's letter to Cécile, he jumps up and loudly asks if Madame de Tourvel is ill.
• While the others run over to see what's wrong, he throws the letters in Cécile's lap.

Letter 77: The Vicomte de Valmont to the Présidente de Tourvel

• Valmont continues to heap the guilt on Madame de Tourvel and tells her that her behavior towards him doesn't seem like love or friendship.
• He can't understand what he's done to make her keep avoiding him.

That's a good point, Fuzzy, it seems longer to me as well!

I'll go ahead and post the next summaries now. Hope to be back later this evening to discuss them.

We have had one month's worth of correspondence to date (17th August-18th September). It seems longer!

I thought the illustration of the powerplay between Merteuil and Valmont was good in that letter. They are both useful to each other and they need each other as allies but he comes across as being possessive of her and she takes him to task over it. She is definitely one step or a few steps ahead of him and seems to have the upper hand. I wonder if this will always be the case.

That was a chilling line from Merteuil that describes Valmont's position to be able to choose between love and hate, to choose to caress or to strike as he likes under the same roof, and all this due to Merteuil's orchestration.

That's very true about Cécile and her negative phraseology. Also 'I can't imagine how that will be possible' towards the end of the letter. Also, the editor's note at the end is worth noting, that Sophie will no longer be her confidant from this moment on. It seems like the final thread tying her to her old life has been cut.

Thanks for the summaries and insightful comments. I’m also finding I’m reading a few ahead, then putting it aside until I’m a few behind. Tbh I’m finding the protracted lamb to the slaughter quite hard to watch.

I don't have a lot of thoughts on these two letters. Merteuil, true to type, lets Valmont know that she is one or several steps ahead of him, as usual.

And Cecile continues to view everything without understanding it. She says 'je ne sais pas' / 'je ne sais comment' a couple of times. I think the phrase 'I don't know' comes up in nearly all her letters.

Letter 74: The Marquise de Merteuil to the Vicomte de Valmont

• Merteuil teases Valmont about his fear of Prévan. Like she can't take care of herself.
• She sees Prévan as a chance for some fun.
• Not to mention a way to annoy Valmont, whom she guesses is jealous.
• She's getting a little bored with her lover, anyway, so this will keep things interesting.
• She decides to play with Prévan and seduces him at the opera.
• From Valmont, she wants all the news about Prévan that Valmont knows, including all the details about a "triple affair" she's heard about.

Letter 75: Cécile de Volanges to Sophie Carney

• In her final letter to Sophie (included in the collection), Cécile tells her friend about Valmont.
• She's grown to like him, but notices not everyone in the house does.
• He's very clever and managed to slip her one of Danceny's letters without anyone noticing.
• She worries that Valmont will get tired of the place and return to Paris.
• Cécile says she's been holding back from telling all her thoughts to Danceny.
• Valmont and Merteuil's plan is working perfectly.

Thanks Bishy and cassandre. I'll chime in with a comment whenever it occurs to me as I enjoy it. I'm looking forward to letter 81 now.

Yes, I noticed that too cassandre that Mme Volanges has played into Merteuil's and Valmont's hands with her authoritarian parenting. Also, grooming describes Valmont's behaviour perfectly.

Enjoy the cycle tour Bishy! Hope all goes well.

Btw, Bishy, I'm impressed by the cycle touring! You must be very fit!