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

[BishyBarnyBee]

Following a series of successful Fallen Women readalongs - War and Peace, Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, Ruth - we continue our exploration of desire, hypocrisy, disgrace and redemption with the earlier (and even more scandalous) Dangerous Liaisons.

Widely adapted in text, film, opera and even ballet, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is an epistolatory novel comprising 175 letters.

Author Chodelos de Laclos "resolved to write a book that would be quite outside the ordinary trend, which would make a sensation and echo over the world after I left it." His book was a succès de scandale on its 1782 publication, reviewed as "diabolique" while becoming an instant bestseller. Marie Antoinette commissioned a blank cover copy for her library, and Virginia Woolf later read it with "great delight".

Readalongs are Mumsnet's best kept secret - a quiet corner of the site where we tackle the books we might not manage alone, sharing our thoughts and reactions, and encouraging each other to keep going when life - or the book - are challenging. It's fine to dip in and out as life permits, very few of us manage to keep up consistently.

We've only heard good things about DL, so do join us for a cracking good read. We start 1st May, 1 letter a day:

1 - 31 May Letters 1 - 31
1 - 30 June Letters 32 - 61
1 - 31 July Letters 62 - 92
1 - 31 August Letters 93 - 123
1- 30 September 124 - 153
1 - 22nd October 154 - 175

There are summaries of each letter at shmoop.com. I'll post them when I can, but anyone is welcome to start us off if you are first here on the day.

Looking forward to it!

Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Summary

Free summary and analysis of the events in Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons dangereus...

Two of the main characters killed off within minutes of each other! Now we await Merteuil's fate!

I sense a cover-up! We have to preserve Valmont's good name at all costs 🙄
I'm picturing a crate of letters between Valmont and Tourvel and Tourvel to Valmont!

Hello all, I've finally caught up, days before the end of the read-along. 🙄Tarahumara, thanks so much for posting the summaries. I've enjoyed all the great comments. I'm really sorry for going AWOL; I had a bout of debilitating anxiety (perimenopausal?!) and just couldn't keep up with anything for awhile. I'm feeling much better now.

Anyway, there's so much to say, I don't know where to start. I agree Fuzzy that the end of the novel seems to be so much about covering up the scandals so that society can close ranks and carry on as normal. It's all rather chilling.

I'm also struck by the fact that male-male bonding triumphs for Valmont and Danceny; they reconcile, whereas Merteuil and Cecile are left to face their respective fates alone... there's no equivalent example of female solidarity.

@ViscountessMelbourne I was also struck by the covert references to menstruation! Letter 140, about Cecile's miscarriage, is a very disturbing and interesting one. I usually go over that passage with my students, as they are reading it in French and the language is so euphemistic, it doesn't dawn on them straight away that Cecile has miscarried, and that Valmont has to explain to her first that she was pregnant, because she's so ignorant of her own body that she had no idea. It's a real indictment of convent education, which has left her so ignorant and defenceless. And then she's surrounded by these men who are figures of knowledge and authority (Valmont, the family doctor, the family surgeon) who collaborate together to make sure the secret is hushed up.

The libertines' euphemistic use of language is, I think, a broader critique of the hypocrisy of the whole aristocratic society, which is fairly obsessed with sex but won't talk about it openly.

Valmont is a interesting character. On one level he's a pure cad, but there's tragedy in the fact that he really did love Tourvel, and his vanity wouldn't let him admit it to himself. Merteuil's analysis of his character is spot on I would say.

I'm looking forward to discussing the very last letters and Merteuil's dramatic fate!

Welcome back @cassandre 🌻
I enjoyed reading your analysis. As always.

Letter 167: Anonymous to Monsieur the Chevalier Danceny

• Danceny is warned that legal proceedings may be taken against him because of Valmont's death. He suggests Danceny lie low for a while.
• Also, since Valmont's aunt is considering suing him, the letter-writer suggests he contact her.

Letter 168: Madame de Volanges to Madame de Rosemonde

• Before leaving Paris, Danceny shares select letters showing Madame de Merteuil's involvement in the conflict between him and Valmont and her trick upon Prévan.
• Madame de Merteuil has left Paris as well.
• The letters being circulated apparently contain the most scandalous stuff imaginable.
• She suspects that Prévan himself wrote the letters to discredit Madame de Merteuil.
• Madame de Volanges does not believe the rumors now circulating throughout the city and asks for any inside info that would help her contradict them.

Letter 169: The Chevalier Danceny to Madame de Rosemonde

• Danceny writes to Madame de Rosemonde and passes on the correspondence that Valmont gave him.
• He regrets the pain he's caused her by killing Valmont, but feels he's not to blame.
• Two of the letters are copies. He needed to keep the originals of these in order to clear Prévan and to get revenge on Madame de Merteuil.
• Danceny says that more letters will be brought to her, but that he's leaving town for now.

Welcome back @cassandre! Glad you are feeling better.

Thanks @Tarahumara. I've just caught up too.

Absolute carnage! A trail of death and destruction, and the previously all-powerful Merteuil reduced to skulking around.

Such a long way from the elegant conniving in the opening chapters.

Oh no, I'm only on 107......

I'm very slowly catching up, am on letter 132 now...

I think we're at the point where Cécile leaves home and goes to the convent. This is something she has decided to do; it is her own choice. She is taking charge of herself for the first time. It is terrible that she will live her life in seclusion. As far as I can tell, Mme Volanges never learns the full truth of it.

That's interesting Fuzzy about Cecile. I've always thought of her return to the convent as tragic; after being so happy to be out of the convent at the beginning of the text, she's now come full circle and is back there again, her chance at leading a normal life over. But I see your point about how she is at least exercising some agency. She doesn't even want her mother to know where she has gone...

No, her mother never finds out what has happened. The silence of Rosemonde is quite chilling, when Mme de Volanges begs for a response and receives none.

I don't have much sympathy for the mother though, because she's such a gossip! There's almost a comic element to her final letters, when she's saying, far be from me to spread scandalous gossip, but... and then proceeds to spread the gossip. I think this is one of the ways Laclos criticises conventional society: these people claim to be virtuous but are actually extremely nasty when it comes to talking behind one another's backs. They actively enjoy malicious slander. Then again, the whole novel plays on our own desire to read juicy stories about people's private lives!

Another fascinating bit (to me) is the way Merteuil's own letters become pieces of evidence that bring her down: especially her autobiographical letter (81) and her letter telling how she tricked Prevan. If only she could have resisted the desire to boast to Valmont about her exploits! Letters are powerful pieces of currency that can make or break someone's reputation.

Cassandre, it's tragic that Cécile returns to the convent. Her life has been blighted by those two. She got no chance to live a normal life.

Exactly. That's so true about Mme Volanges gossiping while keeping up a virtuous facade. Hypocritical!

I think we wondered about the reason why Merteuil wrote those letters at the time we read them. Was it the desire for an audience, to impress Valmont? Or did she want to share something of herself and record it for posterity?

I think the treatment of Merteuil is terrible from here on to the end of the book (not divulging anything specifically!). Valmont paid for his misdemeanours with his life but will be remembered as a fine fellow. He seems to get off lightly in comparison. I liked your comments about the lack of female solidarity for Merteuil and Cécile. There's a lonely fate in store for them both.

Enjoying reading the insightful discussion. I’ve found this quite a difficult book to keep pace with - the letters are so short and some sections so propulsive that I’ve often been ahead when I haven’t been behind. After reading your comments above I think I need a reread but I don’t think I could face the early parts again.

Poor Cécile. Sorely needed education and options in life. Will Rosamonde ever tell Mme Volanges in person what happened, not wishing to put it in writing, does she genuinely think it must not be divulged, or is she enjoying keeping her in the dark?

On Valmont/Danceny - I cynically read it as Valmont seizing the opportunity to get the letters out as evidence as much as a heartfelt reconciliation.

I'm not completely sure. First I thought that Madame Rosamonde was trying to protect her friend because the truth was too terrible to know. Or could it be that she is shielding Valmont and her family's good name?

I'm not certain about that either. Valmont may have had a reconciliation with Danceny, but did he release the letters to implicate Merteuil, because I was leaning towards that as the reason.

I thought it was to get revenge on Merteuil too Fuzzy.

I think if I was reading again I’d pay more attention to Rosamonde and Volanges as I was much more taken with the other characters. Rosamonde‘a main loyalty is to Valmont’s memory but I can’t tell how much she’s holding back from Mme Volanges out of piety and how much she is enjoying being repository of knowledge.

I think that Rosamonde ends up with most of the letters in her possession so she really becomes a kind of depository.

Yes. I know. I'm going to think about it some more, the Rosamonde angle.

I can't remember what letter we're on anymore. I found Mme de Volanges's denial of rumours quite comical and it reminds me a lot of how my mother behaves when she has decided what is true despite evidence to the contrary. It made me smile and grit my teeth.

'I have, happily, the strongest reasons to believe that these imputations are as false as they are odious(...) I have every cause to believe (...) It seems to me clearly proved...'

I have come round to thinking that Rosamonde is trying to shield Mme Volanges from the truth. I think this is her main concern.

Well my dear and revered friends, we are almost at the end of the book! It has been a really absorbing read.

Letter 170: Madame de Volanges to Madame de Rosemonde

• Madame de Volanges discovers that her daughter Cécile has left home.
• Two hours later she receives a letter from Cécile saying she's decided to become a nun and asking her mother not to ask her why.
• At the convent, mother and daughter meet, but Cécile won't tell her what's happened.
• Volanges asks Madame de Rosemonde for advice about whether she should make Cécile marry Gercourt, who's due back in town very soon.

Letter 171: Madame de Rosemonde to the Chevalier Danceny

• Madame de Rosemonde will refrain from lodging a complaint against Danceny, but she asks that she be allowed to keep the letters in her possession unless he needs them for some legal defense.
• She won't disclose their contents to anyone.
• She also asks that he give her all Cécile's letters; she doesn't want to cause any more pain to Madame de Volanges.

Letter 172: Madame de Rosemonde to Madame de Volanges

• Madame de Rosemonde tells her friend that the rumors about the Marquise don't come close to the full truth. The truth is "a pack of horrors." Trust her.
• She advises not to reject her daughter's vocation and not to inquire into the reasons for her advice.

Letter 173: Madame de Volanges to Madame de Rosemonde

• Not content to be kept in the dark, Madame de Volanges tries to piece the puzzle together and asks confirmation from Madame de Rosemonde.
• What she's imagining is so bad that the truth can't be any worse.
• She tells Madame de Rosemonde what she already knows, that Cécile was hot for Danceny.
• She's afraid that the two of them might have sneaked some time together when she wasn't around to stop them.
• She's afraid her daughter's made a huge mistake by taking vows at the convent, and her only hope is that Danceny might do right by her and marry her.

I think Madame Rosamonde is trying to protect Madame de Volanges. I agree it's not completely clear though.

I have really enjoyed this book. Such intrigue!

Letter 174: The Chevalier Danceny to Madame de Rosemonde

• Danceny accepts the terms that a Madame de Rosemonde set down regarding the letters.
• He's furious with the Marquise for corrupting Cécile.
• He doesn't love Cécile any more, but he can't hate her. Any innocent young girl could be as easily led astray by the likes of the Marquise and Valmont.
• He asks Madame de Rosemonde if she thinks he's done everything he should regarding this situation.
• When she's assured him of it, he plans to travel to Malta and take vows that will shut him off from the world. He just wants to forget everything.

Letter 175: Madame de Volanges to Madame de Rosemonde

• Madame de Volanges thinks she was right to believe that the Marquise de Merteuil would have been better off dying from smallpox.
• She recovered, but she's been left horribly disfigured. She even lost an eye to the disease and apparently looks pretty hideous.
• Someone mentions that her soul is now visible on her face.
• She also loses the lawsuit brought against her, and she's now heavily in debt.
• She flees to Holland, taking her diamonds, jewels, and whatever else she can get her hands on so her creditors can't get anything.
• All her servants refuse to go with her.
• Her relatives are left to try to pay off her debts.
• Madame de Volanges, as a distant relative, plans to help with that, but first she has to go to the convent to watch her daughter take her vows.
• She knows that Danceny has left for Malta and wishes there were still time to bring him back.
• She wishes she knew the extent of her daughter's guilt; it's hard for a mother to imagine her daughter involved in such terrible things.
• But she knows that thinking about couldn't have prevented it, and it sure won't be of any help in getting over it.
• "Publisher's" note: This is all there is. He's not prepared, for reasons of his own, to tell what eventually happened to Cécile and Madame de Merteuil. Inquiring minds might want to know, but they'll have to wait.

And that's all folks! So it sounds like Danceny becomes a monk as well as Cecile becoming a nun?

Thanks for posting summaries on the thread Tarahumara! It kept us going.

Yes. It does sound like it. That's an interesting parallel with Cécile. Everyone has lost something or has been permanently affected by the end. Merteuil got a terribly hard punishment! Disfigured and living her life as an outcast. A kind of living death, really. Valmont's exit was quick and neat by comparison.

Thanks for posting the summaries Tarahumara! I’ve enjoyed reading along with you all, and got a lot more out of the experience than I would have from reading alone. To be honest I’m not sure I’d have persevered through the grooming of Cécile had I been reading alone, so I surprised myself later by feeling I might encourage my teenage DD to read it.

Just like our previous fallen women reads, things have not ended well for our compromised heroines. Interesting that Valmont and Danceny also got their just desserts.

I went back to the introduction in my copy and it seemed to be arguing that this sort of depravity in aristocratic circles was a factor in the subsequent Revolution. I hadn’t picked up that MdM or VdV had economic power over the other characters?

I'm going to the read the intro next as well. I'm still not sure what Merteuil's trial was about.

The character I'm cross about is Prevan. Valmont and Danceny got their just desserts but he ended up being treated as a hero! Irritating.