"Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Choderlos de Laclos

Paper Summary:

In this book review of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" by Choderlos de Laclos, the author looks at the work of Laclos in a very complimentary manner despite the fact that at the time of publishing his book, there was outcry, shock and disdain to the vulgarity of it. With time, as the author reminds us, the book "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" became more accepted to the point that in the last decade no less than three movies were made based on it. The paper then proceeds to discuss the merits of the book and what society has learnt from it looking and the message it is trying to give. The author concludes with his assessment that "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" is a warning to society that idleness is a step towards the devil's playground.

From the Paper:

"At last we come to the two most famous characters in Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and certainly the most difficult to explain in terms of a moralistic standpoint. First, the one who proves to be the lesser of the two evils, the Vicomte de Valmont. Turnell states that Valmont is "not restrained by any inhibition, by any feeling of guilt or shame" (Turnell 60). This is an over-simplified view of the much more complex character of Valmont, however. As the moralists of the period agreed, all humans have certain and similar natural desires, but varying degrees of ability to control, that is to hide them."

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