Dangerous Liaisons

Choderlos de Laclos's Les liaisons dangereuses- translated sometimes as Dangerous Acquaintances but more accurately titled in English with the cognate Dangerous Liaisons is an epistolary novel (published in 1782) that takes as its main theme the corruption of innocence and virtue by the libertine Valmont and his mistress, the vicious and immoral Madame de Mertueil simply for their own amusement. The book's great virtues are the elegance of its language and its finely structured plot along with Laclos's ability to examine in such an unflinching way the fascination and power of evil. The battle of the sexes - which is also at the center of the book - is portrayed with deadly seriousness (the only real lack in the book is perhaps a touch of irony and humor). All frivolity and sentimentality have been banished from this book, which depicts a world that is deeply frivolous and even more sentimental. Laclos presents us with two characters who are both brilliant, and he gives us a picture of the evil that they create that sparkles for its lucidity and precision, and that is al

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