About the Marquis De Sade?

Question

I'm starting from scratch here. I know virtually nothing about the man except his reputation for deviant if not horrific sexual tastes yet that doesn't seem to be the reason a lot of people study him. I've heard people refer to him as a great thinker, but I never see anything from him. I've been warned that it's not for the faint hearted, but I'm still interested to see what all the fuss is about and read his work. I want to know your opinions on him, what his aim and purpose was, if there's anything that can really be drawn from him, and if you happen to know a good place to start. I've seen lists of books, but it's a bit jumbled and so far I haven't seen an obvious starting place.

This copy looked good (if the link works):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0870679406/ref=cm_r8n_gvthanks_cont?ie=UTF8&%2AVersion%2A=1&2115R3VDOUQA0DBQ6QHelpfulReviews1.v=1&2115R3VDOUQA0DBQ6QHelpfulReviews1.s=SUCCESS&voteError=0

But one of the reviews mentioned that it's abridged. I prefer to read unabridged editions so I get the whole story, but maybe beggars can't be chosers?

It may be a case of trial and error but I'd appreciate the help. Thanks :)

Answer 1

Hi

Sorry to nick a bit of your question here but I wonder if the term s****t originated from something to do with him?

Ray. West York's. U.K.

Answer 2

He was a rich man of his time.He was jailed on trumped up charges,and to get his own back on the Aristocracy,he wrote about what was happening in the rich mans world,exposing their sordid lifestyles.

His works are quite tame by today's standards.

For a 'real' monster,read the history of Gilles de Rais or Albert Fish,Peter Kurten.

Poe Bird:

I've read his works,they are more tedious than reading Dickens.

Answer 3

A good place to start is "Philosophy in the Boudoir," which according to the back cover "is the most concise, representative text out of all the Marquis De Sade's works, containing his notorious doctrine of libertinage expounded in full, coupled with liberal doses of savage, unbridled eroticism, cruelty and violent sexuality."

It goes on to say, "This new edition includes 'The Lusts of the Libertines,' a brand new, unexpurgated and explicit translation of the 447 complex, criminal and murderous lusts of the Libertines as documented by De Sade in his accursed atrocity bible, 'The 120 Days of Sodom; a catalogue of debaucheries, cruelties and pathological perversions still unequaled in the annals of transgressive literature."

I always giggle at the that last line...because they just had to use the term "annals."  But I digress.  This is as straight forward a piece of literature as there ever was.  "The Lusts of the Libertines" is literally a numbered list of every disgusting act that humans can perform to another.  "The Philosophy in the Boudoir," is a story in a dialogue form so it read very similarly to a play in that aspect.

As far as being able to take  this progressive philosophy as just that, one has to really be able to study the underlying thoughts and ideas behind the vulgarity at it's basic level.  A prime element however, to understanding the philosophies is to completely immerse yourself in the darkness.  Once you are able to process all of the s*x, blood, and debauchery then you will find yourself (if you have the capacity to work with the subject matter) realizing what an exceptional thinker he really was.  You must also understand that at the time, his free thinking was unheard of in a time of great structure enforced by church, government and society as a whole.  He was a radical liberal who advocated free thought, free speech, and of course free love!  

Unfortunately, many of his works were destroyed at different times in his career even some at the time of his death by his son.

And as an answer to another poster, the term Sadism is in fact derived from his name.  I hope I helped you in your adventure!

Answer 4

The thing about De Sade's works that people tend not to understand is that they were intended as satirical portrayals of the society he lived in.  

For example, in Juliette (his longest prose work) the main characters inflict all sorts of horrible tortures on their victims, acts which are clearly intended to revolt the reader; and yet, all of these acts are tortures which were carried out by the French judicial system when De Sade was a young man.  Similarly, almost all of his most depraved and debauched characters are high nobility (including, again in Juliette, the Pope!).  This novel also features a secret society called the Sodality of the Friends of Crime, obviously intended as a parody of the many Jacobin societies of his time.

It can be argued that he was a radically liberal thinker, in that he clearly believed that individuals deserved to have the maximum freedom possible to pursue their own desires, although in his novels this is expressed as the right to pursue sexual gratification regardless of the cost to anyone else.  However the presentation of these acts clearly shows that he does not consider this to be a freedom which should be permitted.

His novels can be heavy going as he tended to throw in frequent, repetitive diatribes against the hypocrisies of his time.  A good one to start with is Philosophy in the Boudoir, as it is relatively concise and encapsulates most of his thoughts.  If you like it, try Eugenie, then Juliette.