A major theme in 'Les liaisons dangereuses' is seduction, not least the seduction of the reader by Merteuil and Valmont. Discuss.

Authors Avatar

Colleen Stopforth

Week 2.

A major theme in ‘Les liaisons dangereuses’ is seduction, not least the seduction of the reader by Merteuil and Valmont. Discuss.

              Merteuil and Valmont’s characters are crafted by Laclos in a subtle and allusive way through the epistolary form so that the reader is not aware of their own seduction until they are entrapped.  As the book develops and these characters orchestrate the seduction, entrapment and destruction of other characters, the reader’s dependence on and relationship with them becomes evermore important.

             Valmont is a character of wit, charm and social graces, unashamedly aware of his role as a libertine in a morally aware society.  His audacity is an attractive feature of his character and it quickly revealed.  He tells Merteuil in letter 4, ‘Je vais vous confier le plus grand projet que j’aie jamais formé,’ which immediately draws the reader to his character and intentions. He is an educated, intelligent man who enjoys the present, but plans the immediate future to his advantage.  Merteuil is equally as enterprising, if not more so, a quality which is obvious even from her first letter to Valmont, ‘il m’est venu une excellent idée.’  This description of her plan to corrupt the young naïve virgin Cécile has a hint of humour, a prevalent feature in the correspondence between her and Valmont, and one that the reader is inevitably drawn to as the book develops and her character is more deeply understood. Through this ‘bonne idée’,   in a series of manipulative and immoral schemes, the action develops. We take the most from their letters; they inform, entertain and empower us.  In comparison we learn almost nothing from the letters of Cécile, ‘Je ne sais encore rien, ma bonne amie,’ and she has revealed everything about her character very quickly, thus removing her ability to create intrigue and suspense.  This lack of intrigue about her character makes it hard to consider her a real victim because we do not identify with her.  We are more interested in Merteuil and Valmont’s correspondence and the reader is very quickly forced to rely on it.  We have been seduced by their attractive characters and entrapped by their power and knowledge; just as the other characters in the book are to be.  

Join now!

                      By positioning Cécile’s letter first in the novel and then directly contrasting it with Merteuil’s plot to bring her downfall the power and wit of Merteuil’s writing is highlighted. And her willingness to excite and take power is reinforced and we feel more for Valmont and Merteuil as perpetrators of these acts than the other characters like Tourvel and Cécile, as victims.  The reader, therefore, relies upon both Valmont and Merteuil to provide the action and move the novel forward.  The epistolary structure of the novel maps the progress ...

This is a preview of the whole essay