1

Enkhzaya Enkhtaivan.
Richard Goodkin, Litttrans 209.

Upon first reading of Dangerous Liaisons by Laclos, it may not seem

entirely clear whether the author illustrates a thorough view of womens
position in the noble society of eighteenth century France. However, once
one

has

learnt

about

the

French

noble

class

and

understood

the

disproportionately prejudiced social norms dictating womens lives during

that era, one can reasonably argue that female characters in the novel do
represent a large variety of womens position in French noble society. Despite
their common attractions to love and intimacy, Marquise de Merteuils view
of self-creation, Madame de Tourvels resolute yet breakable devoutness,
Ceciles corruptible naivety, and Madame de Rosemonde and Madame de
Volanges experiences all can be traced back to different circumstances and
combined to present a cohesive view of womens place in the French noble
class.
Ceciles role in the novel can be thought to represent a typical reality
of a young and naive girl from a noble family. But the word nave becomes
unsuitable to describe what becomes of Cecile later in the novel. Being
manipulated by Valmont was one thing; it is understandable because she
had just gotten out of convent, therefore did not stand a chance against
Valmonts charm and seduction. She did realize that she was unfaithful to
Danceny and felt utterly destroyed by that feeling. Nevertheless, she was

even more easily persuaded by Merteiul into justifying having a purely

physical relationship with Valmont while not informing Danceny of it. In letter
109, Cecile writes to Merteuil that Its funny that its Danceny who I love
but its Monseiur de Valmont who But as you say, perhaps its a good thing!
Anyway, well see This does not seem like naivety, definitely not
innocence. Given she had spent most of her life in the convent up to that
time, one would expect that Cecile would treasure faithfulness and
obedience. In letter 97, Cecile writes to Merteuil that I dont know how
that happened, I certainly dont love Monsieur de Valmont, quite the
opposite, yet there were moments when I felt as if I did Given that she
was a virgin and in love with Danceny, it must then mean that the love-like
feeling she had during the incident is purely physical; she enjoyed some
parts of the sexual intercourse. On the other hand, there are a few factors to
be considered in Cecils defense such as the fact that she has no control over
her destiny and she is to be married any day to an older man whom she does
not even know. Thus, it is imaginable that the fear of being betrothed to
Comte de Gercourt almost right after coming out of the convent might have
played a role in the adulterous behavior Cecile displayed.
On the other hand, Madame de Tourvel is the epitome of a devout
servant of God and of a faithful wife. Although she did succumb to adultery
when Valmont threatened to take his life, it is hard to perceive that she could
have prevented it from happening (letter 125). On the surface, Madame de
Tourvel does not seem like a person of complex character for she is

extremely pious and bases her judgments on her religious views. But there is
a room debate for this argument. When exactly did Tourvel fall in love with
Valmont? At first glance, one would think that it could not have happened
before the staged incident in which Valmont made himself look like a
genuinely charitable person in order to reveal his love to her (letter 23). For
one, she had not shown any sign of upset or emotion before Valmont
confessed his love. In fact, she was very pleased to learn that Valmont did a
good deed. In letter 23 Tourvel asks Valmont that When someone is capable
of such good works, how can he spend his life doing wrong? Had she
realized that she had started developing romantic feelings for him prior to
this point, she would at least have shown a sign of being confused or fearful
of being dragged into scandals. On the other hand, if one were to assume
that she had absolutely no intimate feeling towards Valmont by the time they
parted ways, it would seem very unreasonable that she falls in love with him
only through letters. After giving herself to Valmont, she writes to Madame
de Rosemonde saying that she will dedicate herself solely to him and will not
ask for anything from him if he ever stops loving her (letter 128). This
unconditional love of hers reveals that she is ready to abandon her lifelong
devotion to God, in the sense that it betrays His teachings about being
faithful to ones husband. Therefore, the most likely scenario is that Madame
de Tourvel had started developing romantic feelings towards Valmont before
he left or even before he confessed his love to her. However, Tourvel must
have thought that she can and must live without uttering a word about her

feelings to Valmont, for she is too pious and strict to start a scandal. Thus,
had Valmont given up trying to conquer Tourvel, she would have lived a
conflicted life for a long time, if not the remainder of her life. Developing
romantic feelings towards another man while being married and choosing to
keep it only to herself clearly suggests that Madame de Tourvel is a woman
of complex personality.
Though Marquise de Merteuil is a more important character of the
novel simply because of the sheer number of letters included from her, there
are not a lot of ambiguities concerning her character or her position in the
society. First, she is almost completely the opposite of the likes of Tourvel and
Cecil. She views love as a tool to manipulate and control others at will; she
even excels at that using her ability to manipulate. In a way, she is at the top
of the circle in the noble society, a position women rarely attain in that era.
That is, with her beauty and manipulative nature, she can have any man she
wants. Since she is a rich widow, no one can force her to marry someone
else, something which Cecile would die to have. Moreover, Merteuil is very
full of herself; there is hardly anything similar between her and the other
female characters in the novel. She keeps a certain distance from love;
perhaps, the closest she gets to the idea of love in the novel is when she
tells Valmont that if he conquers Tourvel and Cecile easily, then there is
chance that she and Valmont can reignite their old flame. But that is quickly
over when she realizes that she can be seen as a mere rebound if Valmont
falls in love with Tourvel during his quest. Quite a few times throughout the

novel, she employs a very condescending, if not disparaging, tone in her

letters to Valmont, referring to his conquests as a childs game or as boring.
For instance, in letter 81 she wrote that:
..Oh, my dear Vicomte, how my heart bleeds for you! And how your
fears do indeed prove my superiority! And you want to be my guide
and tutor? Oh you poor dear, what a gap still exists between us! And
not even all your male pride would ever succeed bridging it! ... And this
weak, vain character actually has the effrontery to assess my
capabilities and my resources!
Ironically, this superiority and overconfidence of hers of which she boasts so
loudly eventually leads to her downfall. It is a bit surprising that Merteuil, the
master adulterer and manipulator, would commit an amateurish mistake to
let Valmont have her letters and to go to war with him. There are also some
uncertainties at the end of the book regarding why Merteuil chose to take the
risk of cornering Valmont. Perhaps she thought that Danceny would kill
Valmont; nonetheless, it is hard to imagine that she did not realize the
danger of pushing Valmont over the edge. When faced with a threat of death,
what Valmont would do was obvious to do the same to Merteuil. Its even
harder to believe that Merteuil did not see this possibility. Herein lies the
ambiguity that adds a little mystery to Merteuils characteristics. Its possible
that she actually had a feeling for Valmont; the fact that Valmont did not
seem to reciprocate that love could have infuriated Merteuil and prevented

her

from

thinking

clearly.

Regardless,

it

is

certain

that

Merteuils

overconfidence and pride are most likely the causes of her tragedy.
Having introduced the three main female characters from the novel,
one might now see the underlying circumstances that connect these
characters prejudices against women and their severely limited freedom
compared to that of mens. In Cecil case, it is obvious that she has no
control over her life; moreover, she cannot tell people that she had been
raped because doing so will ruin her reputation forever as is shrewdly
explained by Valmont in letter 97. Madame de Tourvels scenario illustrates
how much sacrifice women might have to make just so they can stay out of
scandals. Falling in love with a person is not a wrongdoing by any means; but
Tourvel had to pay a price for it in the end. But the examples of Valmont and
Prevan show that men can commit adultery and not ruin their reputation
easily if they are just manipulative enough. In this context, falling in love can
have very different outcomes for men and women. On the other hand,
Marquise de Merteuil, seems to be a woman who is immune to that social
injustice imposed on women. However, that is precisely because she is too
afraid of falling victim to that prejudice in the first place. In letter 81, she
says that
These are what I call basic precautions but I use hundred others
too, as the occasion or situation demands, relying on my brains and
long experiences, when the need arisesBut to imagine that Ive taken
such care only to fail to reap fruits of my labours; that having raised

myself with such arduous efforts above the ordinary run of women,
no Vicomte, never, never! I must conquer or die in attempt
This passage clearly indicates that she is fearful of having her life dictated by
men to the point of irrationality. Given this general theme to the main female
characters of the novel, one can conclude that the author is implicitly
illustrating this extremely prejudiced view of women during that time in
France.
The letters from Madame de Rosemonde and Madame de Volange in
the novel give some idea about how it is like to be an old, widowed woman in
that time. Though they both live somewhat simpler life than the likes of
Merteuil or Tourvel does in the novel, it can be inferred that Madame de
Rosemonde is a clever woman who definitely experienced passionate
romances in the past. Letter 130 reads like this:
Never think that, dear girl, their love is like ours. They certainly
experience the same intoxication of the senses, indeed they are often
more carried away by it; but they know nothing of that restless
eagerness ..,A man enjoys the pleasure he feels, a women the pleasure
she bestows.
This clearly indicates that Madame de Rosemonde, severely ill though she is,
has personally experienced heartfelt love and grown very wise opinions on
this subject. One can even say that this quote is directly applicable to men in
todays society. On the other hand, not much information about Madame de

Volanges can be extracted from the novel. Surely, she does communicate
with Tourvel, warning her of Valmonts malicious intent; she asks Merteuil for
advice regarding Ceciles future. But hardly any of them contains deep
reflections of her true thoughts like those of Madame de Rosemond with the
exception of letter 98. In this letter, Madame de Volanges is concerned about
her daughters distraught state which makes her realize that she might have
been so occupied with finding a wealthy and high-ranking husband for Cecile
that she has remained ignorant of what was really becoming of Cecile. She
even reveals that she is open to the idea of marrying Cecile to Danceny if
that is what it takes to make Cecile happy.
In conclusion, Laclos portrayals of the female characters in Dangerous
Liaisons are distinct enough that it can present a cohesive view of womens
place in the French noble class. Madame de Tourvel and Mademoiselle Cecile
illustrate a thorough picture of young and inexperienced women in the
society, the former being an example of a pious and married women who
falls victim to adultery, the latter being an example of a nave girl from
wealthy family who often is easily seduced. Merteuil, on the other hand, can
be seen as a prime example of a fortunate young widow who flirts around
with men at their will. Lastly, Madame de Rosemonde and Madame de
Volanges represent older and wealthy women who are generally out of the
scandalous circle but whose words and wisdoms the youth often look out for.
These portrayals combined present a thorough positions women held and
prejudices they were subjected to in the French noble class.