Philosophy in the Bedroom

Philosophy in the Bedroom (La Philosophie dans le boudoir) is a 1795 erotic book by the Marquis de Sade written in the form of a dramatic dialogue. Though initially considered a work of pornography, the book has come to be considered a socio-political drama. Set in a bedroom, the two lead characters make the argument that the only moral system that reinforces the recent political revolution is libertinism, and that if the people of France fail to adopt the libertine philosophy, France will be destined to return to a monarchic state.

Characters

• Eugénie- a fifteen year old girl, who at the beginning of the dialogue is a virgin, naive of all things sexual, who has been brought up by her mother to be well-mannered, modest and obedient.

• Madame de Saint-Ange- a 26-year-old libertine woman who is the owner of the house and bedroom in which the dialogue is set. She invites Eugénie for a two-day course on being libertine.

• Le Chevalier de Mirval- Madame de Saint-Ange's 20-year-old brother. He aids his sister and Dolmancé on the ordeal of "educating" Eugénie.

• Dolmancé- a 36-year-old atheist and homosexual, and friend of Le Chevalier's. He is Eugénie's foremost teacher and "educator".

• Madame de Mistival- Eugénie's provincial, self-righteous mother.

Plot

In the introduction, the Marquis de Sade exhorts his readers to indulge in the various activities in the play. He says that the work is dedicated to "voluptuaries of all ages, of every sex" and urges readers to emulate the characters. "Lewd women", he writes, "let the voluptuous Saint-Ange be your model; after her example, be heedless of all that contradicts pleasure's divine laws, by which all her life she was enchained." He then urges "young maidens" to copy Eugénie; "be as quick as she to destroy, to spurn all those ridiculous precepts inculcated in you by imbecile parents." Finally, he urges male readers to "study the cynical Dolmancé" and follow his example of selfishness and consideration for nothing but his own enjoyment.

Dolmancé is the most dominant of the characters in the dialogue. He explains to Eugénie that morality, compassion, religion and modesty are all absurd notions that stand in the way of the sole aim of human existence: pleasure. Like most of Sade's work, "Philosophy In The Bedroom" features a great deal of sex as well as libertine philosophies. Although there is some torture, the dialogue contains no actual murder, unlike many of Sade's works.

Dolmancé and Madame de Saint-Ange start off by giving Eugénie their own brand of sex education, explaining the biological facts and declaring that physical pleasure is a far more important motive for sex than that of reproduction. Then they eagerly get down to the practical lessons, with Le Chevalier joining them in the fourth act and swiftly helping to take away Eugénie's virginity.

Eugénie is instructed on the pleasures of various sexual practices and she proves to be a fast learner. As is usually the case in Sade's work, the characters are all bisexual, and sodomy is the preferred activity of all concerned, especially Dolmancé, who prefers male sexual partners and will not have anything other than anal intercourse with females. Madame de Saint-Ange and her younger brother Le Chevalier also have sex with one another, and boast of doing so on a regular basis. Their incest - and all manner of other sexual activity and taboos, such as sodomy, adultery, and homosexuality - are justified by Dolmancé in a series of energetic arguments that ultimately boil down to if it feels good, do it. (Sodomy was illegal and punishable by death in France at the time the dialogue was written, and Sade himself was convicted of sodomy in 1772.)

The corruption of Eugénie is actually at the request of her father, who has sent her to Madame de Saint-Ange for the very purpose of having his daughter stripped of the morality her virtuous mother taught her.

The dialogue is split into seven parts, or 'dialogues,'and was originally illustrated by Sade himself. There is a lengthy section within the fifth dialogue titled "Yet Another Effort, Frenchmen, If You Would Become Republicans" in which it is argued that, having done away with the monarchy in the French Revolution, the people of France should take the final step towards liberty by abolishing religion too.

In the final act, Eugénie's mother, Madame de Mistival, arrives to rescue her daughter from the "monsters" who have corrupted her. Eugénie's father, however, warns his daughter and friends in advance and urges them to punish his wife, whose person and virtue he clearly loathes. Madame de Mistival is horrified to find that not only did her husband arrange for their daughter's corruption, but Eugénie has already lost any moral standards she previously possessed, along with any respect or obedience towards her mother. Eugénie refuses to leave and Madame de Mistival is soon stripped, beaten, whipped and raped, her daughter taking an active part in this brutality and even declaring her wish to kill her mother. Dolmancé eventually calls in for a servant who has syphilis to rape Eugénie's mother. Eugénie sews up her vagina and Dolmancé her anus to keep the polluted seed inside and she is then sent home in tears, knowing her daughter has been lost to the libertine and corrupt mentality of Dolmancé and his accomplices.

Legacy

Spanish director Jesús Franco has made three films based on Philosophy in the Bedroom: Eugénie (1970), Eugénie de Sade (1974) and Eugenie (Historia de una perversión) (1980). Italian director Aurelio Grimaldi also filmed it, as L'educazione sentimentale di Eugenie (2005).

In 2003, a play titled "XXX" based on "The Philosophy In The Bedroom" was staged in a number of European cities. Featuring live simulated sex and audience interaction, it caused some controversy.

In 2007 Czech theatre company Depressed Children Long for Money (Depresivní děti touží po penězích) performed a combination of Philosophy in the Bedroom and The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov called Lost Cherry Orchard (Višňový Sade in Czech), suggesting that Mme Ranevskaya spent her years in Paris in the salon of Marquis de Sade in the role of Eugénie. In the very moment of her daughter's deflowering, Anya appears and persuades Ranevskaya (Eugénie) to return to Russia. After the end of the Chekhovian part, Mme Ranevskaya leaves Siberia for France to meet her lover, the Marquis de Sade. The performance combines the sadistic brutality of Philosophy in the Bedroom with the world of complete losers of The Cherry Orchard and interweaves characters, plots, and meanings.^{[citation needed]}

The dialogue is banned in Singapore, where it is known as Bedroom Philosophers.^{[citation needed]}

References

• Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom and Other Writings (1965) Arrow Books (ISBN 0-09-982160-5)
• Marquis de Sade for Beginners (1995) Stuart Hood and Graham Crowley, Icon Books, (ISBN 1-874166-30-7)
• The Sadeian woman: and the ideology of pornography (1978) Angela Carter, Pantheon Books (ISBN 0394505751)
• Marquis de Sade: His Life and Works (2002) Iwan Bloch, The Minerva Group, Inc., (ISBN 1589635671) pp. 206–209

External links

• Original French text at Wikisource
• Full-text (PDF) at sin.org