Les Liaisons dangereuses

Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) is a famous French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782.

The book fascinates with its dark undertones. It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two rivals who use sex as a weapon to humiliate and degrade others, all the while enjoying their cruel games. It also depicts the decadence of the French aristocracy shortly before the French Revolution; thus it is seen as a work that exposes the perversions of the so-called Ancien Régime.

The book is an epistolary novel, composed entirely of letters written by the various characters to each other. In particular, the letters between Valmont and the Marquise drive the plot, with those of other characters serving as illustrations to give the story its depth.

The novel has been translated into English many times, with Douglas Parmée's recent translation (Oxford: OUP, 1995) receiving favourable reviews.

It is often claimed to be the origin of the saying "Revenge is a dish best served cold", a paraphrased translation of "La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid." (more literally, "Revenge is a dish that is eaten cold"). However the expression does not actually occur in the original novel.

Plot summary

The Vicomte de Valmont is determined to seduce the virtuous (and married) Madame de Tourvel, who is living with Valmont's aunt while Monsieur de Tourvel is away for a court case. At the same time, the Marquise de Merteuil is determined to corrupt the young Cécile de Volanges, whose mother has only recently brought her out of a convent to be married to a former lover of Merteuil. Cécile falls in love with the Chevalier Danceny, and Merteuil and Valmont pretend to want to help the secret lovers in order to use them in their schemes.

Merteuil suggests that the Vicomte seduce Cécile in order to exact her revenge on Cécile's future husband. Valmont refuses as he wants to devote himself to seducing Mme de Tourvel. Merteuil promises Valmont that if he seduces Mme de Tourvel and provides her with written proof, she will spend the night with him. He expects rapid success, but does not find it as easy as his many other conquests. During the course of his pursuit, he discovers that Cécile's mother has written to Mme de Tourvel about his bad reputation. He avenges himself in seducing Cécile as Merteuil had suggested. In the meantime, Merteuil takes Danceny as a lover.

By the time Valmont has succeeded in seducing Mme de Tourvel, it is clear he has fallen in love with her. Jealous, Merteuil tricks him into breaking up with Mme de Tourvel — and reneges on her promise of spending the night with him. Merteuil and Valmont declare war on each other. Valmont prompts Danceny to reunite with Cécile, abandoning Merteuil. In response, Merteuil reveals to Danceny that Valmont seduced Cécile.

Danceny and Valmont duel. Valmont is fatally wounded, but before he dies he is reconciled with Danceny, giving him the letters proving Merteuil's own involvement. Two of these are sufficient to ruin her health and her reputation, and she flees the country. But the innocent still suffer: hearing of Valmont's death, Mme de Tourvel succumbs to a fever, while Cécile returns to the convent.

Literary significance & criticism

Wayland Young notes that most critics have viewed the work as "…a sort of celebration, or at least a neutral statement, of libertinism… pernicious and damnable… Almost everyone who has written about it has noted how perfunctory are the wages of sin…" He argues, however, that "…the mere analysis of libertinism… carried out by a novelist with such a prodigious command of his medium… was enough to condemn it and play a large part in its destruction." (Young, 1966, 246)

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The novel has been made into a play by Christopher Hampton which opened on London's West End and later crossed over to Broadway with Alan Rickman originating the role of the Vicomte de Valmont, Lindsay Duncan as Marquise de Merteuil, and Juliet Stevenson as Cecile. It has also been filmed various times, under many different names:

• Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959), directed by Roger Vadim and starring Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Philipe, and Annette Vadim. In this version, Vadim updates the story to a late-1950s French bourgeois milieu.
• Uiheomhan gwangye—literally "Dangerous Liaison" in English—(1970), a Korean adaptation directed by Young Nam Ko and starring Mu-ryong Choi, Hie Mun, and Ji-myeong Oh^[1]
• Dangerous Liaisons (1988), directed by Stephen Frears and starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer (based on Hampton's play). This version uses eighteenth-century costumes and dazzling shots of the Île-de-France (province) region around Paris.
• Valmont (1989), directed by Miloš Forman and starring Annette Bening, Colin Firth, and Meg Tilly
• Cruel Intentions (1999), directed by Roger Kumble and starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Philippe, and Reese Witherspoon (a modern reworking involving teens)
• Untold Scandal (2003), directed by Lee Je Yong and starring Lee Mik Suk, Jeon Do Yeon, and Bae Yong Joon (transposes the novel to eighteenth-century Korea, not unlike how Akira Kurosawa retold King Lear as Ran)
• Michael Lucas' Dangerous Liaisons (2005), an X-rated gay pornographic film variously described as a film adaptation and a remake. Directed by Michael Lucas with non-sexual cameo appearances by Boy George, Lady Bunny, Amanda Lepore, Hedda Lettuce, Michael Musto, Graham Norton, RuPaul, and Bruce Vilanch
• Bulldog in the White House (2006), directed by Todd Verow and starring Theodore Bouloukos, Todd Verow, and Jono Mainelli (a modern adaptation around the controversy surrounding White House reporter Jeff Gannon)

There have also been many television adaptations of the novel. These include:

• Les Liaisons dangereuses (1980), a French television film directed by Claude Barma, starring Claude Degliame, Jean-Pierre Bouvier and Maïa Simon)^[2]
• Les Liaisons dangereuses (2003), a French television miniseries directed by Josée Dayan and starring Catherine Deneuve, Rupert Everett and Nastassja Kinski, which relocates the story to the 1960s^[3]

And also operatic settings:

• Les liaisons dangereuses (1996) by the Belgian composer Piet Swerts
• The Dangerous Liaisons (1994, rev. 1996–1997) by the American composer Conrad Susa, commissioned by the San Francisco Opera. The opera was also aired on television in 1994 under the direction of Gary Halvorson and starring Frederica von Stade, Thomas Hampson, and Renée Fleming^[4]

References

da:Farlige forbindelser de:Gefährliche Liebschaften es:Las amistades peligrosas (novela) fr:Les Liaisons dangereuses ko:위험한 관계 ja:危険な関係 (小説) pl:Niebezpieczne związki pt:Les Liaisons Dangereuses zh:危險關係

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