Childishness
When the Marquise de Merteuil compares someone to a child, she's not paying a compliment. Nope. It's a common insult for her. She speaks of Madame de Tourvel as a devout prude whose piety condemns...
Godliness
While the favored insult of the Marquise is childishness, the Vicomte de Valmont prefers the sting of ironic terms of godliness. While writing to his former lover the Marquise, he regularly refers...
Illness
Think it isn't possible to die of a broken heart? Think again. That's what happens to Madame de Tourvel after Valmont suddenly leaves her, sending that terrible letter helpfully suggested by the Ma...