Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Themes

We'd be shocked if a novel comprised of "dangerous" communication didn't have something to say about the nature and function of language. Never fear: Dangerous Liaisons is shocking for other reason...

Dangerous Liaisons is a fascinating novel because you're not always sure that the picture you're getting is accurate. In fact, deceit is the point of many of the letters. The reliability of the na...

What happens to a society in which manipulation is a way of life? The novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses takes us into such a world, and what we see isn't pretty. Behind the expensive clothing and dyed...

In Les Liaisons Dangereuses, revenge is a dish best served with cold-hearted letters. For the two main characters, the Vicomte de Valmont and Madame de Merteuil, their desire for revenge is a major...

In Les Liaisons Dangereuses, many of the characters do the despicable, but few feel bad about it. Having a conscience is a liability: it makes one vulnerable to manipulation and limits your freedom...

Generally, when we talk about people having principles, we mean that they strive in their better moments to do what's right. They have a set of values to live by. When the characters in Les Liaison...

Written less than a decade before the French Revolution, Choderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses focuses entirely on aristocratic or otherwise wealthy individuals. This isn't A Tale of Two C...

The default religious world of Les Liaisons Dangereuses is a very Catholic one. Families send their daughters to convent schools. The devout and the duplicitous both attend Mass. Priests are called...

In Les Liaisons Dangereuses, you're always getting a constructed version of reality, usually crafted with some purpose other than to reveal the full truth. People draw conclusions about reality tha...