Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Versions of Reality Quotes

Valmont and Madame de Merteuil no longer see eye to eye. Valmont attributes this change to the fact that they haven't seen each other for some months. Why could such differences appear so quickly? Probably because they're both such shape-shifting deceivers. Only constant contact would make it possible for them to keep up with each other's changing perspectives. Think about how often you communicate with your own friends. It would be hard for them to change in some major way without you knowing about it every step of the way.

Madame de Rosemonde is writing to Madame de Tourvel, explaining the wicked ways of men, hoping to put Madame de Tourvel's feelings for Valmont into perspective. We see here another reason that reality sometimes gets distorted into fantasy: strong emotion. The wise Madame de Rosemonde knows that love is blind and can obliterate any realistic perception of a person's character. Madame de Tourvel probably doesn't want to hear it, or she's beyond the point of no return.

This is a mind-blowing statement from Madame de Volanges. Think of the carefully constructed reality that prevented her from knowing about their intimate and conspiratorial relationship for all those years. Knowledge, after all, is power, and Valmont and the Marquise completely controlled the flow of information by writing and concealing letters. Therefore, their version of reality prevailed.