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The Marquis de Sade
A biography of the Marquis de Sade, the French aristocrat & writer who "Sadism" is named after.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 11, 2008
An apparently meticulously researched biography of the Marquis de Sade. But, then, what do I know? The part I remember the most is that when de Sade was freed during the French Revolution he was supposedly made a judge. The story goes that his mother-in-law, who had had him imprisoned b/c of his sexual proclivities, came before him to be judged as an artistrocrat to potentially be beheaded. He supposedly let her go. That's a hard one to believe but if it's true I find it more than a little interesting.
August 5, 2024
THE FIRST BIOGRAPHY OF THE INFAMOUS 18TH CENTURY LIBERTINE WRITER
The Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) was a French nobleman, who became an infamous libertine (the word "sadism" was coined from his name) during the French society of Louis XVI. Interestingly, he also wrote several outrageously pornographic books such as 'Justine,' 'Philosophy in the Bedroom,' 'The 120 Days of Sodom,' and 'Juliette. 'Biographer Gilbert Lely (1904-1985) was a French poet.
While incarcerated in an asylum at Charenton, a doctor noted, "I often came upon him, walking alone, with heavy, dragging gait, most carelessly dressed, in the corridors near the room which he occupied. I never once saw him talking to anybody. When I passed him, I would salute him, and he would respond with that icy sort of courtesy which at once disposes of any thought of entering into conversation... Nothing could have made one suspect that this was the author of 'Justine' or 'Juliette'; the only impression he made on me was that of a haughty, morose old gentleman." (Pg. 50)
He asks, "what sort of figure did Sade cut in the eyes of his contemporaries... [as] a libertine who went beyond all bounds and would soon be resorting to flagellation and to sweets doctored with aphrodisiacs... But at the same time the future author ... was beginning to assemble... the first items in his infernal dossier; and the dawn of a tragic knowledge, the laws of which no thinker before him had ever deciphered, was gradually breaking in the depths of his soul." (Pg. 53-54)
While in Vincennes Prison in 1777, Sade wrote to his wife, "I am overcome with despair... My blood is too hot to endure such frightful restriction. I mean to turn my resulting rage on myself. If I am not out in four days, nothing is more sure than that I shall crack my skull against these walls." (Pg. 191) In 1781, he stated in another letter to her, "Yes, I am a libertine... My mind has encompassed everything possibly conceivable in that sphere, though I have certainly not done all I have conceived and certainly never shall. I am a libertine, but I am neither a criminal nor a murderer." (Pg. 234)
He admits, "One cannot give oneself virtues nor is one any longer able to adopt this or that taste, any more than a hunchback can make himself straight, or a man can make this or that opinion his general system or make himself auburn-haired when it is born ginger." (Pg. 249) Later, he stated, "The man who adopts any train of thought to suit other people is certainly a madman. My train of thought is the fruit of my recollections, it is connected with my existence, my make-up. I am not able to change it, and I wouldn't if I could. This train of thought which you blame is the sole consolation my life contains, it alleviates all my tribulations in prison, it comprises all my pleasures in the world and I cling to it more than to life." (Pg. 255) He summarized, "Imperious, choleric, impetuous, extreme in everything, of a disorderly wealth of imagination on human conduct such as life never saw the equal of... you must either kill me or take me as I am, for I shall not change." (Pg. 256)
After he had been liberated during the French Revolution, he bitterly lamented, "I had fifteen volumes ready for the press... [but] have come out of prison without even one quarter of those manuscripts. By unforgivable carelessness Lady de Sade allowed some to be lost and have the others seized, and that's thirteen lost years! Three-quarters of my works remained behind in my Bastille cell... My manuscripts, over the loss of which I shed tears of blood!... You can replace beds, tables, commodes, but you cannot get ideas again..." (Pg. 315-316)
This book, as well as the more recent 'The Marquis de Sade: A Life,' are essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about this mysterious figure.
The Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) was a French nobleman, who became an infamous libertine (the word "sadism" was coined from his name) during the French society of Louis XVI. Interestingly, he also wrote several outrageously pornographic books such as 'Justine,' 'Philosophy in the Bedroom,' 'The 120 Days of Sodom,' and 'Juliette. 'Biographer Gilbert Lely (1904-1985) was a French poet.
While incarcerated in an asylum at Charenton, a doctor noted, "I often came upon him, walking alone, with heavy, dragging gait, most carelessly dressed, in the corridors near the room which he occupied. I never once saw him talking to anybody. When I passed him, I would salute him, and he would respond with that icy sort of courtesy which at once disposes of any thought of entering into conversation... Nothing could have made one suspect that this was the author of 'Justine' or 'Juliette'; the only impression he made on me was that of a haughty, morose old gentleman." (Pg. 50)
He asks, "what sort of figure did Sade cut in the eyes of his contemporaries... [as] a libertine who went beyond all bounds and would soon be resorting to flagellation and to sweets doctored with aphrodisiacs... But at the same time the future author ... was beginning to assemble... the first items in his infernal dossier; and the dawn of a tragic knowledge, the laws of which no thinker before him had ever deciphered, was gradually breaking in the depths of his soul." (Pg. 53-54)
While in Vincennes Prison in 1777, Sade wrote to his wife, "I am overcome with despair... My blood is too hot to endure such frightful restriction. I mean to turn my resulting rage on myself. If I am not out in four days, nothing is more sure than that I shall crack my skull against these walls." (Pg. 191) In 1781, he stated in another letter to her, "Yes, I am a libertine... My mind has encompassed everything possibly conceivable in that sphere, though I have certainly not done all I have conceived and certainly never shall. I am a libertine, but I am neither a criminal nor a murderer." (Pg. 234)
He admits, "One cannot give oneself virtues nor is one any longer able to adopt this or that taste, any more than a hunchback can make himself straight, or a man can make this or that opinion his general system or make himself auburn-haired when it is born ginger." (Pg. 249) Later, he stated, "The man who adopts any train of thought to suit other people is certainly a madman. My train of thought is the fruit of my recollections, it is connected with my existence, my make-up. I am not able to change it, and I wouldn't if I could. This train of thought which you blame is the sole consolation my life contains, it alleviates all my tribulations in prison, it comprises all my pleasures in the world and I cling to it more than to life." (Pg. 255) He summarized, "Imperious, choleric, impetuous, extreme in everything, of a disorderly wealth of imagination on human conduct such as life never saw the equal of... you must either kill me or take me as I am, for I shall not change." (Pg. 256)
After he had been liberated during the French Revolution, he bitterly lamented, "I had fifteen volumes ready for the press... [but] have come out of prison without even one quarter of those manuscripts. By unforgivable carelessness Lady de Sade allowed some to be lost and have the others seized, and that's thirteen lost years! Three-quarters of my works remained behind in my Bastille cell... My manuscripts, over the loss of which I shed tears of blood!... You can replace beds, tables, commodes, but you cannot get ideas again..." (Pg. 315-316)
This book, as well as the more recent 'The Marquis de Sade: A Life,' are essential reading for anyone who wants to know more about this mysterious figure.
May 29, 2012
Painful to read!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews