Marquis de Sade Summary

The French writer of psychological and philosophical works Donatien Alphonse François, Comte de Sade (1740-1814), was also a libertine, debaucher, pornographer, and sadist--a term derived from ... Read more

A French novelist, philosopher, and critic who died in 1962, Bataille received considerable critical attention in France for his theories of eroticism and mysticism. He was among the first critics to ... Read more

The author of numerous books on French literature, ethics, philosophy, and women's rights, Michael has published several books and articles on the Marquis de Sade. In this excerpt, she suggests... Read more

In this excerpt, Carpenter examines Sade's violations of the Classical principle of closure, particularly in Philosophy in the Bedroom, as a threat to "the notion of ideology as such. &#... Read more

In the following excerpt, Hayes examines the role of conflicting ideologies in Sade's plays and novels, concentrating in particular on his disruption of structure and meaning. The plays have... Read more

Fink published numerous articles on Sade during the 1970s. In the following excerpt, she examines the political content of Sade's work and argues that he should be taken seriously as a politica... Read more

In the following excerpt, Williams analyzes the heroines in Sade's short stories and in his novel Aline et Valcour. The figure of Justine and the multiple variations of the Justine legend li... Read more

A radical feminist essayist and fiction writer, Dworkin has published several books on the politics of gender. In her book Pornography: Men Possessing Women, she argues that pornography functions in s... Read more

Lynch has published several books and articles on eighteenth-century French literature. In this excerpt, he reviews the influence of Sade's writings and his critical reception in the nineteenth... Read more

The Marquis de Sade was a controversial writer from the Enlightenment period. His works were highly controversial at the time although he did acquire some sort of a cult following. The Marquis de Sade... Read more