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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How was __Les Liaisons Dangereuses_ treated after the turn of the 20th century?

2. With which philosophical movement of the 18th century is Laclos associated?

3. What was Laclos' relationship with his own wife and children?

4. In letter 20, what does Merteuil promise Valmont upon the success of his seduction of Madame de Tourvel?

5. In letter 5, how does Merteuil react to Valmont's object of desire?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the general contents of Valmont's love letters to Madame de Tourvel?

2. What are Merteuil and Valmont's plans for Danceny and Cécile at the beginning of Part II?

3. How does Merteuil respond to Valmont's warning?

4. What were Laclos' general views on politics and gender relations?

5. How does Cécile describe her feelings about Danceny to Sophie in letter 55?

6. What causes Cécile to become worried and sad about her upcoming marriage?

7. What action does Valmont take to make Madame de Tourvel love him, and what are the results?

8. What event causes Cécile and Danceny to despair? What are the immediate results?

9. What does the Editor state in the Editor's Preface?

10. What does Valmont essentially tell Merteuil about their relationship with each other in letter 15?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the types of mediation present in the novel. This could include: characters who mediate other characters' thoughts, actions, and feelings; the "editor" of the novel mediating the reader's interaction with the story by his arrangement of letters and placement and wording of notes; and plot itself being mediated through the letters. In some instances, the plot twists back upon itself, repeats itself, or offered through different perspectives. What is the effect and significance of such mediation on the themes, symbolism, character development, and the response of the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Define "pornography" and "erotica." How are they alike and/or different? Is there a central issue which divides the two, or are they essentially the same thing? What is their purpose and meaning or implication in popular culture, both to the private person and to society at large? Does _Les Liasons Dangereuses_ count as erotica or pornography, or both, or neither? Why? How do you describe Valmont's and Merteuil's sexual exploits as revealed in letters 10, 47, 71, and 79? Do these letters offer detail about feelings, desires, sexual acts, and body parts in lurid detail, or does the text dance around the issues by only alluding to them and making puns and double entendres? What about these letters might shock or offend a moral or virtuous reader, either in the 18th century or today? What could be the reasons that Valmont and Merteuil enjoy writing such letters to one another? Can writing be erotic without actually referring directly to sexual acts, to the human body, or to specific desires? For example, close-read letter 48, in which Valmont describes to Madame de Tourvel his passion for her, but the letter plays a joke on her by referring to Valmont's night of sex with Émilie in letter 47.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the ending of the novel and the various fates assigned to each character. Does the ending and Madame de Volanges' final message fulfill the "requirements" of a moral novel? Could the endings of, arguably, the two most important characters (Valmont's death and Merteuil's disgrace) be considered "Deus ex machinas?" Why or why not? Do you find any symbolism in each character's fate? Where do ideas of morality and justice emerge from the ending of the novel? Does the ending resolve anything, leave any issues ambiguous, or become undercut by the vastness of the immorality in the novel?

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