Must We Burn Sade? Summary

"Must we Burn Sade?" is a response to the writings of Sade written by Simone de Beauvoir that seeks to place Sade properly among the great figures of literature. His greatness is not found in his technical writing according to the author. Even his admirers do not claim he has any special talent in that area and it is not because of his sexual perversions alone according to Simone. These are not terribly "original" ideas of his. Sade becomes compelling only when he tries to reconcile these two parts of himself.

De Beauvoir provides a brief biography of Sade from what is known about his life, which is very little. She ascribes to him the basic background that other men of his social and financial background would have had during his lifetime. As an aristocrat, she assumes...