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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. As of letter 44, what has Madame de Tourvel done with Valmont's letters?

2. Who wrote the Publisher's Foreword to _Les Liasons Dangerueses_?

3. How does Danceny give his first note to Cécile?

4. In letter 52, what does Valmont accuse Madame de Tourvel of slandering?

5. In letter 26, what does Madame de Tourvel blame on her impassioned outburst?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Valmont describe Madame de Tourvel?

2. Who is Merteuil's "knight," and what does she think of him?

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

4. What serious warning does Valmont give Merteuil?

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

6. Describe Cécile's relationship with Merteuil.

7. What does Merteuil assert is the reason women become "victims" of seduction?

8. How does Madame de Tourvel respond to Valmont's first love letter?

9. What concession does Madame de Tourvel give Valmont, and what are the results?

10. What was the general response to _Les Liaisons Dangereuses_ in the 20th century?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Examine the aspect of Valmont's character that has to do with his feelings for Madame de Tourvel and his feelings for Merteuil. What does he profess to feel for them both, and what does it seem that he actually feels? How does he use language and tone to express these feelings to them and about them? What do his actions around each woman, or having to do with each woman, say about his real feelings for them? Discuss this aspect of Valmont's character as a function of the tension between public and private morality and persona.

Essay Topic 3

Examine the theme of male solidarity in the novel. Consider the following situations: the three men involved with Prévan's legendary seduction bond together to ruin all three women who are also Prévan's targets; Valmont convinces Madame de Tourvel's confessor, Father Anselme, to allow Valmont access to Madame de Tourvel; Valmont and Danceny, after dueling, bond together to ruin Merteuil. Are there similar instances of female solidarity in the novel? How does this influence your interpretation of gender roles in the novel? How are "communities," or even friendships, gendered in the text?

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