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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. What is the central lie regarding laws that the author of Frenchmen, Some More Effort if You Wish to Become Republicans dissects in this section?

2. Which character is a virgin at the beginning of The Bedroom Philosophers?

3. In this section, Dolmance says that every man is a despot when?

4. Which of the following is not a way Romans and Greeks honored their gods, according to the pamphleteer?

5. Who assists Dolmance in stitching up Madame de Mistival's vagina and anal sphincter in the Final Dialogue?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the only purpose of friendship, according to Dolmance?

2. Why does the author of the pamphlet reject the notion of laws as important to order?

3. What argument for the pamphleteer offer regarding death and capital punishment?

4. How does Eugenie's reaction to her mother in the beginning of the Final Dialogue reflect a change in her character?

5. Why does Dolmance expound on marriage in this section, and what does he say?

6. What is the cumulative value of madame de Saint-Ange's inundation in the Fifth Dialogue?

7. How is Chevalier's argument in this section atypical of the rest of the text?

8. What transpires at the end of the Fifth Dialogue?

9. What surprising statement does Chevalier make at the beginning of this section?

10. How does Dolmance explain his vile character in this section?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The dialogues of The Bedroom Philosophers are intended to be perversions of Socratic dialogues, in which a philosopher takes a given dictum and dissects it, disproving it piece by piece. In an essay, choose one dialogue and discuss how the libertine dissects a given social more. What component of society is the character refuting? What does he or she find at fault in it? How does he or she disprove this fault, and what conclusion is reached?

Essay Topic 2

The story of The Bedroom Philosophers is, to a certain extent, the story of Eugenie's education. She enters the narrative a relative innocent and leaves it a libertine. In a three-part essay, discuss Eugenie's character arch:

Part 1) Why is Eugenie initially an innocent? Discuss her life before she arrived in Madame de Saint-Ange's boudoir. What compels her about the libertine lifestyle? How has she explored her sexuality thus far, and what does she expect from this lesson?

Part 2) Discuss the components of Dolmance's lessons that particularly shock Eugenie? Why is she reticent to let the Chevalier break her hymen? How do her perceptions of the world change as she learns more about the philosophy of libertinage?

Part 3) Discuss the type of women Eugenie has become by the end of The Bedroom Philosophers. How does she view the world and her family? What plans does she have for her life going forward? How is this different from her outlook on life at the beginning of the book?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the introduction of the book. What reasons does Sade offer for writing The Bedroom Philosophers? What does he hope his readers will take away from it? Does this introduction seem earnest or like a throwaway joke? Is The Bedroom Philosophers intended to be an instruction manual for those that are tired of social constrictions?

(see the answer keys)

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