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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. Who does Dolmance order to stoke him in this section of the Fifth Dialogue?

2. At the beginning of the Fifth Dialogue, how long does Madame de Saint-Ange say she has been trying to break Augustin?

3. In this section, what does Dolmance claim the heart does?

4. Which character does not have vaginal intercourse in The Bedroom Philosophers?

5. What is the only thing that Madame de Saint-Ange claims to want from her brother?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Madame de Mistival punished after her tribunal in the Final Dialogue?

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

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

4. How does Dolmance conclude his argument with Chevalier in this section?

5. How is Dolmance awed by Augustin in this section?

6. According to the author of the pamphlet, what is the value of suicide?

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

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

9. What trepidations does Augustin have at the beginning of the Fifth Dialogue?

10. What is the only true connection between two people, according to Dolmance in this section?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In a point-counterpoint essay, determine what the Marquis de Sade would be satirizing if The Bedroom Philosophers were satire. Would his targets be the French aristocracy? The Revolution? Is it more reasonable to believe that he intends the text as a critique of excess? Discuss, on the other hand, what Sade's goal would be if the text were earnest. What evidence from his personal life would contend that the book should be taken straight?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the character of the Chevalier. What is his connection to Dolmance, and what role does he play in the education of Eugenie? Discuss his part in plotting the various outrages against her virtue. How is he instrumental in bringing all of the major characters together into one boudoir? Discuss, also, the Chevalier's surprising outrage at the lack of compassion Dolmance displays? How does he become the most loving of the libertines?

Essay Topic 3

Madame de Saint-Ange is the ideal of feminine libertinage in Sade's work. Her lessons in the book concern the way a woman must adapt to live a life of wanton pleasure. In a two-part essay, discuss Madame de Saint-Ange's views:

Part 1) What is the importance of marriage in the life of a woman libertine? What precautions must the woman take to ensure her husband is not aware of his activities? How does being married offer new opportunities to a libertine woman? Discuss the details of Madame de Saint-Ange's marriage.

Part 2) What role does the childbirth play in the role of a libertine? How does Madame de Saint-Ange explain a woman should take precautions? What experience has she had with childbirth?

(see the answer keys)

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