''Thérèse Philosophe'' (''Therese the Philosopher'') is a 1748 French novel ascribed to

Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens (24 June 1704 – 11 January 1771) was a French rationalist, author and critic of the Catholic church, who was a close friend of Voltaire and spent much of his life in exile at the court of Frederick the ...

. It has been chiefly regarded as a

pornographic Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

novel, which accounts for its massive sales in 18th-century France. The novel represents a public conveyance (and arguably perversion) for some ideas of the

Philosophes The ''philosophes'' () were the intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosophe ...

Summary

The narrative starts with Therese, sexually precocious in spite of herself, from solid bourgeois stock, being placed by her mother in a convent when she is 11 years old. There she eventually becomes sick because her pleasure principle is not permitted to express itself, putting her body into disorder, and bringing her close to the grave until her mother finally yanks her out of the convent at age 23. She then becomes a student of Father Dirrag, a Jesuit who secretly teaches materialism. Therese spies on Dirrag counseling her fellow student, Mlle. Eradice, and preying on her spiritual ambition in order to seduce her. Through flagellation and penetration, Dirrag gives Mlle. Eradice what she thinks is spiritual ecstasy but is actually sexual. "Father Dirrag" and "Mlle. Eradice" are named after

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into ''nag a ram'', also the word ...

s of Jean-Baptiste Girard and Catherine Cadière, who were involved in a highly publicized trial for the illicit relationship between priest and student in 1730. After that she spends time with Mme. C and the Abbé T., and spies on them on multiple occasions, while they discuss libertine political and religious philosophy just before they engage in, and sometimes during, various acts of sex. (Abbé T. is clearly the same character as figures in another, eponymous, coming-of-age, soft-core libertine novel published that same year or possibly one year earlier: ''Ecclesiastical Laurels'', or ''Abbot T.'s Campaigns with the Triumph of the Nuns'', attributed to Jacques Rochette La Morlière; this latter novel is one of several titles listed towards the end of ''Therese the Philosopher'' as belonging to the library owned by the count, which library he loans to Therese as part of a bet.) Therese's sexual education continues with her relationship with Mme. Bois-Laurier, an experienced prostitute, who is also a virgin much to her clients' surprise, delight and also disappointment. Many a John will try to break through her maidenhead, without success. This section of the novel constitutes an arguably hilarious variation on the

whore dialogue Whore dialogues are a literary genre of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and a type of erotic fiction. The first example was the ''Ragionamenti'' by Pietro Aretino, followed by such works as ''La Retorica delle Puttane'' (''The Whore's Rheto ...

s that were common in early pornographic novels. Finally, Therese meets the unnamed Count who wants her for his mistress. She refuses him intercourse, out of her fear of death in childbirth (not unreasonable at the time) and also because she finds masturbation to be sufficiently pleasurable in and of itself. He makes a bet with her. If she can last two weeks in a room full of erotic books and paintings without masturbating, he will not demand intercourse with her. Therese loses and becomes the Count's permanent mistress.

Philosophical and social concepts

For all of its printed debauchery, the work has some philosophical merit in its underlying concepts. Between the more graphically adult sections of the novel, philosophical issues would be discussed amongst the characters, including materialism,

hedonism Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...

and

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

. All phenomena are matter in motion, and religion is a fraud, though useful for keeping the working classes in line. The book not only draws attention to the

sexual repression Sexual repression is a state in which a person is prevented from expressing their own sexuality. Sexual repression is often linked with feelings of guilt or shame being associated with sexual impulses. Defining characteristics and practices ass ...

of women at the time of the enlightenment, but also to the exploitation of religious authority through salacious acts.

Influence and adaptations

Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

referred repeatedly to the novel in his working notes for both

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69. The title is an ...

and The Possessed.

George Steiner Francis George Steiner, FBA (April 23, 1929 – February 3, 2020) was a Franco-American literary critic, essayist, philosopher, novelist, and educator. He wrote extensively about the relationship between language, literature and society, and the ...

, ''Tolstoy or Dostoevsky'' (Penguin 1967) p. 179 *''Thérése Philosophe'' was loosely adapted as the second segment of

Walerian Borowczyk Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was an internationally known Polish film director described by film critics as a 'genius who also happened to be a pornographer'. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk set ...

's French anthology film '' Immoral Tales'' (1973). Therese was played by

Charlotte Alexandra Charlotte Alexandra Mary Seeley, usually credited as Charlotte Alexandra, is an English film actress. She is best known for her appearance in several controversial, sexually-explicit feature films in the mid to late 1970s.Dirks, Tim Film Site. ...

References

Sources

* Darnton, Robert. ''The Forbidden Best-sellers of Pre-revolutionary France'' W. W. Norton & Company, 1996 * Brumfield, William C. "''Thérèse philosophe'' and Dostoevsky's Great Sinner," ''Comparative Literature'', vol. 32 (summer 1980) 3:238-52.

* William C. Brumfield, « ''Thérèse philosophe'' and Dostoevsky's Great Sinner », ''Comparative Literature'', Summer 1980, n° 32 (3), p. 238-52 * Jacqueline Chammas, �
Le Clergé et l’inceste spirituel dans trois romans du XVIIIe siècle : ''Le Portier des Chartreux'', ''Thérèse philosophe'' et ''Margot la ravaudeuse''
», ''Eighteenth-Century Fiction'', Apr-July 2003, n° 15 (3-4), p. 687-704 * Catherine Cusset, « 'L’Exemple et le raisonnement': Désir et raison dans ''Thérèse philosophe'' (1748) », ''Nottingham French Studies'', Spring 1998, n° 37 (1), p. 1-15 * Gudrun Gersmann, « Das Geschäft mit der Lust des Lesers: ''Thérèse philosophe''-zur Druckgeschichte eines erotischen Bestsellers im 18. Jahrhundert », ''Das Achtzehnte Jahrhundert'', 1994, n° 18 (1), p. 72-84 * . * Jean Mainil, « Jamais fille chaste n’a lu de romans : lecture en cachette, lecture en abyme dans ''Thérèse philosophe'' », Éd. Jan Herman, Paul Pelckmans, ''L’Épreuve du lecteur : Livres et lectures dans le roman d’Ancien Régime'', Paris, Peeters; 1995, p. 308-16 * Natania Meeker, « 'I Resist no Longer': Enlightened Philosophy and Feminine Compulsion in ''Thérèse philosophe'' », ''Eighteenth-Century Studies'', Spring 2006, n° 39 (3), p. 363-76 * Nicolas Miteran, « La Fureur poétique des abbés ou les illusions dangereuses : les Discours édifiants dans ''Thérèse philosophe'' (1748) », Éd. Et intro. Jacques Wagner, ''Roman et Religion en France (1713-1866)'', Paris, Champion, 2002, p. 83-97 * Anne Richardot, « ''Thérèse philosophe'' : Les Charmes de l'impénétrable », ''Eighteenth-Century Life'', May 1997, n° 21 (2), p. 89-99 * Jeanne-Hélène Roy, « S(t)imulating Pleasure: The Female Body in Sade's ''Les Infortunes de la Vertu'' and ''Thérèse philosophe'' », ''Cincinnati Romance Review'', 1999, n° 18, p. 122-31 * Hans-Ulrich Seifert, «Der Heilige Strick ostface�, ''Thérèse philosophe'', ed. Michael Farin et Hans-Ulrich Seifert, Munich 1990, p. 423-446

External links