Marquis de Sade
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Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusations of
sex crimes Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...
. His works include novels, short stories, plays, dialogues, and political tracts. In his lifetime some of these were published under his own name while others, which Sade denied having written, appeared anonymously. Sade is best known for his erotic works, which combined philosophical discourse with pornography, depicting
sexual fantasies A sexual fantasy or erotic fantasy is a mental image or pattern of thought that stirs a person's sexuality and can create or enhance sexual arousal. A sexual fantasy can be created by the person's imagination or memory, and may be triggered aut ...
with an emphasis on
violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...
, suffering, anal sex (which he calls
sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
), child rape, crime, and
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
against
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
. Many of the characters in his works are teenagers or adolescents. His work is a depiction of extreme absolute
freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
, unrestrained by
morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
, religion, or law. The words ''
sadism Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
'' and '' sadist'' are derived from his name in reference to the works of fiction he wrote, which portrayed numerous acts of sexual cruelty. While Sade explored a wide range of sexual deviations through his writings, his known behavior includes "only the beating of a housemaid and an orgy with several prostitutes—behavior significantly departing from the clinical definition of sadism". It is known that Sade forcibly held five adolescent girls and a teenage boy hostage in his chateau while forcing them to commit various sexual acts for six weeks in 1774. Sade was a proponent of free public brothels paid for by the state: In order both to prevent crimes in society that are motivated by lust and to reduce the desire to oppress others using one’s own power, Sade recommended public brothels where people can satisfy their wishes to command and be obeyed. Despite having no legal charge brought against him, Sade was imprisoned or committed for about 32 years of his life, time divided between facilities such as the Château de Vincennes, the
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
, and the Charenton asylum, where he died. He wrote many of his works during these periods of confinement. During the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, he was an elected delegate to the
National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
. There continues to be a fascination with Sade among scholars and in popular culture. Prolific French intellectuals such as
Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popula ...
, Jacques Derrida, and
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
published studies of him. In contrast, the French hedonist philosopher
Michel Onfray Michel Onfray (; born 1 January 1959) is a French writer and philosopher with a hedonistic, epicurean and atheist worldview. A highly-prolific author on philosophy, he has written over 100 books. His philosophy is mainly influenced by such think ...
has attacked this interest in Sade, writing that "It is intellectually bizarre to make Sade a hero." There have also been numerous film adaptations of his work, including
Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
's ''
Salò Salò (; la, Salodium) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Brescia in the region of Lombardy (northern Italy) on the banks of Lake Garda, on which it has the longest promenade. The city was the seat of government of the Italian Socia ...
'', an adaptation of Sade's controversial book ''
The 120 Days of Sodom ''The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage'' (french: Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l'école du libertinage, links=no) is an unfinished novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in ...
'', as well as many of the films of Spanish director
Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directed, produced, act ...
.


Life


Early life and education

Sade was born on 2 June 1740, in the
Hôtel de Condé The Hôtel de Condé was the main Paris seat of the princes of Condé, a cadet branch of the Bourbons, from 1612 to 1764/70. The hôtel gave its name to the present ''rue de Condé'', on which its forecourt faced. The Théâtre de l'Odéon was ...
,
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, to Jean Baptiste François Joseph, Count de Sade and Marie Eléonore de Maillé de Carman, distant cousin and lady-in-waiting to the Princess of Condé. His parents' only surviving child, Sade and his family were soon abandoned by his father. He was raised by servants who indulged "his every whim", which led to his becoming "known as a rebellious and spoiled child with an ever-growing temper." After an incident in which he severely beat
Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé Louis Joseph de Bourbon (9 August 1736 – 13 May 1818) was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of '' Prince du Sang''. Youth Born on 9 August 1736 at Chantilly, Louis J ...
, six-year-old Sade was sent to live under instruction of his uncle, the Abbé de Sade, who "introduced him to debauchery". Shortly thereafter, his mother—already distant and cold to her son—abandoned him, joining a
convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
. Later in his childhood, ten-year-old Sade was sent to the
Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...
in Paris, a Jesuit college, for four years. While at the school, he was tutored by Abbé Jacques-François Amblet, a priest. Later in life, at one of Sade's trials the Abbé testified, saying that Sade had a "passionate temperament which made him eager in the pursuit of pleasure" but had a "good heart." At the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, he was subjected to "severe corporal punishment," including "flagellation," and he "spent the rest of his adult life obsessed with the violent act." At age 14, Sade began attending an elite military academy. After twenty months of training, on 14 December 1755, at age 15, Sade was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant, becoming a soldier. After thirteen months as a sub-lieutenant, he was commissioned to the rank of cornet in the Brigade de S. André of the Comte de Provence's Carbine Regiment. He eventually became
Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
of a Dragoon regiment and fought in the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. In 1763, on returning from war, he courted a rich magistrate's daughter, but her father rejected his suitorship and instead arranged a marriage with his elder daughter, Renée-Pélagie de Montreuil; that marriage produced two sons and a daughter. In 1766, he had a private theatre built in his castle, the Château de Lacoste, in Provence. In January 1767, his father died.


Title and heirs

The men of the Sade family alternated between using the '' marquis'' and ''
comte ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...
'' (count) titles. His grandfather, Gaspard François de Sade, was the first to use ''marquis''; occasionally, he was the ''Marquis de Sade'', but is identified in documents as the ''Marquis de
Mazan Mazan (; oc, Masan) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The town is 4 miles (7 km) drive east of Carpentras, one of its neighbouring municipalities, and 21 miles (34&nb ...
''. The Sade family were ''
noblesse d'épée The Nobles of the Sword (french: noblesse d'épée) were the noblemen of the oldest class of nobility in France dating from the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, and arguably still in existence by descent. It was originally the knightly cl ...
'', claiming at the time the oldest,
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
-descended nobility, so assuming a noble title without a King's grant was customarily '' de rigueur''. Alternating title usage indicates that titular hierarchy (below ''
duc et pair The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...
'') was notional; theoretically, the ''marquis'' title was granted to noblemen owning ''several'' countships, but its use by men of dubious lineage caused its disrepute. At Court, precedence was by seniority and royal favor, not title. There is father-and-son correspondence, wherein father addresses son as ''marquis''. For many years, Sade's descendants regarded his life and work as a scandal to be suppressed. This did not change until the mid-20th century, when the Comte Xavier de Sade reclaimed the marquis title, long fallen into disuse, and took an interest in his ancestor's writings. At that time, the "divine marquis" of legend was so unmentionable in his own family that Xavier de Sade learned of him only in the late 1940s when approached by a journalist. He subsequently discovered a store of Sade's papers in the family château at
Condé-en-Brie Condé-en-Brie (, literally ''Condé in Brie'') is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The chateau of the family of the Marquis de Sade was located at the Condé-en-Brie. Population See also * Châte ...
, and worked with scholars for decades to enable their publication. His youngest son, the Marquis Thibault de Sade, has continued the collaboration. The family have also claimed a trademark on the name. The family sold the
Château de Condé The Château de Condé is a private estate in Condé-en-Brie, Aisne, France, set in a park on the Champagne route 100 km from Paris. The Château de Condé is a private estate, listed as a historic monument and inhabited year round. Its 17 ...
in 1983. As well as the manuscripts they retain, others are held in universities and libraries. Many, however, were lost in the 18th and 19th centuries. A substantial number were destroyed after Sade's death at the instigation of his son, Donatien-Claude-Armand.


Scandals and imprisonment

Sade lived a scandalous libertine existence and repeatedly procured young prostitutes as well as employees of both sexes in his castle in
Lacoste Lacoste S.A. is a French company, founded in 1933 by tennis player René Lacoste, and entrepreneur Mangkha. It sells clothing, footwear, sportswear, eyewear, leather goods, perfume, towels and watches. The company can be recognised by its g ...
. He was also accused of
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
, which was considered a serious offense. His behavior also included an affair with his wife's sister, Anne-Prospère, who had come to live at the castle. Beginning in 1763, Sade lived mainly in or near Paris. Four months following his marriage on 17 May 1763, Sade was charged with outrage to public morals, blasphemy and profanation of the image of Christ. On 18 October 1763, Sade procured the services of a local prostitute named Jeanne Testard for
sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...
, which was refused. He then locked her in his apartment room, before asking whether she believed in God. When she stated that she did, Sade proceeded to shout various obscenities and impieties concerning
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, stating there was no god. Sade then masturbated into a church chalice, proceeding to stomp on an ivory crucifix while masturbating with another as he exclaimed blasphemies, before ordering her to beat him with a cane whip and an iron whip which had been heated by fire. During the twelve-hour ordeal, Sade forced Testard to stomp on a crucifix while repeating, "Bastard, I don't give a fuck about you!" under threat of a
scabbard A scabbard is a sheath for holding a sword, knife, or other large blade. As well, rifles may be stored in a scabbard by horse riders. Military cavalry and cowboys had scabbards for their saddle ring carbine rifles and lever-action rifles on the ...
as he recited various blasphemous poems throughout the night. Following the incident, Testard then reported Sade to authorities, who arrested him on 29 October 1763, holding him for fifteen days in the prison of
Vincennes Vincennes (, ) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is next to but does not include the Château de Vincennes and Bois de Vincennes, which are attache ...
. After several contrite letters in which Sade expressed remorse and begged to see a priest, the King ordered his release on 13 November. In September 1764, Sade returned to Paris, gradually developing a bad reputation which prompted the chief police inspector to advise to local madams that their prostitutes not accompany him to his countryside residence. Because of his sexual infamy, he was put under surveillance by the police, who made detailed reports of his activities over the course of the following years, writing in October 1767, "We will soon be hearing again of the horrors of the Comte de Sade." On 3 April 1768,
Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...
, Sade had encountered a 36-year-old German widow named Rose Keller at the
Place des Victoires The Place des Victoires is a circular ''place'' in Paris, located a short distance northeast from the Palais Royal and straddling the border between the 1st and the 2nd arrondissements. The Place des Victoires is at the confluence of six streets ...
; upon reassuring her that he required house service which included cleaning his bedroom, they rode in his carriage to Sade's country residence in
Arcueil Arcueil () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Name The name Arcueil was recorded for the first time in 1119 as ''Arcoloï'', and later in the 12th ...
, where she was subsequently locked and held captive. Sade proceeded to bind Keller before proceeding to flagellate her with a whip over the course of two days. Although court documents suggest Sade may have made incisions on Keller's back, buttocks, and thighs before pouring hot wax into the wounds, Keller failed to produce evidence of her claims to authorities two days after the incident took place. On the day of her escape, Sade applied ointment to Keller as she cried and unbound her, ordering Keller to clean the bloodstains from her gown as he briefly departed. Through a window, Keller then fled before informing nearby locals and authorities, prompting Sade's arrest in June. He was briefly incarcerated in the then-prison
Château de Saumur A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...
, and exiled to his château at Lacoste in 1768 as Keller was immediately bribed to drop charges. On 27 June 1772, Sade procured four prostitutes with the aid of his manservant, Latour. During the ordeal, Sade whipped the prostitutes and requested they do the same. He then opted to engage in anal intercourse with the prostitutes, two of whom had refused, before engaging in mutual sodomy with his manservant. After the orgy, Sade offered them chocolates laced with an
aphrodisiac An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocain ...
in the hopes that the chocolate would allow him to fulfill his sexual fantasies with them. When the young women—suspicious of the chocolate's contents—grew pale and sick, they alerted authorities of the sodomy and perceived attempted poisoning and an investigation was opened. The two men were sentenced to death ''in absentia'' and charged with sodomy, attempted poisoning, and outrage to the country's morals. They fled to Italy, Sade taking his wife's sister—whom he had been in love with from the time she was 13—with him. With the help of Sade's mother-in-law, Sade and Latour were caught and imprisoned at the Fortress of Miolans in French Savoy in late 1772, but escaped four months later. Sade later hid at Lacoste where he rejoined his wife, who became an accomplice in his subsequent endeavors. In the winter of 1774, Sade began to partake in orgies at his home in his wife's presence in which he enacted a series of theatrical sexual performances with five young females and a young manservant aged between 14 and 16 years old. By January 1775, the servants' parents began making complaints that Sade had abducted and seduced their children. When one of the female servants fled to his uncle's residence, Sade promptly urged him to hold her prisoner before making further efforts to suppress the scandal. Authorities learned of his sexual debauchery, however, and Sade was forced to flee to Italy once again following accusations of
kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...
and
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
. It was during this time he wrote ''Voyage d'Italie''. In 1776, he returned to Lacoste, again hired several women, most of whom soon fled. In 1777, the father of one of these employees went to Lacoste to claim his daughter, and attempted to shoot the Marquis at point-blank range, but the gun misfired. Later that year, Sade was tricked into going to Paris to visit his supposedly ill mother, who in fact had recently died. He was arrested and imprisoned in the Château de Vincennes. He successfully appealed his death sentence in 1778 but remained imprisoned under the ''
lettre de cachet ''Lettres de cachet'' (; ) were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgments that ...
''. He escaped but was soon recaptured. He resumed writing and met fellow prisoner
Comte de Mirabeau ''Comte'' is the French, Catalan and Occitan form of the word 'count' (Latin: ''comes''); ''comté'' is the Gallo-Romance form of the word 'county' (Latin: ''comitatus''). Comte or Comté may refer to: * A count in French, from Latin ''comes'' * A ...
, who also wrote erotic works. Despite this common interest, the two came to dislike each other intensely. In 1784, Vincennes was closed, and Sade was transferred to the
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
. The following year, he wrote the manuscript for his
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
''Les 120 Journées de Sodome'' (''
The 120 Days of Sodom ''The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage'' (french: Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l'école du libertinage, links=no) is an unfinished novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in ...
''), which he wrote in minuscule handwriting on a continuous roll of paper he rolled tightly and placed in his cell wall to hide. He was unable to finish the work; on 4 July 1789, he was transferred "naked as a worm" to the insane asylum at Charenton near Paris, two days after he reportedly incited unrest outside the prison by shouting to the crowds gathered there, "They are killing the prisoners here!" Sade was unable to retrieve the manuscript before being removed from the prison. The
storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. At ...
, a major event of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, occurred ten days after Sade left, on 14 July. To his despair, he believed that the manuscript was destroyed in the storming of the Bastille, though it was actually saved by a man named Arnoux de Saint-Maximin two days before the Bastille was attacked. It is not known why Saint-Maximin chose to bring the manuscript to safety, nor indeed is anything else about him known. In 1790, Sade was released from Charenton after the new National Constituent Assembly abolished the instrument of ''lettre de cachet''. His wife obtained a divorce soon afterwards.


Return to freedom, delegate to the National Convention, and imprisonment

During Sade's time of freedom, beginning in 1790, he published several of his books anonymously. He met Marie-Constance Quesnet, a former actress with a six-year-old son, who had been abandoned by her husband. Constance and Sade stayed together for the rest of his life. He initially adapted well to the new political order after the revolution, supported the Republic, called himself "Citizen Sade", and managed to obtain several official positions despite his aristocratic background. Because of the damage done to his estate in Lacoste, which was sacked in 1789 by an angry mob, he moved to Paris. In 1790, he was elected to the
National Convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year Nationa ...
, where he represented the far left. He was a member of the Piques
section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...
, notorious for its radical views. He wrote several political pamphlets, in which he called for the implementation of
direct vote Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are cho ...
. However, there is much evidence suggesting that he suffered abuse from his fellow revolutionaries due to his aristocratic background. Matters were not helped by his son's May 1792 desertion from the military, where he had been serving as a second lieutenant and the '' aide-de-camp'' to an important colonel, the Marquis de Toulengeon. Sade was forced to disavow his son's desertion in order to save himself. Later that year, his name was added—whether by error or wilful malice—to the list of
émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...
s of the
Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...
department. While claiming he was opposed to the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
in 1793, he wrote an admiring
eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...
for
Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes'', a radical ...
. At this stage, he was becoming publicly critical of
Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...
and, on 5 December, he was removed from his posts, accused of '' moderatism'', and imprisoned for almost a year. He was released in 1794 after the end of the Reign of Terror. In 1796, now completely destitute, he had to sell his ruined castle in Lacoste.


Imprisonment for his writings and death

In 1801,
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ordered the arrest of the anonymous author of '' Justine'' and '' Juliette'', expressing outrage after he had been sent a copy of the latter novel by Sade. Sade was arrested at his publisher's office and imprisoned without trial; first in the
Sainte-Pélagie Prison Sainte-Pélagie was a prison in Paris, in active use from 1790 to 1899. It was founded earlier than that, however, in 1662, as place for "repentant girls" and later "debauched women and girls." The former Parisian prison was located between the ...
and, following allegations that he had tried to seduce young fellow prisoners there, in the harsh Bicêtre Asylum. After intervention by his family, he was declared insane in 1803 and transferred once more to the Charenton Asylum. His ex-wife and children had agreed to pay his pension there. Constance, pretending to be his relative, was allowed to live with him at Charenton. The director of the institution,
Abbé de Coulmier François Simonet de Coulmier (30 September 1741 – 4 June 1818) was a French Catholic priest, originally a member of the Premonstratensian canons regular, and an active member of the French legislature at the start of the French Revolution and ...
, allowed and encouraged him to stage several of his plays, with the inmates as actors, to be viewed by the Parisian public. Coulmier's novel approaches to psychotherapy attracted much opposition. In 1809, new police orders put Sade into solitary confinement and deprived him of pens and paper. In 1813, the government ordered Coulmier to suspend all theatrical performances. Sade began a sexual relationship with 14-year-old Madeleine LeClerc, daughter of an employee at Charenton. This lasted some four years, until his death in 1814. He had left instructions in his
will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...
forbidding that his body be opened for any reason whatsoever, and that it remain untouched for 48 hours in the chamber in which he died, and then placed in a coffin and buried on his property located in Malmaison near
Épernon Épernon () is a French commune in the Eure-et-Loir department, Centre-Val de Loire. It lies some northeast of Chartres, at the confluence of the Drouette and the Guesle. History Épernon was originally the home of the counts of Montfort and ...
. These instructions were not followed; he was buried at Charenton. His skull was later removed from the grave for
phrenological Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...
examination. His son had all his remaining unpublished manuscripts burned, including the immense multi-volume work ''Les Journées de Florbelle''.


Appraisal and criticism

Numerous writers and artists, especially those concerned with sexuality, have been both repelled and fascinated by Sade. An article in ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', a British
online newspaper An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical. Going online created more opportunities for newspa ...
, gives contrasting views: the French novelist
Pierre Guyotat Pierre Guyotat (9 January 1940 – 7 February 2020) was a French writer. Early life Pierre Guyotat was born on 9 January 1940 in Bourg-Argental, Loire. Literary career 1960s–1970s Guyotat wrote his first novel, '' Sur un cheval'', in 1960. ...
said, "Sade is, in a way, our
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. He has the same sense of tragedy, the same sweeping grandeur" while public intellectual
Michel Onfray Michel Onfray (; born 1 January 1959) is a French writer and philosopher with a hedonistic, epicurean and atheist worldview. A highly-prolific author on philosophy, he has written over 100 books. His philosophy is mainly influenced by such think ...
said, "it is intellectually bizarre to make Sade a hero... Even according to his most hero-worshipping biographers, this man was a sexual delinquent". The contemporary rival pornographer Rétif de la Bretonne published an '' Anti-Justine'' in 1798. Geoffrey Gorer, an English anthropologist and author (1905–1985), wrote one of the earliest books on Sade, entitled ''The Revolutionary Ideas of the Marquis de Sade'' in 1935. He pointed out that Sade was in complete opposition to contemporary philosophers for both his "complete and continual denial of the right to property" and for viewing the struggle in late 18th century French society as being not between "the Crown, the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
, the aristocracy or the clergy, or sectional interests of any of these against one another", but rather all of these "more or less united against the
proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...
." By holding these views, he cut himself off entirely from the revolutionary thinkers of his time to join those of the mid-nineteenth century. Thus, Gorer argued, "he can with some justice be called the first reasoned
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
."
Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...
(in her essay ''Must we burn Sade?'', published in ''
Les Temps modernes ''Les Temps Modernes'' (''Modern Times'') is a French journal, founded by Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It first issue was published in October 1945. It was named after the 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin. ''L ...
'', December 1951 and January 1952) and other writers have attempted to locate traces of a radical philosophy of
freedom Freedom is understood as either having the ability to act or change without constraint or to possess the power and resources to fulfill one's purposes unhindered. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving on ...
in Sade's writings, preceding modern
existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
by some 150 years. He has also been seen as a precursor of
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
's
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...
in his focus on sexuality as a motive force. The
surrealists Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
admired him as one of their forerunners, and
Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...
famously called him "the freest spirit that has yet existed".
Pierre Klossowski Pierre Klossowski (; ; 9 August 1905 – 12 August 2001) was a French writer, translator and artist. He was the eldest son of the artists Erich Klossowski and Baladine Klossowska, and his younger brother was the painter Balthus. Life Born in Par ...
, in his 1947 book ''Sade Mon Prochain'' ("Sade My Neighbour"), analyzes Sade's philosophy as a precursor of
nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
, negating
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
values and the materialism of the Enlightenment. One of the essays in
Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer (; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist who was famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the Frankfurt School of social research. Horkheimer addressed authoritarianism, militari ...
and
Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blue ...
's ''
Dialectic of Enlightenment ''Dialectic of Enlightenment'' (german: Dialektik der Aufklärung) is a work of philosophy and social criticism written by Frankfurt School philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno. The text, published in 1947, is a revised version of w ...
'' (1947) is titled "Juliette, or Enlightenment and Morality" and interprets the ruthless and calculating behavior of '' Juliette'' as the embodiment of the philosophy of Enlightenment. Similarly, psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan posited in his 1963 essay '' Kant avec Sade'' that Sade's ethics was the complementary completion of the
categorical imperative The categorical imperative (german: kategorischer Imperativ) is the central philosophical concept in the deontological moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Introduced in Kant's 1785 '' Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals'', it is a way of eva ...
originally formulated by
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
. In contrast, G. T. Roche argued that Sade, contrary to what some have claimed, did indeed express or discuss specific philosophical views in his work. He concludes most were views current in the Enlightenment period (some of them responding to others', such as
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
's). Yet others he finds to also be prescient of later philosophers, for instance
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
, in certain ways. Roche criticizes and discusses some of these views in detail. He criticizes
Theodor Adorno Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor. List of people with the given name Theodor * Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher * Theodor Aman, Romanian painter * Theodor Blue ...
and
Max Horkheimer Max Horkheimer (; ; 14 February 1895 – 7 July 1973) was a German philosopher and sociologist who was famous for his work in critical theory as a member of the Frankfurt School of social research. Horkheimer addressed authoritarianism, militari ...
's view that Sade was a quintessential Enlightenment thinker whose ideas had been born out negatively later in their work ''
Dialectic of Enlightenment ''Dialectic of Enlightenment'' (german: Dialektik der Aufklärung) is a work of philosophy and social criticism written by Frankfurt School philosophers Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno. The text, published in 1947, is a revised version of w ...
''. Additionally, he criticizes the idea Sade showed morality cannot have a rational basis, and acting morally is no more justified than being immoral. In his 1988 ''Political Theory and Modernity'',
William E. Connolly William Eugene Connolly is an American political theorist known for his work on democracy, pluralism, capitalism and climate change. He is the Krieger-Eisenhower Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. His 1974 work ''The Ter ...
analyzes Sade's ''
Philosophy in the Bedroom ''Philosophy in the Bedroom'' (french: La philosophie dans le boudoir, link=no) is a 1795 book by the Marquis de Sade written in the form of a dramatic dialogue. Though initially considered a work of pornography, the book has come to be conside ...
'' as an argument against earlier political philosophers, notably
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
and
Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...
, and their attempts to reconcile nature, reason, and virtue as bases of ordered society. Similarly,
Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultu ...
argued that Sade can be best understood as a satirist, responding "point by point" to Rousseau's claims that society inhibits and corrupts mankind's innate goodness: Paglia notes that Sade wrote in the aftermath of the French Revolution, when Rousseauist
Jacobins , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = P ...
instituted the bloody
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
and Rousseau's predictions were brutally disproved. "Simply follow nature, Rousseau declares. Sade, laughing grimly, agrees." In ''The Sadeian Woman: And the Ideology of Pornography'' (1979),
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
provides a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
reading of Sade, seeing him as a "moral pornographer" who creates spaces for women. Similarly, Susan Sontag defended both Sade and Georges Bataille's ''Histoire de l'œil'' ('' Story of the Eye'') in her essay "The Pornographic Imagination" (1967) on the basis their works were transgressive texts, and argued that neither should be censored. By contrast,
Andrea Dworkin Andrea Rita Dworkin (September 26, 1946 – April 9, 2005) was an American radical feminist writer and activist best known for her analysis of pornography. Her feminist writings, beginning in 1974, span 30 years. They are found in a dozen solo ...
saw Sade as the exemplary woman-hating pornographer, supporting her theory that pornography inevitably leads to violence against women. One chapter of her book ''Pornography: Men Possessing Women'' (1979) is devoted to an analysis of Sade.
Susie Bright Susannah Bright (born March 25, 1958) is an American feminist, author, journalist, critic, editor, publisher, producer, and performer, often on the subject of politics and sexuality. She is the recipient of the 2017 Humanist Feminist Award, and ...
claims that Dworkin's first novel ''Ice and Fire'', which is rife with violence and abuse, can be seen as a modern retelling of Sade's ''Juliette''.


Influence

Sexual sadism disorder Sexual sadism disorder is the condition of experiencing sexual arousal in response to the extreme pain, suffering or humiliation of others. Several other terms have been used to describe the condition, and the condition may overlap with other co ...
, a mental condition named after Sade, has been defined as experiencing sexual arousal in response to extreme pain, suffering or
humiliation Humiliation is the abasement of pride, which creates mortification or leads to a state of being humbled or reduced to lowliness or submission. It is an emotion felt by a person whose social status, either by force or willingly, has just dec ...
done ''non-consensually'' to others (as described by Sade in his novels).American Psychiatric Association. (2013). ''Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.).'' Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. Other terms have been used to describe the condition, which may overlap with other sexual preferences that also involve inflicting pain. It is distinct from situations where ''consenting'' individuals use mild or simulated pain or humiliation for sexual excitement. Various influential cultural figures have expressed a great interest in Sade's work, including the French philosopher
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
, the American film maker
John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
and the Spanish filmmaker
Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directed, produced, act ...
. The poet
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...
is also said to have been highly influenced by Sade.
Nikos Nikolaidis Nikos Georgiou Nikolaidis ( el, Νίκος Γεωργίου Νικολαΐδης; 25 October 1939 – 5 September 2007) was a Greek film director, screenwriter, film producer, writer, theatre director, assistant director, record producer, televi ...
' 1979 film ''
The Wretches Are Still Singing ''The Wretches Are Still Singing'' ( el, Τα Κουρέλια Τραγουδάνε Ακόμα..., translit=Ta Kourelia Tragoudane Akoma...) is a 1979 Greek dramatic experimental independent surrealist underground art film directed by Nikos Niko ...
'' was shot in a surreal way with a predilection for the aesthetics of the Marquis de Sade; Sade is said to have influenced Romantic and
Decadent The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...
authors such as
Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...
,
Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...
, and
Rachilde Rachilde was the pen name and preferred identity of novelist and playwright Marguerite Vallette-Eymery (11 February 1860 – 4 April 1953). Born near Périgueux, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France during the Second French Empire, Rachilde went on t ...
; and to have influenced a growing popularity of
nihilism Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Ivan ...
in
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
thought. The philosopher of
egoist anarchism Egoist anarchism or anarcho-egoism, often shortened as simply egoism, is a school of anarchist thought that originated in the philosophy of Max Stirner, a 19th-century philosopher whose "name appears with familiar regularity in historically or ...
,
Max Stirner Johann Kaspar Schmidt (25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen a ...
, is also speculated to have been influenced by Sade's work.
Serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
Ian Brady The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...
, who with
Myra Hindley The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...
carried out torture and murder of children known as the
Moors murders The Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around Manchester, England. The victims were five children—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward E ...
in England during the 1960s, was fascinated by Sade, and the suggestion was made at their trial and appeals that the tortures of the children (the screams and pleadings of whom they tape-recorded) were influenced by Sade's ideas and fantasies. According to Donald Thomas, who has written a biography on Sade, Brady and Hindley had read very little of Sade's actual work; the only book of his they possessed was an anthology of excerpts that included none of his most extreme writings. In the two suitcases found by the police that contained books that belonged to Brady was ''The Life and Ideas of the Marquis de Sade''. Hindley herself claimed that Brady would send her to obtain books by Sade, and that after reading them he became sexually aroused and beat her. In ''Philosophy in the Bedroom'' Sade proposed the use of induced
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
for social reasons and population control, marking the first time the subject had been discussed in public. It has been suggested that Sade's writing influenced the subsequent medical and social acceptance of abortion in Western society.


Cultural depictions

There have been many and varied references to the Marquis de Sade in
popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
, including fictional works and biographies. The eponym of the psychological and
subcultural A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...
term ''
sadism Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
'', his name is used variously to evoke
sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...
, licentiousness, and freedom of speech.Phillips, John, 2005, ''The Marquis De Sade: A Very Short Introduction'', Oxford University Press, . In modern culture his works are simultaneously viewed as masterful analyses of how power and economics work, and as
erotica Erotica is literature or art that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use ...
.Guins, Raiford, and Cruz, Omayra Zaragoza, 2005, ''Popular Culture: A Reader'', Sage Publications, . It could be argued that Sade's sexually explicit works were a medium for the articulation but also for the exposure of the corrupt and hypocritical values of the elite in his society, and that it was primarily this inconvenient and embarrassing satire that led to his long-term detention. With this view, he becomes a symbol of the artist's struggle with the censor and that of the moral philosopher with the constraints of conventional morality. Sade's use of pornographic devices to create provocative works that subvert the prevailing moral values of his time inspired many other artists in a variety of media. The cruelties depicted in his works gave rise to the concept of sadism. Sade's works have to this day been kept alive by certain artists and intellectuals because they themselves espouse a philosophy of extreme individualism.MacNair, Brian, 2002, ''Striptease Culture: Sex, Media and the Democratization of Desire'', Routledge, . But Sade's life was lived in flat contradiction and breach of Kant's injunction to treat others as ends in themselves and never merely as means to an agent's own ends. In the late 20th century, there was a resurgence of interest in Sade; leading French intellectuals like
Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popula ...
, Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, and
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
to publish studies of the philosopher, and interest in Sade among scholars and artists continued. In the realm of visual arts, many
surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...
artists had an interest in the "Divine Marquis." Sade was celebrated in surrealist periodicals, and feted by figures such as
Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of t ...
,
Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...
, and Maurice Heine;
Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to eac ...
admired Sade because he and other surrealists viewed him as an ideal of freedom. The first '' Manifesto of Surrealism'' (1924) announced that "Sade is surrealist in sadism", and extracts of the original draft of '' Justine'' were published in ''Le Surréalisme au service de la révolution''.Bate, David, 2004, ''Photography and Surrealism: Sexuality, Colonialism and Social Dissent'', I.B. Tauris, . In literature, Sade is referenced in several stories by horror and science fiction writer (and author of Psycho) Robert Bloch, while Polish science fiction author
Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...
wrote an essay analyzing the
game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions among rational agents. Myerson, Roger B. (1991). ''Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict,'' Harvard University Press, p.&nbs1 Chapter-preview links, ppvii–xi It has appli ...
arguments appearing in Sade's '' Justine''. The writer Georges Bataille applied Sade's methods of writing about sexual transgression to shock and provoke readers. Sade's life and works have been the subject of numerous fictional plays, films, pornographic or erotic drawings, etchings, and more. These include
Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...
's play ''
Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...
'', a fantasia extrapolating from the fact that Sade directed plays performed by his fellow inmates at the Charenton asylum.Dancyger, Ken, 2002, ''The Technique of Film and Video Editing: History, Theory, and Practice'', Focal Press, .
Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...
,
Barry Yzereef Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...
, and
Doug Wright Douglas Wright (born December 20, 1962) is an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2004 for his play ''I Am My Own Wife''. Early years Wright was born in Dallas, Texas. He attended and ...
also wrote plays about Sade; Weiss's and Wright's plays have been made into films. His work is referenced on film at least as early as
Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish-Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and ...
's ''
L'Âge d'Or ''L'Age d'Or'' (french: L'Âge d'Or, ), commonly translated as ''The Golden Age'' or ''Age of Gold'', is a 1930 French surrealist satirical comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel about the insanities of modern life, the hypocrisy of the sexual m ...
'' (1930), the final segment of which provides a coda to ''120 Days of Sodom'', with the four debauched noblemen emerging from their mountain retreat. In 1969, American International Films released a German-made production called '' de Sade'', with
Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea (; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film roles include '' David and Lisa ...
in the title role.
Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
filmed ''
Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom ''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'' ( it, Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma, billed on-screen ''Pasolini's 120 Days of Sodom'' on English-language prints and commonly referred to as simply ''Salò'' []) is a 1975 horror film, horror art film dir ...
'' (1975), updating Sade's novel to the brief Italian Social Republic, Salò Republic; in 1989, Henri Xhonneux and Roland Topor made ''Marquis'', which was partially based on the memoirs of de Sade; Benoît Jacquot's ''
Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...
'' and
Philip Kaufman Philip Kaufman (born October 23, 1936) is an American film director and screenwriter who has directed fifteen films over a career spanning more than six decades. He has been described as a "maverick" and an "iconoclast," notable for his versati ...
's '' Quills'' (from the play of the same name by Doug Wright) both hit cinemas in 2000. ''Quills'', inspired by Sade's imprisonment and battles with the censorship in his society, portrays him (
Geoffrey Rush Geoffrey Roy Rush (born 6 July 1951) is an Australian actor. He is known for his eccentric leading man roles on stage and screen. He is among 24 people who have won the Triple Crown of Acting, having received an Academy Award, a Primetime Em ...
) as a literary freedom fighter who is a martyr to the cause of free expression.Raengo, Alessandra, and Stam, Robert, 2005, ''Literature and Film: A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Film Adaptation'', Blackwell, . ''Sade'' is a 2000 French film directed by Benoît Jacquot starring
Daniel Auteuil Daniel Auteuil (; born 24 January 1950) is a French actor and director who has appeared in a wide range of film genres, including period dramas, romantic comedies, and crime thrillers. In 1996 he won the Best Actor Award at the Cannes Film Fest ...
as the Marquis de Sade, which was adapted by
Jacques Fieschi Jacques Fieschi (born 1948) is a French screenwriter. He has written for more than 30 films since 1985. He wrote and directed the film '' French California'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ...
and Bernard Minoret from the novel ''La terreur dans le boudoir'' by
Serge Bramly Serge Bramly (born 31 January 1949 in Tunis, Tunisia) is a French-language writer and essayist. Biography He was born into a Jewish family in Tunis, Tunisia. When he was ten years old, his family emigrated to France. He was married to photogra ...
. Often Sade himself has been depicted in American popular culture less as a revolutionary or even as a libertine and more akin to a sadistic, tyrannical villain. For example, in the final episode of the television series '' Friday the 13th: The Series'', Micki, the female protagonist, travels back in time and ends up being imprisoned and tortured by Sade. Similarly, in the horror film '' Waxwork'', Sade is among the film's wax villains to come alive. While not personally depicted, Sade's writings feature prominently in the novel ''Too Like the Lightning'', first book in the ''
Terra Ignota ''Terra Ignota'' is a quartet of science fiction novels by the American author Ada Palmer. The series consists of ''Too Like the Lightning'' (2016), ''Seven Surrenders'' (2017), '' The Will to Battle'' (2017), and ''Perhaps the Stars'' (2021 ...
'' sequence written by
Ada Palmer Ada Palmer (born June 9, 1981) is an American historian and writer and winner of the 2017 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Her first novel ''Too Like the Lightning'' was published in May 2016. The work has been well received by criti ...
. Palmer's depiction of 25th-century Earth relies heavily on the philosophies and prominent figureheads of the Enlightenment, such as
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
and
Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...
in addition to Sade, and in the book the narrator Mycroft, after showing his fictional "reader" a sex scene formulated off of Sade's own, takes this imaginary reader's indignation as an opportunity to delve into Sade's ideas. Additionally, one of the central locations in the novel, a brothel advertising itself as a "bubble of the 18th century", features an inscription over the proprietor's door dedicating the establishment as a temple to Sade, an homage to Voltaire's "Le Temple du goût, par M. de Voltaire."


Writing


Literary criticism

The Marquis de Sade viewed
Gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror in the 20th century, is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name is a reference to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of ea ...
as a genre that relied heavily on magic and
phantasmagoria Phantasmagoria (, also fantasmagorie, fantasmagoria) was a form of horror theatre that (among other techniques) used one or more magic lanterns to project frightening images, such as skeletons, demons, and ghosts, onto walls, smoke, or sem ...
. In his literary criticism Sade sought to prevent his fiction from being labeled "Gothic" by emphasizing Gothic's supernatural aspects as the fundamental difference from themes in his own work. But while he sought this separation he believed the Gothic played a necessary role in society and discussed its roots and its uses. He wrote that the Gothic novel was a perfectly natural, predictable consequence of the revolutionary sentiments in Europe. He theorized that the adversity of the period had rightfully caused Gothic writers to "look to hell for help in composing their alluring novels." Sade held the work of writers Matthew Lewis and
Ann Radcliffe Ann Radcliffe (née Ward; 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English novelist and a pioneer of Gothic fiction. Her technique of explaining apparently supernatural elements in her novels has been credited with gaining respectability for G ...
high above other Gothic authors, praising the brilliant imagination of Radcliffe and pointing to Lewis' ''
The Monk ''The Monk: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. A quickly written book from early in Lewis's career (in one letter he claimed to have written it in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he ha ...
'' as without question the genre's best achievement. Sade nevertheless believed that the genre was at odds with itself, arguing that the supernatural elements within Gothic fiction created an inescapable dilemma for both its author and its readers. He argued that an author in this genre was forced to choose between elaborate explanations of the supernatural or no explanation at all and that in either case the reader was unavoidably rendered incredulous. Despite his celebration of ''The Monk'', Sade believed that there was not a single Gothic novel that had been able to overcome these problems, and that a Gothic novel that did would be universally regarded for its excellence in fiction. Many assume that Sade's criticism of the Gothic novel is a reflection of his frustration with sweeping interpretations of works like '' Justine''. Within his objections to the lack of verisimilitude in the Gothic may have been an attempt to present his own work as the better representation of the whole nature of man. Since Sade professed that the ultimate goal of an author should be to deliver an accurate portrayal of man, it is believed that Sade's attempts to separate himself from the Gothic novel highlights this conviction. For Sade, his work was best suited for the accomplishment of this goal in part because he was not chained down by the supernatural silliness that dominated late 18th-century fiction. Moreover, it is believed that Sade praised ''The Monk'' (which displays Ambrosio's sacrifice of his humanity to his unrelenting sexual appetite) as the best Gothic novel chiefly because its themes were the closest to those within his own work.


Libertine novels

Sade's fiction has been classified under different genres, including pornography, Gothic, and
baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
. Sade's most famous books are often classified not as Gothic but as
libertine novel The libertine novel was an 18th-century literary genre of which the roots lay in the European but mainly French libertine tradition. The genre effectively ended with the French Revolution. Themes of libertine novels were anti-clericalism, anti-e ...
s, and include the novels '' Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue''; '' Juliette''; ''
The 120 Days of Sodom ''The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage'' (french: Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l'école du libertinage, links=no) is an unfinished novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in ...
''; and ''
Philosophy in the Bedroom ''Philosophy in the Bedroom'' (french: La philosophie dans le boudoir, link=no) is a 1795 book by the Marquis de Sade written in the form of a dramatic dialogue. Though initially considered a work of pornography, the book has come to be conside ...
''. These works challenge traditional perceptions of sexuality, religion, law, age, and gender. His fictional portrayals of sexual violence and
sadism Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
stunned even those contemporaries of Sade who were quite familiar with the dark themes of the Gothic novel during its popularity in the late 18th century. Suffering is the primary rule, as in these novels one must often decide between sympathizing with the torturer or the victim. While these works focus on the dark side of human nature, the magic and phantasmagoria that dominates the Gothic is noticeably absent and is the primary reason these works are not considered to fit the genre. Through the unreleased passions of his libertines, Sade wished to shake the world at its core. With ''120 Days'', for example, Sade wished to present "the most impure tale that has ever been written since the world exists." Despite his literary attempts at evil, his characters and stories often fell into repetition of sexual acts and philosophical justifications.
Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...
and Georges Bataille have argued that the repetitive form of his libertine novels, though hindering the artfulness of his prose, ultimately strengthened his individualist arguments. The repetitive and obsessive nature of the account of Justine's abuse and frustration in her strivings to be a good Christian living a virtuous and pure life may on a superficial reading seem tediously excessive. Paradoxically, however, Sade checks the reader's instinct to treat them as laughable cheap pornography and obscenity by knowingly and artfully interweaving the tale of her trials with extended reflections on individual and social morality.


Short fiction

In ''The Crimes of Love'', subtitled "Heroic and Tragic Tales", Sade combines
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
and horror, employing several Gothic tropes for dramatic purposes. There is blood, banditti, corpses, and of course insatiable lust. Compared to works like ''Justine'', here Sade is relatively tame, as overt eroticism and torture is subtracted for a more psychological approach. It is the impact of
sadism Sadism may refer to: * Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation * Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
instead of acts of sadism itself that emerge in this work, unlike the aggressive and rapacious approach in his libertine works. The modern volume entitled ''Gothic Tales'' collects a variety of other short works of fiction intended to be included in Sade's ''Contes et Fabliaux d'un Troubadour Provençal du XVIII Siecle''. An example is "Eugénie de Franval", a tale of incest and retribution. In its portrayal of conventional moralities it is something of a departure from the erotic cruelties and moral ironies that dominate his libertine works. It opens with a domesticated approach:
To enlighten mankind and improve its morals is the only lesson which we offer in this story. In reading it, may the world discover how great is the peril which follows the footsteps of those who will stop at nothing to satisfy their desires.
Descriptions in ''Justine'' seem to anticipate
Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...
's scenery in ''
The Mysteries of Udolpho ''The Mysteries of Udolpho'', by Ann Radcliffe, appeared in four volumes on 8 May 1794 from G. G. and J. Robinson of London. Her fourth and most popular novel, ''The Mysteries of Udolpho'' tells of Emily St. Aubert, who suffers misadventures th ...
'' and the vaults in '' The Italian'', but, unlike these stories, there is no escape for Sade's virtuous heroine, Justine. Unlike the milder Gothic fiction of Radcliffe, Sade's protagonist is brutalized throughout and dies tragically. To have a character like Justine, who is stripped without ceremony and bound to a wheel for fondling and thrashing, would be unthinkable in the domestic Gothic fiction written for the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
. Sade even contrives a kind of affection between Justine and her tormentors, suggesting shades of
masochism Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
in his heroine.


Legacy

The castle of the Marquis in Lubéron was purchased and partially restored by
Pierre Cardin Pierre Cardin (, , ), born Pietro Costante Cardino (2 July 1922 – 29 December 2020), was an Italian-born naturalised-French fashion designer. He is known for what were his avant-garde style and Space Age designs. He preferred geometric shap ...
, including commissioning a surrealist bronze art work by
Alexander Bourganov Alexander Nikolayevich Bourganov (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Бурга́нов; Born 1935) is a Russian sculptor, a National Artist of Russia, and a member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts. His recent works include ...
as a memorial. In the late 1940s at another de Sade family property, the
Château de Condé The Château de Condé is a private estate in Condé-en-Brie, Aisne, France, set in a park on the Champagne route 100 km from Paris. The Château de Condé is a private estate, listed as a historic monument and inhabited year round. Its 17 ...
, descendants discovered a cache of the Marquis's papers behind a bricked up wall in the attic: they had been hidden by earlier ashamed members of the family. This chateau was sold by the family in 1983; however some personal items from the discovery continue to be owned by family members. A descendant, Hugues, Comte de Sade sells bronze replicas of the Marquis's skull.


Bibliography


See also

*
BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
*
Fetish fashion Fetish fashion is any style or appearance in the form of a type of clothing or accessory, created to be extreme or provocative in a fetishistic manner. These styles are by definition not worn by the majority of people; if everyone wears an it ...
*
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch Leopold Ritter von Sacher-Masoch (; 27 January 1836 – 9 March 1895) was an Austrian nobleman, writer and journalist, who gained renown for his romantic stories of Galician life. The term ''masochism'' is derived from his name, invented by h ...
*
Sexual fetishism Sexual fetishism or erotic fetishism is a sexual fixation on a nonliving object or nongenital body part. The object of interest is called the fetish; the person who has ''a fetish'' for that object is a fetishist. A sexual fetish may be regard ...
*
Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directed, produced, act ...
directed films based on the Marquis de Sade's works


References


Notes


Further reading

* ''Sade's Sensibilities.'' (2014) edited by Kate Parker and Norbert Sclippa (A collection of essays reflecting on Sade's influence on his bicentennial anniversary.) * ''Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography.'' (1994) by
Roger Shattuck Roger Whitney Shattuck (August 20, 1923 in Manhattan, New York – December 8, 2005 in Lincoln, Vermont) was an American writer best known for his books on French literature, French art, art, and French classical music, music of the twentieth centu ...
(Provides a sound philosophical introduction to Sade and his writings.) * ''Pour Sade.'' (2006) by Norbert Sclippa * ''Marquis de Sade: his life and works.'' (1899) by
Iwan Bloch Iwan Bloch (April 8, 1872 – November 21, 1922), also known as Ivan Bloch, was a German dermatologist, and psychiatrist, psychoanalyst born in Delmenhorst, Grand Ducal Oldenburg, Germany, and often called the first sexologist. Together with M ...
* ''Sade Mon Prochain.'' (1947) by
Pierre Klossowski Pierre Klossowski (; ; 9 August 1905 – 12 August 2001) was a French writer, translator and artist. He was the eldest son of the artists Erich Klossowski and Baladine Klossowska, and his younger brother was the painter Balthus. Life Born in Par ...
* ''Lautréamont and Sade.'' (1949) by
Maurice Blanchot Maurice Blanchot (; ; 22 September 1907 – 20 February 2003) was a French writer, philosopher and literary theorist. His work, exploring a philosophy of death alongside poetic theories of meaning and sense, bore significant influence on pos ...
* ''The Marquis de Sade, a biography.'' (1961) by Gilbert Lély * ''Philosopher of Evil: The Life and Works of the Marquis de Sade.'' (1962) by Walter Drummond *
The Life and Ideas of the Marquis de Sade
'' (1963) by Geoffrey Gorer * ''Sade, Fourier, Loyola.'' (1971) by
Roland Barthes Roland Gérard Barthes (; ; 12 November 1915 – 26 March 1980) was a French literary theorist, essayist, philosopher, critic, and semiotician. His work engaged in the analysis of a variety of sign systems, mainly derived from Western popula ...
* '' De Sade: A Critical Biography.'' (1978) by Ronald Hayman * ''The Sadeian Woman: An Exercise in Cultural History.'' (1979) by
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
* ''The Marquis de Sade: the man, his works, and his critics: an annotated bibliography.'' (1986) by Colette Verger Michael * ''Sade, his ethics and rhetoric.'' (1989) collection of essays, edited by Colette Verger Michael * ''Marquis de Sade: A Biography.'' (1991) by Maurice Lever * ''The philosophy of the Marquis de Sade.'' (1995) by Timo Airaksinen * ''Dark Eros: The Imagination of Sadism.'' (1996) by
Thomas Moore (spiritual writer) Thomas Moore (born October 8, 1940, in Detroit, Michigan) is a psychotherapist, former monk, and writer of popular spiritual books, including the ''New York Times'' bestseller ''Care of the Soul'' (1992), a "guide to cultivating depth and sacr ...
* ''Sade contre l'Être suprême.'' (1996) by
Philippe Sollers Philippe Sollers (; born Philippe Joyaux; 28 November 1936) is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the ''avant garde'' literary journal '' Tel Quel'' (along with writer and art critic Marcelin Pleynet), which was published by Le S ...
* ''A Fall from Grace'' (1998) by Chris Barron * ''Sade: A Biographical Essay'' (1998) by Laurence Louis Bongie * ''An Erotic Beyond: Sade.'' (1998) by
Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...
* ''The Marquis de Sade: a life.'' (1999) by Neil Schaeffer * ''At Home With the Marquis de Sade: A Life.'' (1999) by
Francine du Plessix Gray Francine du Plessix Gray (September 25, 1930 – January 13, 2019), was a French-American Pulitzer Prize–nominated writer and literary critic. Early life and education She was born on September 25, 1930, in Warsaw, Poland, where her father ...
* ''Sade: A Sudden Abyss.'' (2001) by Annie Le Brun * ''Sade: from materialism to pornography.'' (2002) by Caroline Warman * ''Marquis de Sade: the genius of passion.'' (2003) by Ronald Hayman * ''Marquis de Sade: A Very Short Introduction'' (2005) by John Phillips * ''The Dangerous Memoir of Citizen Sade'' (2000) by A. C. H. Smith (A
biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fict ...
) * ''Outsider Biographies; Savage, de Sade, Wainewright, Ned Kelly, Billy the Kid, Rimbaud and Genet: Base Crime and High Art in Biography and Bio-Fiction, 1744–2000'' (2014) by Ian H. Magedera


External links

* * *
Norbert Sclippa

Œuvres du Marquis de Sade
* *


Carnet du Marquis de Sade
Site run by a descendant of the Marquis de Sade. Weekly publication of the article(s) around the current de Sade.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sade, Marquis De 1740 births 1814 deaths 18th-century French criminals 18th-century French novelists 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 18th-century French philosophers 19th-century French criminals 19th-century French novelists 19th-century French philosophers 19th-century French short story writers 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights Anti-monarchists Atheist philosophers BDSM writers Civil disobedience Critics of Christianity Deputies to the French National Convention Far-left politics in France French erotica writers French marquesses French military personnel of the Seven Years' War French prisoners and detainees French republicans French revolutionaries Free speech activists Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Individualists Materialists Nihilists Obscenity controversies in literature People convicted of sodomy People imprisoned by lettre de cachet People of the French Revolution People sentenced to death in absentia Philosophers of nihilism Philosophers of sexuality Prisoners of the Bastille Sex scandals Writers from Paris