Philosophy in the Bedroom - Marquis de Sade

Story Summary:

Marquis de Sade’s shockingly graphic dialogue Philosophy in the Bedroom follows several libertine characters and their efforts to corrupt and sexualize a young virgin girl named Eugenie; Dolmance, the assumed expert and primary teacher, converts her by demonstrating acts of sodomy, torture, and sexual orgies with the other educators—teaching her to seek personal bodily pleasure no matter what the cost to anybody else.

Reflections:

Dolmance, Eugenie’s primary “educator,” uses Nature as an alternative to God as a basis for his libertine teachings. He explains and justifies his actions throughout dialogue V by insisting that Nature—essentially human impulse—propels his selfish and “criminal” sexual conduct. Although Dolmance is successful in convincing young Eugenie that using Nature as a means of justification for libertinism is gospel truth, his argument is consistently flawed and full of contradictions.

One of the most obvious contradictions apparent in the text concerns Dolmance’s relationship with women. He tells Eugenie over and over again that as a woman, it is her life’s duty to “fuck,” and essentially succumb to a man’s sexual wishes as demanded by Nature. At the start of Eugenie’s “education,” Dolmance tells her to, “Consider that every provocation sensed by a boy and originating from a girl is a natural offertory, and that your sex never serves Nature better than when it prostitutes itself to ours; that ‘tis, in a word, to be fucked that you were born, and that she who refuses her obedience to this intention Nature has for her does not deserve to see the light longer” (267). Here, Dolmance is telling Eugenie that sex between a man and a woman is Natural, with the woman being the passive lover. Later, when offered Eugenie’s virginity, Dolmance refuses, saying, “Tis out of the question, my angel, I’ve never fucked a cunt in life” (291). Dolmance will only take part in anal intercourse, and indicates an obvious preference to men. Although he argues that anal sex is Natural, he also established that traditional intercourse between a man and a woman is supremely Natural. Therefore, by refusing to take part in vaginal intercourse, Dolmance is essentially refusing a large part of Nature itself, the thing in which he bases his entire life off of.

The concept of sympathy is also another large contradiction within Dolmance’s standard of Nature. On page 283, Dolmance says that “There is no possible comparison between what others experience and what we sense; the heaviest dose of agony in others ought, assuredly, to be as naught to us… the immense sum of other’s miseries, which cannot affect us.” He argues that any other human’s feelings do not matter, as one can only feel their own. Therefore, inflicting pain for one’s own personal pleasure is a Natural act—sympathy does not play a role in this. However, when Eugenie is painfully stripped of her virginity, Madame de Saint-Ange, a libertine naturalist as well, says, “Dear heart, kiss me, I sympathize with you” (293). The fact that Madame feels bad for Eugenie disproves Dolmance’s teaching that Nature is not sympathetic; clearly sympathy naturally arose within Madame.

Furthermore, Dolmance teaches that there is no benefit to pleasing someone else, as one can only feel their own body. On page 345, he says, “Tis false as well to say there is pleasure in affording pleasure to other; that is to serve them, and the man who is erect is far from desiring to be useful to anyone else.” However, during several of their orgies in the beginning of dialogue V, Dolmance insists upon every member having an orgasm together. This suggests that Dolmance indeed has desire to experience pleasure together; the pleasure of his partners enhances his own. Dolmance’s Natural instinct during sex was to enhance the pleasure of each person—a direct contradiction to his argument that Nature is supremely selfish and the feelings of others are irrelevant.

Although Dolmance uses Nature as the basis for his teachings, many of his arguments are severely flawed. Dolmance argues that sex between a man and a woman is Natural, and yet he won’t partake. He also argues that is Natural not to sympathize with any other being’s emotions but one’s own—and yet, clearly sympathy Naturally arises. Ultimately, these contradictions within his argument undermine his justification for a libertine naturalist lifestyle.

Words: 652