Philosophy in the Bedroom
Encyclopedia
Philosophy in the Bedroom (La Philosophie dans le boudoir) is a 1795 erotic
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 considered a socio-political drama. Set in a bedroom, the two lead characters make the argument that the only moral system that reinforces the recent political revolution
is libertinism, and that if the people of France
fail to adopt the libertine philosophy
, France will be destined to return to a monarchic state.
Dolmancé is the most dominant of the characters in the dialogue. He explains to Eugénie that morality
, compassion
, religion
and modesty
are all absurd notions that stand in the way of the sole aim of human existence: pleasure. Like most of Sade's work, "Philosophy In The Bedroom" features a great deal of sex
as well as libertine
philosophies. Although there is some torture, the dialogue contains no actual murder, unlike many of Sade's works.
Dolmancé and Madame de Saint-Ange start off by giving Eugénie their own brand of sex education
, explaining the biological facts and declaring that physical pleasure is a far more important motive for sex than that of reproduction. Then they eagerly get down to the practical lessons, with Le Chevalier joining them in the fourth act and swiftly helping to take away Eugénie's virginity
.
Eugénie is instructed on the pleasures of various sexual practices and she proves to be a fast learner. As is usually the case in Sade's work, the characters are all bisexual
, and sodomy
is the preferred activity of all concerned, especially Dolmancé, who prefers male sexual partners and will not have anything other than anal intercourse with females. Madame de Saint-Ange and her younger brother Le Chevalier also have sex with one another, and boast of doing so on a regular basis. Their incest
- and all manner of other sexual activity and taboos, such as sodomy, adultery
, and homosexuality
- are justified by Dolmancé in a series of energetic arguments that ultimately boil down to if it feels good, do it. (Sodomy was illegal and punishable by death in France at the time the dialogue was written, and Sade himself was convicted of sodomy in 1772.)
The corruption of Eugénie is actually at the request of her father, who has sent her to Madame de Saint-Ange for the very purpose of having his daughter stripped of the morality her virtuous mother taught her.
The dialogue is split into seven parts, or 'dialogues,'and was originally illustrated by Sade himself. There is a lengthy section within the fifth dialogue titled "Yet Another Effort, Frenchmen, If You Would Become Republicans" in which it is argued that, having done away with the monarchy
in the French Revolution
, the people of France should take the final step towards liberty by abolishing religion too.
In the final act, Eugénie's mother, Madame de Mistival, arrives to rescue her daughter from the "monsters" who have corrupted her. Eugénie's father, however, warns his daughter and friends in advance and urges them to punish his wife, whose person and virtue he clearly loathes. Madame de Mistival is horrified to find that not only did her husband arrange for their daughter's corruption, but Eugénie has already lost any moral standards she previously possessed, along with any respect or obedience towards her mother. Eugénie refuses to leave and Madame de Mistival is soon stripped, beaten, whipped and raped, her daughter taking an active part in this brutality and even declaring her wish to kill her mother. Dolmancé eventually calls in for a servant who has syphilis
to rape Eugénie's mother. Eugénie sews up her vagina and Dolmancé her anus to keep the polluted seed inside and she is then sent home in tears, knowing her daughter has been lost to the libertine and corrupt mentality of Dolmancé and his accomplices.
has made three films based on Philosophy in the Bedroom: Eugénie (1970), Eugénie de Sade (1974) and Eugenie (Historia de una perversión) (1980). Italian director Aurelio Grimaldi
also filmed it, as L'educazione sentimentale di Eugenie (2005).
In 2003, a play titled "XXX" based on "The Philosophy In The Bedroom" was staged in a number of European cities. Featuring live simulated sex and audience interaction, it caused some controversy.
In 2007 Czech theatre company Depressed Children Long for Money (Depresivní děti touží po penězích) performed a combination of Philosophy in the Bedroom and The Cherry Orchard
by Anton Chekhov
called Lost Cherry Orchard (Višňový Sade in Czech), suggesting that Mme Ranevskaya spent her years in Paris in the salon of Marquis de Sade in the role of Eugénie. In the very moment of her daughter's deflowering, Anya appears and persuades Ranevskaya (Eugénie) to return to Russia. After the end of the Chekhovian part, Mme Ranevskaya leaves Siberia for France to meet her lover, the Marquis de Sade
. The performance combines the sadistic brutality of Philosophy in the Bedroom with the world of complete losers of The Cherry Orchard
and interweaves characters, plots, and meanings.
The dialogue is banned in Singapore
, where it is known as Bedroom Philosophers.
Erotica
Erotica are works of art, including literature, photography, film, sculpture and painting, that deal substantively with erotically stimulating or sexually arousing descriptions...
book by the Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
written in the form of a dramatic dialogue. Though initially considered a work of pornography
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
, the book has come to be considered a socio-political drama. Set in a bedroom, the two lead characters make the argument that the only moral system that reinforces the recent political revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
is libertinism, and that if the people of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
fail to adopt the libertine philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, France will be destined to return to a monarchic state.
Characters
- Eugénie- a fifteen year old girl, who at the beginning of the dialogue is a virgin, naive of all things sexual, who has been brought up by her mother to be well-mannered, modest and obedient.
- Madame de Saint-Ange- a 26-year-old libertine woman who is the owner of the house and bedroom in which the dialogue is set. She invites Eugénie for a two-day course on being libertine.
- Le Chevalier de Mirval- Madame de Saint-Ange's 20-year-old brother. He aids his sister and Dolmancé on the ordeal of "educating" Eugénie.
- Dolmancé- a 36-year-old atheist and homosexual, and friend of Le Chevalier's. He is Eugénie's foremost teacher and "educator".
- Madame de Mistival- Eugénie's provincial, self-righteous mother .
Plot
In the introduction, the Marquis de Sade exhorts his readers to indulge in the various activities in the play. He says that the work is dedicated to "voluptuaries of all ages, of every sex" and urges readers to emulate the characters. "Lewd women", he writes, "let the voluptuous Saint-Ange be your model; after her example, be heedless of all that contradicts pleasure's divine laws, by which all her life she was enchained." He then urges "young maidens" to copy Eugénie; "be as quick as she to destroy, to spurn all those ridiculous precepts inculcated in you by imbecile parents." Finally, he urges male readers to "study the cynical Dolmancé" and follow his example of selfishness and consideration for nothing but his own enjoyment.Dolmancé is the most dominant of the characters in the dialogue. He explains to Eugénie that morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
, compassion
Compassion
Compassion is a virtue — one in which the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy are regarded as a part of love itself, and a cornerstone of greater social interconnection and humanism — foundational to the highest principles in philosophy, society, and personhood.There is an aspect of...
, religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and modesty
Modesty
Standards of modesty are aspects of the culture of a country or people, at a given point in time, and is a measure against which an individual in society may be judged....
are all absurd notions that stand in the way of the sole aim of human existence: pleasure. Like most of Sade's work, "Philosophy In The Bedroom" features a great deal of sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
as well as libertine
Libertine
A libertine is one devoid of most moral restraints, which are seen as unnecessary or undesirable, especially one who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behavior sanctified by the larger society. Libertines, also known as rakes, placed value on physical pleasures, meaning those...
philosophies. Although there is some torture, the dialogue contains no actual murder, unlike many of Sade's works.
Dolmancé and Madame de Saint-Ange start off by giving Eugénie their own brand of sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
, explaining the biological facts and declaring that physical pleasure is a far more important motive for sex than that of reproduction. Then they eagerly get down to the practical lessons, with Le Chevalier joining them in the fourth act and swiftly helping to take away Eugénie's virginity
Virginity
Virginity refers to the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. There are cultural and religious traditions which place special value and significance on this state, especially in the case of unmarried females, associated with notions of personal purity, honor and worth...
.
Eugénie is instructed on the pleasures of various sexual practices and she proves to be a fast learner. As is usually the case in Sade's work, the characters are all bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
, and sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
is the preferred activity of all concerned, especially Dolmancé, who prefers male sexual partners and will not have anything other than anal intercourse with females. Madame de Saint-Ange and her younger brother Le Chevalier also have sex with one another, and boast of doing so on a regular basis. Their incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
- and all manner of other sexual activity and taboos, such as sodomy, adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, and homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
- are justified by Dolmancé in a series of energetic arguments that ultimately boil down to if it feels good, do it. (Sodomy was illegal and punishable by death in France at the time the dialogue was written, and Sade himself was convicted of sodomy in 1772.)
The corruption of Eugénie is actually at the request of her father, who has sent her to Madame de Saint-Ange for the very purpose of having his daughter stripped of the morality her virtuous mother taught her.
The dialogue is split into seven parts, or 'dialogues,'and was originally illustrated by Sade himself. There is a lengthy section within the fifth dialogue titled "Yet Another Effort, Frenchmen, If You Would Become Republicans" in which it is argued that, having done away with the monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
in the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the people of France should take the final step towards liberty by abolishing religion too.
In the final act, Eugénie's mother, Madame de Mistival, arrives to rescue her daughter from the "monsters" who have corrupted her. Eugénie's father, however, warns his daughter and friends in advance and urges them to punish his wife, whose person and virtue he clearly loathes. Madame de Mistival is horrified to find that not only did her husband arrange for their daughter's corruption, but Eugénie has already lost any moral standards she previously possessed, along with any respect or obedience towards her mother. Eugénie refuses to leave and Madame de Mistival is soon stripped, beaten, whipped and raped, her daughter taking an active part in this brutality and even declaring her wish to kill her mother. Dolmancé eventually calls in for a servant who has syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
to rape Eugénie's mother. Eugénie sews up her vagina and Dolmancé her anus to keep the polluted seed inside and she is then sent home in tears, knowing her daughter has been lost to the libertine and corrupt mentality of Dolmancé and his accomplices.
Legacy
Spanish director Jesús FrancoJesús Franco
Jesús "Jess" Franco is a Spanish film director, writer, cinematographer and actor. His career took off in 1961 with his cult classic The Awful Dr. Orloff, which received wide distribution in the United States and England...
has made three films based on Philosophy in the Bedroom: Eugénie (1970), Eugénie de Sade (1974) and Eugenie (Historia de una perversión) (1980). Italian director Aurelio Grimaldi
Aurelio Grimaldi
Aurelio Grimaldi is an Italian film director and screenwriter. His film The Whores was entered into the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Ragazzi fuori * The Rebel * The Whores...
also filmed it, as L'educazione sentimentale di Eugenie (2005).
In 2003, a play titled "XXX" based on "The Philosophy In The Bedroom" was staged in a number of European cities. Featuring live simulated sex and audience interaction, it caused some controversy.
In 2007 Czech theatre company Depressed Children Long for Money (Depresivní děti touží po penězích) performed a combination of Philosophy in the Bedroom and The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
called Lost Cherry Orchard (Višňový Sade in Czech), suggesting that Mme Ranevskaya spent her years in Paris in the salon of Marquis de Sade in the role of Eugénie. In the very moment of her daughter's deflowering, Anya appears and persuades Ranevskaya (Eugénie) to return to Russia. After the end of the Chekhovian part, Mme Ranevskaya leaves Siberia for France to meet her lover, the Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
. The performance combines the sadistic brutality of Philosophy in the Bedroom with the world of complete losers of The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
and interweaves characters, plots, and meanings.
The dialogue is banned in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, where it is known as Bedroom Philosophers.