Dangerous Liaisons (Annotated Edition)

Dangerous Liaisons is an apt name for this novel. The epistolary form (meaning that the story is told through letters) outlines a plot that is complicated, because it is an exposé on the French aristocracy and the games the wealthy play to demonstrate power or to manipulate others. Essentially, that's the central idea of the book. It's basically saying "Look at how mean and manipulative rich, powerful people are." The plot of the store involves ex-lovers who still keep in touch through letters. He, the Vicomte de Valmont (Valmont) is writing to her, the Marquise de Merteuil (Merteuil) about his efforts to seduce a married woman named Madame de Tourvel (Tourvel), while she describes her own fascinations with a young virgin, Cécile de Volanges (Cecile). Cecile has just been released from a monastery for the purposes of courting a spouse, but Merteuil is determined to spoil her by manipulating someone into taking her virginity so that she becomes socially worthless and ostracized. Her motives for this are supposedly connected to her own fascination with power over the innocent people around her, a fascination which Valmont shares. His pursuit of Tourvel is started when Tourvel travels to stay with Valmont's aunt while her husband is away for litigation. The ex lovers have a bet where if he succeeds in seducing the married woman, Merteuil will travel to him and have sex with him.