Marquis de Sade: The Monster of Literature
Flipping through history reveals to us the belief that stories and novels have the power to lead their readers into corruption has been widespread and strong. For instance, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the French philosopher of the 18th century, claimed in the preface of his book ‘Julie, or the New Heloise’ that virtuous girls have never read books. The simultaneous emergence of these beliefs with the appearance of Marquis de Sade, one of the monsters of erotic literature, makes it clear to us how scandalous and harmful to society his writings were considered to be, so much so that twenty years after his death, his works were still deemed more malicious and criminal than the acts of actual criminals because books do not perish.
Story as a Destroyer of Morals
His confrontation with such a society can be seen in the sentences written in the preface of his book ‘Philosophy in the Bedroom’: ‘Oh libertines of all ages, in every age and of every gender, I dedicate my book to you so that you may use its principles and strive to satisfy your desires, desires that your foolish reformers frighten you with, which are merely tools of nature to fulfill human destiny.’ With this in mind, did Sade believe in the power of his stories to influence or corrupt his readers? In the book ‘Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue’, he has a monk ask: ‘Can we become anything other than what we are?’
In this book, Sade considers the virtue that Justine insists upon as synonymous with the oppressive system of the church, which sees pain and suffering as the means to ascent and elevation, pain that intertwines with the lustful desires of abusive priests. However, it is in fact an open critique of the masochistic view of religion.
Marquis de Sade and Prison Literature
Discussing Sade’s life and the dimensions of his works and thoughts requires more than just one issue, but first and foremost, it must be said that due to his constant transgressions and violations of social norms and moral scandals, he spent nearly thirty years of his seventy-four-year life in prison. Therefore, in addition to their unrestrained and unconventional nature, his works should also be classified under prison literature. His most horrific book, ‘The 120 Days of Sodom or the School of Libertinage’, was written during 37 days in the Bastille prison. This book portrays themes of fetishism, domination, and perversion with sexual abuse, violence, and murder, a terrifying and shocking display of all that humanity can imagine in terms of obscenity and vulgarity regarding sexual matters.
Marquis de Sade and Influence on Literature and Cinema
Today, the name Marquis de Sade is associated with many interpretations and readings in popular culture, such as the word ‘sadism’, which is considered an extreme sexual desire or, according to some interpretations, a type of sexual deviation. But beyond these superficial readings, we can trace this author’s influence in paving the way for subsequent writers to express their bodily desires artistically and literarily.
The life, works, thoughts, and influences of Marquis de Sade on other writers have repeatedly inspired the creation of artistic and literary works, each reflecting various aspects of his works depending on the cultural and intellectual backgrounds of their creators. Luis Buñuel, Jesús Franco, Nagisa Oshima, Pasolini, and Philip Kaufman are among these artists.
A mad pornographer, a heartless pervert, a sexual deviant, a rapist, and a murderer are some of the attributes with which Marquis de Sade has been described for over two centuries. On the other hand, some French surrealists in the early 20th century regarded him as a prophet of freedom, placing him among the saints. Despite all this and beyond these overused and careless labels, what is clear is the importance of his role and presence in erotic literature and his image, which constantly changes according to the diversity of these various interpretations.
