Dangerous Liaisons: Love and Death before the French Revolution

Laclos's famous book Les Liaisons dangereuses highlights the dangerous collusion between love and death, but this unexpected association is not exclusive to 18th-century libertinism. Since the Middle Ages, the Tristan myth has defined love as a fatal passion. Is a sense of fatality necessarily associated with love? How did the conception of love evolve, and what does it say about power relations and gender tensions? In this course we will study texts that are critical to understanding the mentalities and sensibilities of French society. Readings include texts by Béroul, Labé, Guilleragues, Racine, Cazotte, and Laclos. We will also watch three films, L'Éternel retour by Jean Delannoy, La Religieuse portugaise by Eugène Green, and Cruel Intentions by Roger Kumble. (FREN 0221 or by waiver) 3 hrs.lect./disc.