A condição e a libertinagem social feminina na obra as relações perigosas, de Choderlos de Laclos

Abstract

The book The Dangerous Relations of the French Choderlos de Laclos, considered a libertine work, generated controversy in pre-revolutionary France, being important in the retraction of that society. The famous libertine pair scandalized and brought notoriety to its author, becoming immortalized in the history of literature as representing the decadence of this aristocracy belonging to the end of the Old Regime. This article intends to analyze this work through the feminine look, focusing on the three main women of the book and their positions within the society of the time, its restrictions and its digressions. Since Laclos is a strong supporter of the feminine emancipation of the social structure in force in the eighteenth century, the characters show a strong desire to break the bonds they are subjected to, characterizing social debauchery when they decide to follow their choices, not what is imposed on them. In this context, this work traced a profile of the condition of women at the time, using information obtained in the scientific literature, as well as relating these conditions to those described in the book of Laclos, emphasizing the underprivileged and secondary position to which they were submitted, the precarious education that received, and the submissive role to which they were relegated in relation to man