LETTER LXXXI: LA Marquise de Merteuil AL Vicomte de Valmont What pity me with your complaints! How do I prove my superiority over them you! And you want to be my teacher, and head? Ah! my poor Valmont. How far you still me! No, all the pride of her sex did not suffice to fill the gap that separates us. Because you could not run my projects were thought impossible! Ente proud and weak, do you feel good, want to calculate my means and try my resources? Actually, Viscount mine, the advice that I have angered me and I can not hide it. That
to hide his incredible stupidity in the matter of its head, I present you as a triumph for a moment to have embarrassed the shy woman who loves him, I agree, that it obtained a look, just one, I smile and what happened, they know, despite the small value of his behavior, wait hide my attention, flattered by the sublime effort to raise two boys, who are themselves burns himself to be seen, and that is by the way, due to me alone the ardor of his desires, I also concede that, in short, is created by these deeds authorized to say in a tone PhD, which is worth taking the time to implement their projects to count, that trait of vanity not hurting me and I forgive him. But you can believe I have need of your wisdom, if not derail I follow his advice, which I must sacrifice a pleasure, a treat! indeed, Viscount, is on his side too conceited to the trust you place remind you.
What have you done, then, that I have not surpassed a thousand times? You have seduced many women and even lost, but what has had to overcome difficulties? What obstacles to overcome?; Where do you find it worthwhile that is truly yours? A beautiful figure, pure effect of chance; grace, that the treatment of the world takes almost forever, real talent, it's true, but if necessary could be supplied with some verbosity, a boldness quite commendable, but perhaps only due to the ease of their first wins, if I mistake not, these are all qualities, for in terms of celebrity may have acquired, I will not require you to count for much art to seek or take advantage of the opportunity to make a scandal.
As to the wisdom and cunning, do not talk about me, but what most women would not you? President takes his hand as a child.
Believe me, viscount, rarely acquire the qualities that are essentially necessary. Fighting a risk should you act without caution. For you men, the losses are nothing less than winning. In this game so uneven, our fortune is the keep, and woe to you to not winning. Even if I grant you as much ability as ours how much advantage should not lead yet to the need for us to make continued use of our resources?
Suppose, in agreement, that you put so much skill to beat us in defending ourselves or give in. you at least agree that after the victory they are useless. Occupied only a new pleasure, indulge in it without fear and without reserve, it is not you who care about your life.
Indeed, these chains interact placed and received, to speak the language of love, you alone can, in narrowed or break choice: we even said, if, when you give in to their natural volatility, preferring the mystery scandal content with humiliating abandonment, and not make the idol of the day before the victim the following day.
But if a woman feels unhappy first the weight of the chain, what risks are not exposed if you break it, or dare only to shake? Can not but tremble when tested away from her the name your heart disgusted with violence.
If he persists in staying, she must grant the fear that soon remembered love.
His prudence must strain to unleash the same links that you had broken. Being available to your enemy, you have no recourse if he is not generous, and how can we expect it to be when, if ever is praised because it is, censorship is never the opposite?
certainly will not deny these truths, that their evidence has already trivial. If however you have seen me, having the events and opinions, make these men so terrible a game of my whims and my fantasies remove one will, and the other the power to harm me: if I managed alternatively, and according to the mobility of my tastes, draw me or send me away, "Tyrants overthrown, now my slave." themselves in the midst of these frequent revolutions my reputation has been kept pure, is it not because you think that I was born to avenge my sex, and his master, I have learned means unknown before creating me?
Ah! save you their advice and frantic fear for those women who call for strong feelings, which would exalted imagination to believe that nature has put his feeling in his head, not having ever thought, constantly confused love and lover that in their mad delusion, believe that only those with whom they have sought his pleasure is the sole repository, and indeed superstitious, priest agree to respect and belief that only due to the divine. Topic you
also those more vain than prudent, do not know if necessary consent to abandon them. Tremble
especially those active women, even when idle, you called sensitive, and which takes over the love so easily and so violently, they know the need to address certain way, even when not enjoy, and abandoning themselves without reserve to the fermentation of their ideas, create, for them, those letters as
delicious, but they are so dangerous for anyone who writes, and not afraid to trust the evidence of his weakness to the object itself to the cause, reckless that can not see in his current lover his future enemy.
But what do I have to do with these women inconsiderate? When you see me parting with the rules that I have prescribed, and miss my principles? I tell my principles, and I say with intention because they are not like other women, given the chance, received without consideration, and followed by habit: they are the fruit of my deep thoughts, I have created, and I can say I myself have made.
Introduced in the world, at the age that, still single, my state was reduced to silence and inaction, have taken advantage of both to observe and reflect. While I felt dazed or distracted me, listening to the truth, very little speech that I ran, put great care to hear that I wanted to hide.
This useful curiosity, while it served to teach me, taught me well to conceal, often forced to hide the objects of my attention to the eyes of those around me, I tried to guide my people as I wish, then I could get to use, as for me, this way of looking distracted has praised you often. Encouraged by this first victory, tried to regulate the same way the different movements of my face. If he had any regrets, he studied how to give me an air of serenity and even joy, and I carried my zeal to procure voluntary pains to study for them the expression of pleasure. I have tampered with equal care and more work, to suppress the symptoms of a gofo unexpected. So I have to take this empire on my face, that I have seen you so impressed sometimes.
I was very young yet, and offered little interest, but was the owner of my thoughts, and doubted that they could take them off or catch them against my will. Provided these new weapons, I wanted to be tried to use them, not content with not let them break my ideas, I had fun to show up in various ways, sure my manners, was careful in my words, managed both to the circumstances, or perhaps, just as my whims. Since that time I only knew my way of thinking, and did not show but I was useful.
This work done on myself had fixed my attention on the expression of the faces and character of the faces, and this year I managed to achieve a penetrating view of security, which, however, experience has taught me that I should not confide entirely, but in their results, rare Once I was deceived.
was not yet fifteen, and had the ability to most of our politicians owe their reputation, but still did not know the first elements of science I wanted to learn.
you imagine now, as all young people, I tried to guess what it was love and its pleasures, but having never been in the convent, not having a good friend and always watched my mother careful not had only vague ideas that could not fix, the very nature of which certainly have not had to complain later, I was not even any evidence. That could have been secretly working to perfect his work.
fermented
My head alone, did not want but I enjoy learning, and the desire to instruct the media I suggested.
realized that the only man with whom I could talk about it without committing, it was my confessor. Instantly take my party, my little ashamed throttle, and charged with an offense that did not commit, said he had done what women do. These were my words, but they did not know myself what he said. My hope was neither completely satisfied nor completely fooled: the fear prevented me enlighten sell, but the good father, I painted the great evil, I conceived that pleasure should be extreme, and the desire to know just what it was, happened to find out for myself.
I do not know where I would have taken this desire, and then lack of experience, perhaps on one occasion I had lost, happily for me. A few days later my mother told me that I was getting married and immediately assured that he would know what he wanted, went out of curiosity, and came virgin into the arms of Mr. Merteuil.
certainly hoped that would instruct the moment, and thought I needed to show pregnancy and shyness. That first night, which usually form an idea so cruel and so sweet, but I had the opportunity to gain experience: pain and pleasure, everything looked exactly, and saw in these different feelings, but facts that would collect and meditate. This kind of study came to like very soon, but, true to my principles, and know, perhaps instinctively, that my husband had to be further away than any of my confidence, I decided, therefore that I was sensitive, showing me impassively his eyes. This apparent coldness was henceforth the most solid foundation of his blind trust, I added, for further reflection, the air of bewilderment that allowed my age and not more girl I thought at times I praised him more boldly.
However, I admit, I let myself be dragged into the maelstrom of this world, and gave me absolutely to their futile pastimes. But after some months, having been Mr de Merteuil to his sad country house, annoy the fear raised again the taste for study, and found myself surrounded by people only by their distance from them to me, put under cover of any suspicion, I took this occasion to open more fields to my experiences. That's where I mainly made sure that the love that we painted as the cause of our pleasures, is, at best, but the pretext.
my husband's illness interrupted so sweet occupations was must accompany you to the city, where I had come for aid. Died, as you know, shortly thereafter, and although, in result, I had no reason to complain about it, let no less keenly appreciate the freedom that would leave me my widowhood, and I intended to take nicely.
My mother had to go back to the convent or to live with it. I refused to either party, and only consented for external decency, to return to the same cottage, where I still had some comments. The fortified by reading, but do not think that was all the species that has been imagined. I studied our habits in the romances, and our views on the philosophers, moralists looked at more severe as that required of us, and assured me of what could be done, what should think, and what needed to be pretending. Once set in these three objects, the latter only had some difficulties in implementation; expect to defeat, and pondered how.
I started to get tired of my rustic pleasures, too uniform for the activity of my head, I felt the need to become a coquette, to reconcile with the love, not experienced it myself, but to inspire you and pretend. In vain he told me, and I had read, he could not pretend this feeling, I saw, however, that to achieve this, enough wit coupled to an author of a comic talent. I exercise in both genders, and perhaps with some success, but instead of seeking the vain applause of the spectators, I decided to use in my particular that what others sacrificed to vanity.
A year was spent in these different occupations. Allowing me to introduce myself then my grief in the world, I returned to town with my big projects, and not expect to find the first obstacle I encountered. My long
my austere solitude and retreat, I had given an air of hypocrisy, our most enjoyable scare suitors, all away from me, leaving me given the multitude of annoying that everyone aspired to my hand. The difficulty was not refuse them, but many of these rejections disliked my family and I lost this time domestic altercations that I had proposed to use so delicious. I was therefore necessary to attract and repel each other, make explicit some inconsistencies, and used to damage my reputation all the careful thought put into preserving it. I got it very easily, as you may think, but not being taken away by any passion, but I did what I thought necessary, and carefully measured out the dose of my daze.
After I achieved so he wanted, turned back, and attributed the honor of my amendment to a portion of those women who could no longer expect to enjoy their summer thanks, trying to achieve for its intrinsic merits and virtues. This was an inspiration to me was worth more than what I expected. These owners, recognized, declared my apologists, and careful zeal for what they called his work was brought to the point that, at the least word that someone be allowed against me, all the party claimed he was a hypocrite scandal a grievance. With the same half gained the approval of all our women presumptuous, that persuaded me to decline to follow the same career that they, I was welcomed by the object of his praise, as many times wanted to prove that not everyone murmured.
Meanwhile, previous conduct had attracted my lovers, and to handle well between them and my protective infidels, I introduced myself as a sensitive woman, but difficult, to whom the excess of delicacy gave arms against love.
Then I started to deploy in the great drama of the same skills I had acquired, and my first care was to win the name of invincibility. To this end, men who did not like were always the only ones who had the air of accepting gifts. I served usefully to procure honor Had they been resisted, as I delivered without fear that he preferred a secret lover. But it did not allow my feigned shyness never venture into the world, and all eyes were fixed on the lover miserable sow.
You know how soon I decide. It is because I have noticed that the previous care are almost always those who make known the secret of women. Obres as you want, is not the same tone before after achievement. This difference does not escape the attentive observer, and I judged less dangerous drawing himself up proudly in the election to make them penetrate me. In addition, it won with the prevent the appearance of truth, which only we can judge.
These precautions, and not ever write, might seem excessive, and I, however, I have never believed enough. Deepening my heart and studying the other, I saw that there is no soul but has a secret that none cares to know, really I think the age has known better than us, and that the story of Samson could be perhaps a witty emblem. Yo, new Dalila, I tried, as she attempted to use my surprise this important secret. And how many modern Samsons I have not had the hair on the tip of my scissors? By the way, are no longer afraid, and the only ones who have allowed me sometimes humiliating. More docile and flexible to the other, I have obtained their discretion in the art of making them infidels so they do not believe me fickle, with a feigned friendship, confidence apparent, some procedere generous and flattering idea, retaining each, have been my only lover. Anyway, when I have missed the media, I have learned, knowing he was going to break, put down in advance the confidence that these dangerous men could have obtained, and putting them into ridicule, and slander.
What I'm saying, I've seen you practice continually, and now doubt my wisdom! Well, remember the times began to gifts, no other tribute I had liked so much, he wished to have seen him before. Seduced by its reputation, it seemed that he needed to complete my glory, and was eager to fight you melee. It's only my taste that I have mastered a moment. However, if you wanted to lose, what means would be found?; Vain speeches, which do not leave any impression that his reputation had made it suspicious, and a series of unlikely events, whose relationship had gone through an ill-conceived romance. In truth, after that time, I have found you all my secrets, but knows what are the interests that unite us, and we both me who deserves the title of reckless.
Since I deal to give explanations, I do exactly. From here I hear tell that I am at least at the mercy of my maid, in fact, you do not know the secret of my feelings, he knows my actions. When you told me about her past, he replied only that she was sure, and proof that this response was sufficient time for peace of mind, is that later entrusted to you, on their behalf, quite dangerous secrets. But now providing is concerned, and reiterates the view, I no longer will rely on my word. I, therefore, turn.
First, milk is my sister, and this link, we do not look it, it is for people of his class, besides, I I know his secret, and even better: a victim of a crazy love, was lost if I had not saved. His parents, filled with honor, they wanted nothing less than enclose, came to me, and since then I saw how useful it could Serme his anger. The favored, and got the order requested. Then, suddenly taking advantage of leniency, which drew their parents, and making use of my influence with the old minister, made all agree to let me repository of this order, and the owner to stop or to consent to its execution , as I judged the merit of behavior coming from the girl. Know therefore that his fate is in my hands, and even when a impossible these powerful media did not stop, is not it obvious that no one would believe when they publish their behavior and real punishment?
These precautions, which I call fundamental, added a thousand others that the place or the time provided, and that the reflection or habit they find when needed, which was meticulous detail, but whose practice is important, and that you should take the job of culling of all my conduct, if you want to get to know them.
But I want to have labored much for not picking the fruit, which, having gained so much superiority over other women, with my heavy work, consenting to drag them between recklessness and shyness, which, above all, a man subject to the point of view
no other means of saving the leak, no, Viscount, ever. It must win or die. Regarding Preven, I have you, and you'll have, want to publish, not publish it, in short, is our history. You pass it well, etc..
at ..., September 20, 1917 ...
