Philosophy in the Boudoir
"Philosophy In The Boudoir is the most concise, representative text of all the Marquis de Sade's works, containing his notorious doctrine of libertinage expounded in full, coupled with liberal doses of savage, unbridled eroticism, cruelty and violent sexuality. The renegade philosophies put forward here would later rank among the cornerstones of Andre Breton's surreal...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
April 28th 2005
by Creation Books
(first published January 1795)
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For de Sade, this is pretty good. There's a long discussion of the role of morals in the republic that is interesting, if debatable. As erotica, it is strictly chinese menu stuff. Bob'll have erotic act number one, Sally number two, and the Chevalier two orders of number seven, and then we'll all trade cartons. The interesting bit (to me) is that, even after copious pronouncements about how libertines transgress all boundaries, there's still a scene where Dolmance and Augustin go off in the c...more
hehe. I'm such a naughty girl for picking this one up. I had watched the movie "Quills" and became terribly curious about Marquis de Sade. After the first 20 pages, I must say that my cup of interest was filled in it's entirety, but I kept reading because the perversion of his writing was so unbelievable and even humorous. (I must state, that this novel is considered his most joyous writing... MOST of the sexual escapades in in violent deaths.) I couldn't believe that a man could have ...more
My mind is in a debate with itself. The question under consideration is, "Given the similarity of the sexual excesses dwelt upon by William Burroughs and the Marquis de Sade, why do I loathe Burroughs and keep coming back to de Sade?" Is it because I feel like Burroughs is just throwing out images for shock effect? Is it because I'm trying to get my mind around de Sade's philosophy? Is it because I'm still not entirely sure whether de Sade is espousing his own philosophy or ridicul...more
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The most seductively evil book I've ever read, this is surely the lewdest, most depraved and nihilistic piece of smut from the 18th century.
The Marquis de Sade spent the last 14 years of his life imprisoned for writting this book (among others.)
It is shameful, but convinces you that your shame is misguided--or at least makes the attempt.
The Marquis de Sade spent the last 14 years of his life imprisoned for writting this book (among others.)
It is shameful, but convinces you that your shame is misguided--or at least makes the attempt.
Interesting from an academic point of view, otherwise not my cup of tea. He is rather tedious and repetative and reminds me of Madonna circa 1991 - you know, always testing the limits of just how far he can go to outrage people.... I think the translation is very interesting - modern and accessible.
Philosophy in the Boudoir received only three stars mainly because of the subject matter, which is typically what one would find in his stories. They are licentious affairs, unrestrained by either convention or conscience. This book was too sade-istic for my liking. The characters' acts of cruetly and extreme barbarity, are taken to the farthest edges of societal tolerance. I would never recommend this work to women.
What I did like was de Sade's elegant style. His command of lan...more
What I did like was de Sade's elegant style. His command of lan...more
STRONG LANGUAGE ALERT - Do not read this review if you are under the age of 18 or are offended by explicit sexuality and extreme violence (this is the Marquis friggin' DeSade, after all, grow up people).
This is a very curious book in all respects.
It is the story of a young woman, Eugénie, semi-willingly corrupted by an older woman and a homosexual named Dolmancé to whom apparently women are fine as long as they keep their icky punani away from him (much of the "phil...more
This is a very curious book in all respects.
It is the story of a young woman, Eugénie, semi-willingly corrupted by an older woman and a homosexual named Dolmancé to whom apparently women are fine as long as they keep their icky punani away from him (much of the "phil...more
And so we come to the finale of my Sade reading project (that included, for context, 
and 
). I use these reviews as memory aids and sometimes as short essays to work out ideas, so it took me awhile to corral my thoughts into something coherent, but I apologize if I ramble. I'm no academic and I find that a great deal of headway can be made in encompassing a larger view of the world by actually embracing humility (while keeping one's critical senses sharp).
Short version - probably a...more
and ). I use these reviews as memory aids and sometimes as short essays to work out ideas, so it took me awhile to corral my thoughts into something coherent, but I apologize if I ramble. I'm no academic and I find that a great deal of headway can be made in encompassing a larger view of the world by actually embracing humility (while keeping one's critical senses sharp).
Short version - probably a...more
Of all the treatises I've read on the joys of anal sex with a cabal of debauched, French super-libertines—and trust me, I've read, like, hundreds—this one's easily the most—wait for it—accessible. Oof. Some seriously naughty shizz going on here, in between bouts of philosophical musings on why it's one's natural obligation to engage in anal sex with a cabal of debauched, French super-libertines, of course. And on a purely superficial level, the cover for the new Penguin Classics edition is ridic...more
La philosophie dans le boudoir contient tout ce qui fait de Sade un auteur unique. Il y a de la philosophie, de la pornographie et de la torture. Un lecteur ne faisant que feuilleter le livre, en lisant des passages au hasard, pourra bien rigoler en lisant les scènes de sexe graphique écrits dans un vieux français. Cependant, lire le livre en totalité reste une expérience toute autre qui mène à une finale digne d'un roman d'horreur moderne, voire splatterpunk.
A fun blend of raunchy sex scenes with political and philosophical desertations, Philosophy in the Boudoir is my first Marquis de Sade's that confirms his wild and genius mind. Sade attempts to push mankind back to their nature, follow their true instinct, and let laws and regulations be humbled. Based on this boundless freedom government must be mainly built. There is no judgement of morals as the only boundary will be in one's own self. "I will not punish you for the murder you have commi...more
Toda una provocación en letras, como acostumbra Sade con eróticos diálogos pero una profunda crítica a la sociedad del tiempo que le tocó vivir, rebeldía, reflexiones e ideas políticas, "un reflejo de su ideario" como mencionara uno de sus analistas, no me pareció del todo mala pero tanta disertación y suplicios quizás no sean muy de mi agrado, sin duda las obras de Sade no son aptas para personas sensibles o muy moralistas XD pero es bueno conocer algo de su arte, y si la lietaratura ...more
A Sadean work to be sure. Philosophy is full of sadism, promiscuity, the corruption of the young, and political and religious dissidence. considering the subject matter the writing is not particularly interesting in many places. Particularly irritating is the 75 page politcal/religious pamphlet included in the middle, which serves no real function in the plot. Many of the arguments made by the characters are based on flawed premises and unfounded assumptions. While the character construction and...more
Crafting an unperformable play (or nearly performable with explicit sound effects and acting that veers into psychic hysteria), deSade avoids the poetics of novels and finally cuts to the chase, sending out his first-class metaphysical ranting to the masses as physicalized pornography. Remember these were written to be performed in Charenton Asylum, and published to move product, anonymous presses, cheap sticker price. The subtext is sexual manual, a self-help book inside a play, directed at all...more
I don't know if it's my age, but the book was a bit of an uncomfortable read. The sex scenes were so repetitive, and the images and utterances were all the same throughout most of the dialogue. Even through the sections of philosophy, he seems repetitive. The language was brilliant though, and almost made libertarianism a convincing idea one ought to try sometime. He basically goes against what we've all been taught in Catholic school, but the book wasn't as "disgusting" as I thought i...more
The language is wonderful, delightful I might say. The philosophy of it all is peculiar, libertine, probably not suitable for everyone. I give it 3 stars because I am amazed, yet contradicted by the story line itself. Liking this book really depends on taste. Funny at times, strikingly bold, yet wonderfully exquisite in some topics, the book can be also considered artistic. However, at the same time is peculiar, appalling and even repulsive. I cannot be objective enough. But reading this is defi...more
2 1/2, na verdade. De longe o melhor livro do campeão. Continuam as mesmas afetações, a mesma escrita de péssima qualidade, quase (quase?) um livreto de propaganda filosófica disfarçado de narrativa (como sempre). Mas com ritmo e maior fluidez. Sade é um caso bem claro de autor que é importante conceitualmente mas fraco em si.
Es pornografía pura. Diálogos que chocan por ser grotesco y casi que además se repiten las misma escenas de sexo. Este clásico critica nuestras costumbres y la sociedad occidental bajo su punto de vista. “Liberación y perversión total”. Pienso que el Marques de Sade fue un provocador nato.
Exagerado, demasiado explícito.
Acción entre argumentos muy enferma.
Diálogos entre escenas eróticas de caracter político y crítico sobre la época.
Si se le quita el exceso de perversión es un libro muy interesante.
4/10
Acción entre argumentos muy enferma.
Diálogos entre escenas eróticas de caracter político y crítico sobre la época.
Si se le quita el exceso de perversión es un libro muy interesante.
4/10
Half of this book is raw, animalistic fucking. Orgies, mostly anal. The other half is philosophical tirades. Sometimes they're right on the money and way ahead of their time for the year 1795, such as De Sade's complaints about organized religion and call to legalize abortion. Other times they're completely lunatic and abhorrent, such as when he wildly rants about how rape should be legalized. The book jumps between sex and philosophy so randomly as these awful characters break into heavy-handed...more
This was, suprisingly, not nearly as racy as I anticipated. Though I can certainly see that at the time it was written it would have been considered quite a scandal - it seemed commonly smutty in contemporary terms. Still - fun. Just not as sophisticated as I thought it would be. Also, much of it is just a vehicle for his ideas that people should just do whatever they want and that there is no such thing as 'evil' or 'wrong' in terms of sex. Convincing arguements - but still on the whole, supris...more
stunning how this book is up to date after hundreds of years. Blunt descriptive and very spicy yet philosophical in every sense.
When I was given the book, the girl told me she intentionally read it super slowly out of fear it would end :))
An old female acquaintance once described sexual encounters with an ex-boyfriend as "all pump, no passion" and I think that would be the best way to describe how I feel about this book. De Sade is an absolutely brilliant man, but as James Baldwin said "brilliance without passion is nothing more that sterility."
But it was an amusing read and I loved reading De Sades thoughts on the subjects of marriage, pregnancy, charity and such. I wish I had the balls to relate ...more
But it was an amusing read and I loved reading De Sades thoughts on the subjects of marriage, pregnancy, charity and such. I wish I had the balls to relate ...more
En su época debió ser un escándalo... en la mía es sólo un poco escatológico.
Très cru même à notre époque, sexualité violente, perverse, tout y passe
Un libro que es mitad porno y mitad filosofía moral. La mitad pornográfica es bastante sucia, pero no creo que eso sea un factor que te apague a la hora de leerlo; a mí, por lo menos, lo que realmente me apagaba no era esto, sino la degradación moral. La mitad filosófica contiene argumentos de calidad muy diversa. En algunos puntos, creo que Sade de hecho está en lo correcto, pero cuando intenta justificar un escepticismo moral más radical (cuando pretende justificar la violación, por ejemplo), ...more
Bon, est-ce que l'on doit vraiment commenter?
Sade pone di fronte all'essenza stessa del pensiero illuminista, alla vita affidata alla ragione e ripulita del falso incanto del mondo. Accettare la libertà di pensiero significa accettare Sade. La filosofia del budoir nella mia scrivania è a fianco a Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, e quello è il suo posto, in quanto conte philosophique, trattato morale in chiave narrativa. Bestemmie violenza sessualità estrema sono il grido di un uomo che rivendica la sua libertà al di sopra del mondo. Accettato ...more
Etonnant. En dehors des scènes sexuelles, le marquis de Sade fait développer par ses personnages, et tout particulièrement par Dolmancé qui semble être son porte-parole dans cette pièce, une philosophie qu'il dit républicaine. J'ai trouvé celle-ci particulièrement intéressante: en dehors de ses aspects provocants et très sadiques, j'y ai aussi vu une revendication de la liberté - surtout sexuelle, mais aussi en général - pour les hommes, mais aussi les femmes, et un refus du despotisme d'Ancien ...more
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