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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Dolmance, Christianity is just a newer form of what?

2. What letter does Chevalier use to denote the friend who introduced her to Dolmance?

3. What term does the Marquis de Sade use to refer to his readers in the beginning of his Introduction?

4. According to Dolmance, what attribute offers the best chance of success in life?

5. In this section, which historical figure does Madame de Saint-Ange use as an example of lasciviousness?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is sodomy, according to Dolmance, the height of libertine pleasure?

2. Describe Dolmance's attitudes toward the poor.

3. What is the value of blasphemy to the libertine?

4. According to Sade in To the Philosphers, what is the key to happiness?

5. What specific instructions does Sade give his readers about emulating characters in To the Libertines?

6. What theory regarding large penises does Dolmance posit in the Fourth Dialogue?

7. How does the Chevalier reassure Eugenie at the beginning of the Fourth Dialogue?

8. What pattern of sexual arrangements emerges in the Third Dialogue?

9. Describe Dolmance.

10. How is the the sexual passage of this section typical of the writing of The Bedroom Philosophers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on the topic of phalli in The Bedroom Philosophers. Discuss the order in which phalli are introduced in the narrative and how one tops the other. How are Dolmance, Chevalier, Augustin and Lapierre's phalli all put to different uses? What are the women's reactions to each? Analyzing the use of phalli in the text, determine what they represent in the world of the novel? Excess? Pleasure? Death?

Essay Topic 2

Madame de Saint-Ange is the ideal of feminine libertinage in Sade's work. Her lessons in the book concern the way a woman must adapt to live a life of wanton pleasure. In a two-part essay, discuss Madame de Saint-Ange's views:

Part 1) What is the importance of marriage in the life of a woman libertine? What precautions must the woman take to ensure her husband is not aware of his activities? How does being married offer new opportunities to a libertine woman? Discuss the details of Madame de Saint-Ange's marriage.

Part 2) What role does the childbirth play in the role of a libertine? How does Madame de Saint-Ange explain a woman should take precautions? What experience has she had with childbirth?

Essay Topic 3

In an essay, discuss the character of Dolmance. What roles does he undertake over the course of Sade's work? Discuss the points at which he lectures and organizes the libertines and the points at which he takes part in proceedings? What activities does he insist upon? What activities does he abstain from? Discuss, in conclusion, whether he is intended to be a godlike character or a demon. Is his role more ambiguous than either of them?

(see the answer keys)

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