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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. What is the only thing that Madame de Saint-Ange claims to want from her brother?

2. Which of the following is not a way Romans and Greeks honored their gods, according to the pamphleteer?

3. Which character does not have vaginal intercourse in The Bedroom Philosophers?

4. What does Dolmance do to Madame de Mistival as he lectures her in the Final Dialogue?

5. Which of the following does the pamphleteer not defend as egalitarian expression?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the very end of The Bedroom Philosophers incongruous with what preceded it?

2. In the Fifth Dialogue, what does Dolmance explain about the law to Eugenie?

3. What new institutions does the pamphleteer recommend establishing?

4. How does Eugenie's reaction to her mother in the beginning of the Final Dialogue reflect a change in her character?

5. Why does Madame de Mistival pass out in the Final Dialogue?

6. What arrives for the libertines in the Sixth Dialogue?

7. According to Dolmance in this section, how does nature disprove the existence of vice?

8. How could The Bedroom Philosophers be viewed as satire?

9. What surprising statement does Chevalier make at the beginning of this section?

10. What is the only true connection between two people, according to Dolmance in this section?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The dialogues of The Bedroom Philosophers are intended to be perversions of Socratic dialogues, in which a philosopher takes a given dictum and dissects it, disproving it piece by piece. In an essay, choose one dialogue and discuss how the libertine dissects a given social more. What component of society is the character refuting? What does he or she find at fault in it? How does he or she disprove this fault, and what conclusion is reached?

Essay Topic 2

In the pamphlet Chevalier reads in the Fifth Dialogue, an unnamed author refutes the notion that laws are necessary for public order. Over the course of the pamphlet, he disproves the harmful effects of many crimes. Write an essay about three of these crimes. Why does the author state that they are not harmful? What positive effects do they have? What societal changes does the author recommend in harnessing this good?

Part 1) Slander

Part 2) Rape and incest

Part 3) Murder

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the introduction of the book. What reasons does Sade offer for writing The Bedroom Philosophers? What does he hope his readers will take away from it? Does this introduction seem earnest or like a throwaway joke? Is The Bedroom Philosophers intended to be an instruction manual for those that are tired of social constrictions?

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