Fifth Dialogue, Part One Summary and Analysis

With the introduction of Augustin at the beginning of the Fifth Dialogue, The Bedroom Philosophers takes on a similar cadence to the beginning of the Third Dialogue, with copulation intermingling with libertine dogma. Augustin is initially hesitant to ravish a high-born girl, but Dolmance convinces him that humanity was placed on earth to copulate. Augustin is clearly less educated than the others and seems utterly adrift as he is commanded by Dolmance.

A series of couplings culminates in a complete inundation of Madame de Saint-Ange involving Dolmance, Augustin, and the Chevalier. Triumphantly, she proclaims, "See everything I perpetrate at once: scandal, seduction, bad role model, incest, adultery, sodomy!" (82). This reflects the overall development of The Bedroom Philosophers. Like the actions that comprise the narrative, the writing is a long series of one-upping. The central and...