Les Liaisons Dangereuses Sparknotes
1782, french writer Choderlos de Laclos writes 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' (Dangerous Liaisons), which will become his most famous work, though it was a first considered as an attack against the nobles. In this epistolary novel, considered as the best of its genre, the story goes that way: Cecile, who has just left the convent, is betrothed to the Comte de Gercourt, former lover of the Marquise de Merteuil. Being angry with the Comte de Gercourt who abandoned her, to avenge herself, the Marquise de Merteuil decided to corrupt Cecile before her marriage (therefore, to make her lose her virginity). But she needs a man to get her way. Meanwhile, the Viscount de Valmont try to seduce Madame de Tourvel who does not fall under his spell
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In both movies, the directors will then have to show this double reality in their own ways. Frears starts its movie by a close-up on feminine hands holding an envelope in which will be revealed to be a letter with the title on the movie, 'Dangerous Liaisons', written on it. This, according to Mouronval (2010), shows the importance of the letters in the movie. Furthermore, the fact that the hands holding them are feminine is not an accident. It shows that women are the ones taking power in the story, but also how it can lead to their loss such as with Merteuil. Indeed, women started to emancipate themselves at a time when libertinage was getting common though considered as immoral by the society and Merteuil is the perfect example of that. When it comes to Kumble's adaptation, the letters become a journal, and interestingly, Sebastian's journal (Valmont). By the end of the movie, during his funerals, Annette (Tourel), reveals the journal to the entire school. Here, we can see a close-up of the journal being hold by Kathryn (Merteuil). Once again, we can see feminine hands, showing how much the worlds of words is important to the women, much more than it is to the men. Debbah (2016), explains that people often confound cinematographic realism with its ability to capture the reality of its original work. Here, with these examples, we can see how both Frears and Kumble, despite the fact that they cannot really show an letter exchange between the characters, still demonstrate the importance of this secondary world which is the one of letters, revealing the reality of who are the
In both movies, the directors will then have to show this double reality in their own ways. Frears starts its movie by a close-up on feminine hands holding an envelope in which will be revealed to be a letter with the title on the movie, 'Dangerous Liaisons', written on it. This, according to Mouronval (2010), shows the importance of the letters in the movie. Furthermore, the fact that the hands holding them are feminine is not an accident. It shows that women are the ones taking power in the story, but also how it can lead to their loss such as with Merteuil. Indeed, women started to emancipate themselves at a time when libertinage was getting common though considered as immoral by the society and Merteuil is the perfect example of that. When it comes to Kumble's adaptation, the letters become a journal, and interestingly, Sebastian's journal (Valmont). By the end of the movie, during his funerals, Annette (Tourel), reveals the journal to the entire school. Here, we can see a close-up of the journal being hold by Kathryn (Merteuil). Once again, we can see feminine hands, showing how much the worlds of words is important to the women, much more than it is to the men. Debbah (2016), explains that people often confound cinematographic realism with its ability to capture the reality of its original work. Here, with these examples, we can see how both Frears and Kumble, despite the fact that they cannot really show an letter exchange between the characters, still demonstrate the importance of this secondary world which is the one of letters, revealing the reality of who are the