'Manon Lescaut' By Abbé Prévost

Manon Lescaut, an 18th century French novel by Abbé Prévost, originally titled “The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut” is an erotic picaresque, a moral tale, and a biographical narration all at once. It relates the story of a couple of young lovers, who struggle to overcome numerous obstacles, while they are being pursued by forces stronger than them. The author structures his narrative so that the reader has full access into the hero’s mind, while we only see the heroine through the eyes of others, mainly des Grieux’s.

De Grieux introduces himself as a man of noble upbringing and even nobler disposition, gentle, dignified, and with a tendency toward a virtuous conduct. Fate has it that he meets Manon by chance and he is instantly captivated by her charms. We learn that Manon, who comes from a lower class, is sent by her family and against her will to a Convent because she has already shown signs of an inclination for pleasure. Although she is younger than him, des Grieux notices her flirtatious behavior, her cunning mind, and her willingness to lie and deceive, even so though, he orchestrates a plan to assist her escape, he becomes her lover, and the both of them find refuge in the premises of Paris where the long string of their misfortunes only begins.

Who is Manon then?
She is the siren that enthralls des Grieux completely. She is the agent that evokes the hero’s moral degeneration. According to des Grieux’s account, Manon is the serpent in his garden that tempts him away from righteousness and leads him to decadence. He forfeits his family, his fortune, his social position, his ethics and even God, so that he can be with her. Yet Manon repeatedly disappoints him, she betrays him and she is a source of much anguish and turmoil for des Grieux; seemingly within his reach, but never entirely