Love, Virtue, and Corruption

Where it surfaces

• Letter 7: Cecilia Volanges to Sophia Carnay

  Cecilia's budding romantic feelings for Danceny are presented as pure and virtuous, though they will later be exploited by others.

• Letter 15: Viscount Valmont to the Marchioness de Merteuil

  Valmont confesses his frustrated desire for Tourvel, equating love with an inability to exist without possession, while Tourvel's virtuous surveillance reveals her resistance.

• Letter 28: Chevalier Danceny to Cecilia Volanges

  Danceny's idealized love contrasts with Cecilia's cautious friendship, highlighting the tension between genuine affection and social propriety.

• Letter 31: Chevalier Danceny to Cecilia Volanges

  Danceny's idealized love for Cecilia contrasts with the manipulative relationships elsewhere in the novel, highlighting the tension between genuine affection and societal corruption.

• Letter 46: The Chevalier Danceny to Cecilia Volanges

  Danceny's idealistic love is contrasted with Cecilia's apparent betrayal, highlighting the fragility of virtue and the pain of perceived corruption in a romantic bond.

• Letter 50: The Presidente de Tourvel to the Viscount de Valmont

  Tourvel argues that love threatens virtue and leads to regret and remorse, contrasting her moral stance with Valmont's libertine pursuit.

• Letter 52: Viscount de Valmont to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Valmont argues that true love is rooted in the qualities of the soul and that Tourvel's virtue has purified his heart, blurring the line between genuine emotion and calculated seduction.

• Letter 55: Cecilia Volanges to Sophia Carnay

  Cecilia's love for Danceny is portrayed as pure and joyful, yet it conflicts with societal expectations and her impending marriage, hinting at potential corruption.

• Letter 56: The Presidente de Tourvel to the Viscount de Valmont

  Tourvel contrasts her virtuous love for her husband with the corrupting passion Valmont offers, choosing duty and peace over the 'tumult of the senses.'

• Letter 58: Viscount de Valmont to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Valmont twists the language of love and virtue to justify his obsessive pursuit, corrupting the ideal of pure affection.

• Letter 60: Chevalier Danceny to the Viscount de Valmont

  Danceny's anguish over a 'dearer object' reflects the vulnerability and idealism of love, contrasted with the manipulative world he unknowingly addresses.

• Letter 64: The Chevalier Danceny to Madame de Volanges

  Danceny frames his love for Cecilia as virtuous and constant, contrasting his honorable intentions with the corrupting influence of secrecy and parental authority.

• Letter 67: The Presidente de Tourvel to the Viscount de Valmont

  Tourvel attempts to redirect Valmont's passion into virtuous friendship, highlighting the tension between love and moral integrity.

• Letter 68: Viscount de Valmont to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Valmont contrasts his 'sincere love' with the corrupt, self-serving love he might have feigned, positioning himself as a virtuous lover while subtly manipulating Tourvel's sense of morality.

• Letter 80: Chevalier Danceny to Cecilia Volanges

  Danceny's passionate and idealized love for Cecilia is contrasted with his growing despair and the corrupting influence of absence and neglect.

• Letter 82: Cecilia Volanges to the Chevalier Danceny

  Cecilia's sincere love for Danceny is expressed, yet their relationship is corrupted by the secrecy and manipulation required to sustain it.

• Letter 83: Viscount de Valmont, to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Valmont conflates love with virtue to justify his advances, arguing that his passion is ennobling and that Tourvel's resistance is unjust.

• Letter 90: The Presidente de Tourvel to the Viscount de Valmont

  Tourvel's internal conflict between her love for Valmont and her commitment to virtue is the central theme of the letter, as she begs him to help her avoid moral corruption.

• Letter 92: Chevalier Danceny to the Viscount de Valmont

  Danceny's genuine love and distress contrast with Valmont's manipulative schemes, highlighting the tension between sincere emotion and corrupt influence.

• Letter 93: Chevalier Danceny to Cecilia Volanges

  Danceny's passionate plea reveals the tension between genuine love and the corrupting influence of distrust and external manipulation, as he fears Cecilia's virtue has been compromised by her mother.

• Letter 98: Madame de Volanges to the Marchioness de Merteuil

  The letter contrasts genuine affection (Cecilia and Danceny) with the potential corruption of a forced marriage, emphasizing virtue and maternal responsibility.

• Letter 102: The Presidente de Tourvel to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's letter vividly portrays the conflict between her passionate love for Valmont and her commitment to virtue, as she struggles to resist temptation and preserve her moral integrity.

• Letter 103: Madame de Rosemonde to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Rosemonde discusses Tourvel's internal conflict between her virtuous resolve and her overpowering love, emphasizing the struggle to maintain virtue.

• Letter 104: The Marchioness de Merteuil to Madame de Volanges

  Merteuil dismisses passionate love as an 'illusory moment' that leads to danger and disappointment, advocating instead for rational choice and marital duty.

• Letter 108: The Presidente de Tourvel to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's internal conflict between her love for Valmont and her moral duty to resist him is central, as she struggles with the pain of separation and the guilt of her feelings.

• Letter 114: The Presidente de Tourvel to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's conflicted feelings—her love for Valmont and her guilt over their relationship—highlight the tension between virtuous restraint and emotional surrender.

• Letter 116: Chevalier Danceny to Cecilia Volanges

  Danceny's idealized love for Cecilia is contrasted with his naive trust in Merteuil, who is secretly manipulating him.

• Letter 118: Chevalier Danceny to the Marchioness de Merteuil

  Danceny's idealized love for Cecilia is intertwined with his friendship with Merteuil, hinting at the tension between pure affection and manipulative influence.

• Letter 121: The Marchioness de Merteuil to Chevalier Danceny

  Merteuil discusses the sacrifice of virtue in love and warns Danceny about the dangers of seduction, particularly for young women like Cecilia.

• Letter 122: Madame de Rosemonde to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Rosemonde's concern for Valmont and her fear that tender compassion might be a 'dangerous snare of love' highlights the tension between virtuous care and the corrupting influence of love.

• Letter 124: The Presidente de Tourvel to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's internal conflict between her love for Valmont and her desire for virtue is central, as she grapples with the pain of his reformation and her own perceived weakness.

• Letter 126: Madame de Rosemonde to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Rosemonde frames Tourvel's passion as a dangerous disorder that virtue has overcome, linking love to moral peril and redemption.

• Letter 128: The Presidente de Tourvel to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel explicitly chooses love for Valmont over her virtue, framing her fall as a willing sacrifice for his happiness.

• Letter 129: Viscount de Valmont to the Marchioness de Merteuil

  Valmont's protestations of love are intertwined with his manipulative schemes, highlighting the corruption of genuine affection within their power games.

• Letter 130: Madame de Rosemonde, to the Presidente de Tourvel

  Rosemonde warns against the deceptive hope of perfect happiness in love and advises Tourvel to guard against despair, linking love to virtue and suffering.

• Letter 131: The Marchioness de Merteuil to the Viscount de Valmont

  Merteuil contrasts past love with present disillusionment, arguing that love alone can alter the natural disgust that follows pleasure, yet deems their former happiness irrecoverable.

• Letter 132: The Presidente de Tourvel to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's letter illustrates the conflict between virtuous self-restraint and the overwhelming power of love, as she rationalizes her passion for Valmont despite warnings.

• Letter 133: The Viscount de Valmont to the Marchioness de Merteuil

  Valmont contrasts Tourvel's genuine emotional depth with his own corrupt detachment, using her virtue as a tool for his amusement.

• Letter 134: Marchioness de Merteuil to the Viscount de Valmont

  Merteuil argues that Valmont's feelings for Tourvel are genuine love, which contradicts his libertine persona and highlights the tension between love and corruption.

• Letter 139: The Presidente de Tourvel to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel reconciles her love for Valmont with his infidelity by redefining his actions as a minor error, prioritizing emotional happiness over strict moral judgment.

• Letter 148: The Chevalier Danceny to the Marchioness de Merteuil

  Danceny argues that their love is virtuous and natural, not corrupt, and that true love operates unconsciously without seduction.

• Letter 149: Madame de Volanges to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's virtue and religious faith are overwhelmed by the corrupting influence of Valmont's letter, leading to her physical and mental collapse.

• Letter 150: Chevalier Danceny to the Marchioness de Merteuil

  Danceny's idealistic view of love and correspondence contrasts with Merteuil's pragmatic concerns, highlighting the tension between sincere emotion and manipulative caution.

• Letter 155: The Viscount de Valmont to the Chevalier Danceny

  The contrast between Cecilia's innocent love and the 'common intriguer' highlights the tension between genuine affection and corrupt, pleasure-seeking behavior.

• Letter 157: The Chevalier Danceny to the Viscount de Valmont

  Danceny's struggle between his love for Cecilia and his momentary infidelity, and his desire for reformation, explores the tension between virtuous love and moral lapse.

• Letter 160: Madame de Volanges to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's delirious letter, likely intended for Valmont, reveals the torment of a virtuous woman corrupted by love and abandoned.

• Letter 161: The Presidente de Tourvel

  Tourvel's letter vividly contrasts her former innocence and happiness with her current guilt and suffering, illustrating the corrupting power of illicit love.

• Letter 165: Madame de Volanges to Madame de Rosemonde

  Tourvel's final prayer for Valmont's forgiveness highlights the tension between her love for him and her virtuous religious devotion, even as she succumbs to grief.

• Letter 171: Madame de Rosemonde to the Chevalier Danceny

  She argues that the seducer of an innocent heart bears responsibility for its subsequent corruption, linking love and virtue to moral accountability.