Novel
Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue
Justine ou les Malheurs de la Vertu
Marquis de Sade · 1791
Opening lines
LE chef-d’œuvre de la philoſophie ſerait de développer les moyens dont la Providence se sert pour parvenir aux fins qu’elle ſe propoſe ſur l’homme, & de tracer, d’après cela, quelques plans de conduite qui pussent faire connaître à ce malheureux individu bipède, la manière dont il faut qu’il marche dans la carrière épineuſe de la vie […]
The masterpiece of philosophy would be to unfold the means Providence employs to attain the ends it has in view for man, and to sketch out from them some plans of conduct that might show this wretched biped individual the way he must walk along the thorny course of life […]
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from fr.wikisource.org
Synopsis
Orphaned and without resources, two sisters take opposite paths: one, Juliette, chooses vice and prospers; the other, Justine, wants to remain virtuous. Placed with the moneylender Du Harpin, Justine is accused of a theft she did not commit and thrown into prison; she escapes it only to fall into the hands of a succession of libertines, among them the Comte de Bressac, who exploit her in turn, each justifying by his own reasoning the harm he does her.
Context
The book appeared anonymously in 1791 from Girouard, in Paris, under the false address “En Hollande, chez les libraires associés”. It is the second of the three versions of the story: the first, Les Infortunes de la vertu, had been written in the Bastille in 1787, and the third, La Nouvelle Justine, appeared in 1797. The author's works were seized for nearly two centuries, and their free publication began only with the publisher Jean-Jacques Pauvert.
Who it is for
A narrative made up of repeated violence and long philosophical justifications, to be reserved for informed readers.
Prizes and reception
A succès de scandale from its publication, the book was placed in the Enfer of the Bibliothèque nationale, where it remained for a long time.
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