Dangerous Liaisons · Chapter
Letter 30: Cecilia Volanges to the Chevalier Danceny explained
Cecilia writes to Danceny, confessing her love and promising to be more open in her correspondence.
What happens
Cecilia writes to Danceny, confessing her love and promising to be more open in her correspondence. She expresses regret for her previous silence, blames it on her fear of doing wrong, and looks forward to seeing him that evening. She hopes he will be happy now that she has declared her feelings.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence and Experience
Cecilia's letter reveals her naivety and internal conflict between her feelings for Danceny and her sense of propriety.
Epistolary Form and Unreliable Truth
Cecilia's declaration of love is mediated through the letter, highlighting the tension between sincere emotion and the constraints of written expression.
Characters to notice
- Cecilia Volanges
Writes to Danceny, confessing her love and promising to be more open.
- Chevalier Danceny
Recipient of Cecilia's letter; she hopes her confession will ease his melancholy.
- Madame de Volanges
Cecilia mentions that her mother is supping at home and may invite Danceny to stay.
Key passages
“At last, Sir, I consent to write to you, to assure you of my friendship, of my love even, since without that you must be unhappy.”
I finally agree to write and tell you I love you, because your unhappiness without it is too much for me.
Cecilia reluctantly breaks her silence out of concern for Danceny's feelings.
“The reason was, I would not, for all the world, do anything that was wrong; and I should not even have owned my affection for you, if I could have helped it; but your grief gave me too much uneasiness.”
I didn't write because I didn't want to do anything improper, and I wouldn't have admitted my love if I could have avoided it, but your sadness made me too uncomfortable.
Cecilia explains her earlier hesitation as a conflict between propriety and compassion.