Dangerous Liaisons · Chapter
Letter 63: Marchioness de Merteuil to Viscount de Valmont explained
Merteuil details her scheme to manipulate Madame de Volanges into sending Cecilia to the countryside, thereby creating obstacles for Danceny and advancing her own plans.
What happens
Merteuil details her scheme to manipulate Madame de Volanges into sending Cecilia to the countryside, thereby creating obstacles for Danceny and advancing her own plans. She describes her conversations with both mother and daughter, her refusal to carry a letter, and her intention to use her maid Victoire as a go-between. She also instructs Valmont to act as confidant to the young lovers.
Themes in this chapter
Seduction and Manipulation
Merteuil orchestrates a complex scheme to manipulate both mother and daughter, using false friendship and emotional control to achieve her ends.
Hypocrisy and Appearance vs. Reality
Merteuil presents herself as a virtuous friend to Madame de Volanges while secretly plotting to corrupt Cecilia and undermine her authority.
Gender and Power Dynamics
Merteuil exercises power through covert manipulation, exploiting her social position and the trust of other women to control men's fates.
Characters to notice
- Marchioness de Merteuil
Architect of the scheme; manipulates Madame de Volanges and Cecilia to further her revenge on Gercourt and control over Danceny.
- Viscount de Valmont
Recipient of the letter; instructed to act as confidant to Danceny and Cecilia and to facilitate their secret correspondence.
- Cecilia Volanges
Target of Merteuil's manipulation; distraught over the discovery of her correspondence but comforted by Merteuil's false promises.
- Madame de Volanges
Deceived by Merteuil into believing her daughter is in danger; agrees to send Cecilia to Madame de Rosemonde's chateau.
- Chevalier Danceny
Cecilia's lover; Merteuil plans to use obstacles to intensify his passion and then facilitate his secret meetings.
- Count Gercourt
Ultimate target of Merteuil's revenge; she aims to control his future wife's mind.
Key passages
“I lost no time since I received your last letter; and, in the words of the Athenian architect, 'What he has said, I will perform.'”
I acted immediately on your letter, as the Athenian architect promised to execute what was spoken.
Merteuil asserts her swift and decisive action in executing her plan.
“Thus I am like the Divinity, receiving the opposite vows of blind mortals, without altering my immutable decrees.”
I am like God, hearing contradictory prayers from ignorant people while remaining unchanged in my purposes.
Merteuil compares herself to a divine being, emphasizing her control over the conflicting interests of mother and daughter.
“If the Magdalen was thus, she was much more dangerous as a penitent, than as a sinner.”
If Mary Magdalene looked like this, she would be more alluring as a repentant woman than as a sinner.
Merteuil observes Cecilia's beauty in distress, finding her more captivating when vulnerable.