Dangerous Liaisons · Chapter
Letter 64: The Chevalier Danceny to Madame de Volanges explained
Danceny responds to Madame de Volanges's accusations, defending his conduct and his love for Cecilia.
What happens
Danceny responds to Madame de Volanges's accusations, defending his conduct and his love for Cecilia. He refuses to surrender Cecilia's letters, citing the sacred duty of confidentiality, but promises to abide by Madame de Volanges's wishes regarding visits, provided he may still see Cecilia occasionally. He expresses his unwavering constancy and his hope to preserve Madame de Volanges's esteem despite her displeasure.
Themes in this chapter
Love, Virtue, and Corruption
Danceny frames his love for Cecilia as virtuous and constant, contrasting his honorable intentions with the corrupting influence of secrecy and parental authority.
Epistolary Form and Unreliable Truth
The letter itself is a testament to the power and peril of written correspondence; Danceny's refusal to surrender the letters highlights the tension between truth, trust, and control.
Characters to notice
- Chevalier Danceny
Writes a defensive and respectful letter to Madame de Volanges, asserting his honorable intentions and refusing to betray Cecilia's confidence.
- Madame de Volanges
The recipient of Danceny's letter; she has forbidden him from visiting and demanded the return of Cecilia's letters.
- Cecilia Volanges
The object of Danceny's affection; her letters are at the center of the dispute, and Danceny insists on protecting her secrets.
Key passages
“I venture to assure you, I have neither abused your confidence, nor Mademoiselle de Volanges’ innocence: I have paid a proper respect to one and the other, they alone depend on me; and were you to make me responsible for an involuntary sentiment, I shall not be afraid to declare, that the one Mademoiselle your daughter inspired me with, may perhaps displease, but ought by no means to offend you.”
Danceny insists he has not betrayed Madame de Volanges's trust or corrupted Cecilia, and that his love, though perhaps unwelcome, is not offensive.
Danceny defends the purity of his intentions and denies any wrongdoing.
“The most sacred of all, I conceive, is not to betray the confidence reposed in us. I should therefore be in the highest degree guilty, were I to expose to the eyes of another the secrets of a heart, which has been disclosed to me alone.”
Danceny argues that betraying Cecilia's trust by handing over her letters would be a grave sin, as he is bound to keep her secrets.
He justifies his refusal to return the letters on moral grounds of confidentiality.