Behind the Mask? Sade and the Cent Vingt Journees de Sodome

Abstract

Sadean criticism has typically followed the example of Sade himself in dividing his works into two discrete categories: the superficially respectable works which the author published under his own name, and the openly libertine works whose authorship he repeatedly denied. This paper explores what, if anything, the author reveals of himself when he lets the mask of respectability drop. Drawing on a range of texts, but with particular emphasis on Les Cent Vingt Journées de Sodome, it focuses on the complex and uncertain relationship between author, narrator, and reader.