Donatien Alphonse François Sade, Justine, ou les malheurs de la vertu [Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue]

Robert Gillan (University of Manchester)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

The “ Justine Texts”

Since the publication in 1791 of Sade’s first novel, Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu, his name has been indissociably linked with that of its eponymous heroine. The enduringly popular image of Sade as a sexually-frustrated pornographer visiting an endless series of fantastical torments upon a defenceless virgin is epitomized by his literary relationship with Justine. Yet behind the summary association of these two names, and the common reference to a work known simply as Justine, lie a sequence of literary events involving four different titles and a publication history straddling three centuries. These works, in their commonly accepted order of composition, are: Les Infortunes de la vertu [The Misfortunes of Virtue], Justine ou les malheurs de la vertu

2445 words

Citation: Gillan, Robert. "Justine, ou les malheurs de la vertu". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 September 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=4266, accessed 19 March 2024.]

4266 Justine, ou les malheurs de la vertu 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.