In the Garden of Good and Evil: The Love and Punishment of Choderlos de Laclos in Dangerous Liaisons

This is a paper discussing the love and punishment of Choderlos de Laclos and the other villains in the book, Dangerous Liaisons.

Excerpt from the Paper:
“Scholars have argued whether Les Liaisons Dangereuses was a moral novel exposing the cruelties of human nature and their ultimate downfall or if Choderlos de Laclos had no real motive behind writing the book and simply wanted to create a stir in the world. Some argued that the villains never actually received just punishment because he simply needed a way to end the novel. Victims of such a deceptive fate seek punishment from those who have manipulated them. Sometimes the punishment that would most satisfy the victim is not the most fitting punishment. The punishment may not seem cruel or tortuous enough for the pain they caused, but it is what will shatter the villain’s world. Should the victims desire what would best satiate their need for vengeance or should they want what would most devastate the villain?”

"If we could be contented with being what we are, we should have no inducement to lament our fate; but we inflict on ourselves a thousand real evils in seeking after an imaginary happiness."
Jean-Jacques Rousseau


About the Author

K.J. Cleveland was born in Alabama, grew up in various areas, including Mannheim, Germany, due to her Mom being a librarian for the U.S. Army. Her mother, Sherrie Floyd, opened libraries for the U.S. Army in Bosnia, and subsequently won Federal Librarian of the Year in 2001 for her endeavors. K.J. Cleveland has a Bachelor's Degree in psychology and a Master's Degree in history with concentrations in philosophy. After college, she moved to California, where she began her writing career. She and her brother, Randy Jones, published The Raw You: Self-Awareness Journal for one year in West Los Angeles, followed by a book, The Raw You: A Contemplation of the Soul, which received an incredibly positive response from its readers. Other books she has written include The Courage to be Yourself: Look Inside and Develop the Confidence to be Your True Self, What is Enlightenment? Theories about Knowing Yourself Beneath Your Societal Identity, God and the Unseen Realm From Plato, Isaac Newton, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant and Never Give Up: Exercises to Listen to Your Heart, Set Goals and Make Your Dreams Come True. To learn more about knowing yourself and making your dreams come true, check out www.ToKnowThyself.org, www.NeverGiveUp1.com, www.DreamsComeTrue1.org and www.WhatIsEnlightenment1.org.