The Quadrille of Gender: Casanova's Memoirs by Francois Roustang (review)

124Rocky Mountain Review into an area previously served by women replaced the holistic treatment verified by centuries with men using instruments rarely needed. One thinks of Dr. Slop in Tristram Shandy, who, though originally barred from Tristram's delivery in favor of a midwife, manages to remove the skin from Uncle Toby's hands while demonstrating the advantages of forceps. CHARLES G. DAVIS Boise State University FRANCOIS ROUSTANG. The Quadrille of Gender: Casanova's Memoirs. Trans, by Anne C. Vila. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988. 163 p. Roustang offers a provocative analysis ofthe major components ofCasanova's life, emphasizing in particular his hesitation about the differences between the sexes and his fascination with superstitious practices. In chronological sequence Roustang develops the thesis that Casanova attempts to avoid guilt and responsibility for his actions by resorting to dissimulation and deceit and by ridiculing society and its laws in order to drain them of all force. Although Casanova gives the impression ofan unorganized text in The Story of My Life [Memoirs] because hé wished to present his work as the result of chance in a similar way to which he felt his life had been guided, Roustang convincingly contends that the writings have "a physiognomy of striking internal coherence" (2) and "obey calculated rules ofcomposition" (1). He raises Casanova from the level ofa lover to that of a writer worthy ofcritical attention. Roustang uses a classical format with a prelude, an introduction, and twelve chapters of approximate equal length whose titles cryptically capture the progressive thrust of the analysis. They are, in order, "Setting up the Love Scene," "The Perfect Alibi," "The Passage into Horror," "The Irresponsible Runaway," "The Disappearance of the Feminine," "A Uniform on a Whim," "By Magic," "Le Plus Honnête Homme au Monde," "The Quadrille," "The Most Powerful ofMen," "The End ofthe First Act," and "Social Order Through Incest." Interestingly, the two longest chapters are "By Magic," in which he fully carries out his role as a charlatan magician, and "The Quadrille," which highlights his obsession with sexual indiscriminacy and whose heading is borrowed by Roustang in the title of his work. It is in this latter chapter that Casanova completely reverses and confuses gender distinction. A foursome, of which he is a member, carries out a sexual relationship in which each plays changing parts. In this way he underscores his need for gender indeterminacy in order to protect himself and maintain his innocence. He is able to create a feeling of irresponsibility by making his actions the result offate and chance. Roustang succinctly captures Casanova's psyche when he concludes that "he has no sense ofthe tragic side ofexistence, never suspects the consequences of his actions, and certainly does not want to assume responsibility for them" (110). Book Reviews125 Roustang's analysis of the multiple liaisons described in the Memoirs is intelligent and precise. He clearly shows, for example, that the fusion of identities where males are disguised as females, females as males, and mothers as children, helps to absolve Casanova of culpability for he can not be held accountable if everything is uncertain and left to chance. Roustang frequently alludes to Casanova's role as a social revolutionary twisting laws and customs to meet his own needs. He highlights the constant leitmotif of the Memoirs which is that Casanova makes people laugh at authority and ridicules it without ever confronting it directly. Not only does Roustang arouse in the reader a growing interest in Casanova as a rebel, but he offers the rich potential ofunexplored depth in a persona whom many have previously dismissed as a mere lover, and nothing more. It is not until the penultimate chapter of the Memoirs, titled, "The End ofthe First Act," that Casanova finally recognizes himself to be nothing more than a con artist and his life metaphorically ends. He will never again be duped but will purposefully dupe others. Roustang observes that his "power over all women is merely a pale reflection of omnipotence" (133). His imagination is gone; the game is over. He abandons self-delusion and faces the influence of fatality over his life. This change is brought about by a certain Miss Charpillon whom he refers...