Male Models: Galanterie and Libertinage in La Fayette and Laclos

Critics acknowledge Choderlos de Laclos’s debt to Madame de La Fayette. However, point-by-point comparisons and contrasts between Les liaisons dangereuses (1782) and La Princesse de Clèves (1678) are often lacking. This article focuses on character and plot development as the chief markers of this connection. Portraits of the male galant in La Fayette and the male libertine in Laclos demonstrate the affinity between the two works while illustrating how seduction inherent in galanterie transforms into destruction intrinsic to libertinage.