Marquis de Sade

Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade (pronounced "saad"; June 2, 1740 – December 2, 1814), was a French aristocrat and writer of philosophy-laden and often violent pornography, as well as some strictly philosophical works; much of his writing was done while in prison. His name is the source of the word sadism.

Appraisal

Simone de Beauvoir and other writers have later attempted to locate traces of a radical freedom philosophy in de Sade's writings, preceding that of existentialism by some 150 years. The surrealists admired him as one of their precursors, and Guillaume Apollinaire called him "the freest spirit that has yet existed".

Related Topics:
Simone de Beauvoir - Freedom - Existentialism - Surrealists - Guillaume Apollinaire

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One of the essays in Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno's Dialectic of Enlightenment, deals with Juliette in relation to the philosophy of enlightenment.

Related Topics:
Max Horkheimer - Theodor Adorno - Dialectic of Enlightenment - Juliette - Enlightenment

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In Harlan Ellison's science fiction anthology, Dangerous Visions, Robert Bloch wrote a story entitled "A Toy For Juliette" whose title character was both named for and used techniques based on de Sade's works.

Related Topics:
Harlan Ellison - Science fiction - Anthology - Dangerous Visions - Robert Bloch

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