Domination in Dangerous Liaisons

The movie "Dangerous Liasons" consists of a group of manipulative French aristocrats that decide that for their amusement they are going to destroy someone's virtue. Through these schemes we learn that the character of Marquise de Merteuil composed herself with masculine attributes to maintain dominance and manipulate others into acting in ways that would be most beneficial to her and in turn detrimental to them. Merteuil took on male attitude so that she could more effectively reach her goal, which is to embarrass Bastide, her ex-husband by destroying his wife to be Cecile de Volanges with the help of Vicomte de Valmonte. Vicomte and Merteuil act as agents and patients towards each other as well as everyone else.

During this time period women were idealized and represented as docile, and submissive while on the other hand men were to be seen as central and dominant. In order for Madame de Merteuil to maintain her status and to be able to show face within society she decided to take on these male characteristics so that she could become dominant like the men in the society that she lived in. Earlier analysis of this character proved that she could be seen as a metaphor for female domination. The creation of this new personality was with the goal of "dominating men and avenging her sex".

Although Merteuil is the principal controller in the movie her manipulative attributes are mirrored in Vicomte de Valmont. Both characters act as agents and push their own personal agendas at other characters who know nothing of their schemes. Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont both act as agents because they both want to cause a "change of state in the patient" (p 71). For Marquise de Merteuil the change in state is the loss of innocence and virtue of Cecile and for Valmont the change in state is to conquer Madame de Tourvel. The motor program used to carry out their plan is sexual intercourse. Both Marquise de Merteuil and