[Insert Clever Title Here]

< div align="left" dir="ltr" >Be gentle with me, dear readers, but I have a confession to make: I have read none of the Marquis de Sade’s obscenely famous (and famously obscene) works.

I know, I know. It’s really quite shameful.

To correct this sorry state of affairs, I have recently purchased a collection of four short stories by the marquis. And, with your indulgence, I would like to share with you my thoughts about the tales.

Think of it as a virtual book club – except all the participants are wearing leather underwear.

The first tale for review is “Augustine de Villeblanche, or Love’s Stratagem.” In it, a young man named Franville seduces Augustine, a cross-dressing lesbian who, in turn, seeks to catch naive, straight women unawares.

The hero of the story accomplishes this feat by pretending to be a crossing-dressing homosexual hunting for straight men. Franville then feigns disappointment when, at a costume ball, Augustine is revealed to be a woman.

Franville seduces Augustine by letting her seduce him. Why would she even try such a thing? Because he wants nothing to do with her, and it hurts her pride.

Observations:

* There are no whips or manacles in the story!

* But de Sade’s cruelty is present: Franville attempts to pass as a convincing woman by pairing up at the ball with his homely sister.

* The tale also contains an allegory, I think, about the disappointment straight men and women find in each other.

* Augustine voices a strong defense of homosexuality: It does not offend nature; pleasure and procreation need not go together; only fools mock those who are different.

The only thing that threw me off was the moralistic ending. Franville confesses his ruse, and Augustine repents her vain, unnatural pursuits.

WTF!?

I mean, wouldn’t it have been more in keeping with the general cynicism of the story if they just married and lived happily ever after?