Justine (Sade) 915288 212815308 2008-05-16T11:46:44Z SJK 1228 {{Infobox Book | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --> | name = Justine | image = <!--prefer 1st edition--> | image_caption = | title_orig = Les Infortunes de la Vertu | translator = Pieralessandro Casavini | author = The [[Marquis de Sade]] | country = [[France]] | language = [[French language|French]] | genre = [[Gothic Novel]], [[Erotica]], Classics | publisher = [[J. V. Girouard]] | release_date = 1791 | media_type = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] & [[Paperback]]) | pages = | isbn = NA <!-- first published before ISBN system started --> | followed_by = '''''[[L'Histoire de Juliette|Juliette]]''''' }} '''''Justine''''' (or ''The Misfortunes of Virtue'', or several other titles: see below) is a classic erotic novel by Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the [[Marquis de Sade]]. There is no standard edition of this text in hardcover, having passed into the [[public domain]]. The text itself is often incorporated into various collections of De Sade's work. ==History of the work== ''Justine'' (original [[French language|French]] title '''''Les infortunes de la vertu''''') was an early work by the [[Marquis de Sade]], written in two weeks in [[1787]] while imprisoned in the [[Bastille]]. It is a [[novella]] (187 pages) with relatively little of the [[obscenity]] which characterized his later writing as it was written in the classical style (which was fashionable at the time), with much verbose and metaphorical description. A much extended and more graphic version, entitled ''Justine ou Les Malheurs de la vertu'' (1791) (English title: ''Justine, or Good Conduct Well Chastised'' or simply ''Justine'') was the first of Sade's books to be published. A further extended version ''La Nouvelle Justine ou Les Malheurs de la vertu'' was published in [[1797]]. It was accompanied by a continuation, ''[[L'Histoire de Juliette|Juliette]]'' about Justine's sister. The two together formed 10 volumes of nearly 4000 pages in total; publication was completed in [[1801]]. This final version, ''La Nouvelle Justine'', departed from the first-person narrative of the previous two versions, and included around 100 engravings. [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon Bonaparte]] ordered the arrest of the anonymous author of ''Justine'' and ''Juliette'', and as a result Sade was incarcerated for the last 13 years of his life. Napoleon called ''Justine'' "the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination". A censored English translation was issued in the USA by the Risus Press in the early 1930s. The first [[unexpurgated]] English translation (by 'Pieralessandro Casavini', a pseudonym for [[Austryn Wainhouse]]) was published by the [[Olympia Press]] in 1953. Wainhouse later revised this translation for publication in the United States by [[Grove Press]]. Other versions currently in print, notably the Wordsworth edition, are abridged and heavily censored. ==Plot introduction== ''Justine'' is set just before the French Revolution in France and tells the story of a young woman who goes under the name of Therese. Her story is recounted to Madame de Lorsagne while defending herself for her crimes, en route to punishment and death. She explains the series of misfortunes which have led her to be in her present situation. ==Plot summary== The plot concerns Justine, a 12-year-old maiden ("As for Justine, aged as we have remarked, twelve"...) who sets off, impecunious, to make her way in [[France]]. It follows her until age 26, in her quest for virtue. At every turn she is presented with [[vice]] and abuse, hidden under a [[virtue|virtuous]] mask that lures her. The unfortunate situations include the time when she seeks refuge and [[confession]] in a [[monastery]], but is forced to become a sex-slave to the monks, who subject her to countless [[orgy|orgies]], [[rape]]s and other abuses. When helping a gentleman who is robbed in a field, he takes her back to his [[chateau]] with promises of a post caring for his wife, but she is then confined in a cave and subject to much the same punishment. These punishments are mostly the same throughout, even when she goes to a [[judge]] to beg for mercy in her case as an arsonist, and then finds herself openly humiliated in court, unable to defend herself. These are, of course, described in true Sadean form. However, unlike some of his other works, the novel is not just a catalogue of [[Sadism and Masochism|sadism]]. Rather it purports to show, albeit in a hideously extreme way, an inversion of [[poetic justice]]: how those who live a life of vice prosper, whilst the virtuous suffer. The story is told by "Therese" in an inn, to Madame de Lorsagne. It is finally revealed that Madame de Lorsagne is her long lost sister. The irony is that her sister submitted to a brief period of vice and found herself a comfortable existence where she could exercise good, while Justine refused to make concessions for the greater good and was plunged further into vice than those who would go willingly. The story ends with Madame de Lorsagne relieving her from a life of vice and clearing her name. Strangely though, Justine quickly becomes introverted and morose, before finally being struck by a thunderbolt and killed instantly. Madame de Lorsagne joins a religious order. ==Major themes== De Sade was strongly involved in both the development of his own philosophies (which later became many of the principles of sadism) and an investigation into the changing nature of his country. As, later in life, he became very involved in politics and became a member of the [[National Convention]], we can see many of his ideas introduced in this, one of his earlier works. '''Key [[philosophical]] ideas as follows:''' * going against accepted tradition * the subjectivity of virtue and vice * the pursuit of desire and the consequences of it * the evils of absolutism for either the purposes of good or evil * Nature, as being the only true ruler of man * The notion of Reason as dominating disinterested system '''The more [[political]] ideas focus on:''' * the hierarchy and inequalities within a class system * the corruption of the church, the justice system and most major institutions * the respective roles of the sexes * the necessity of reliance upon others (appropriate as De Sade advocated a form of [[utopia]]n [[socialism]], at least later in life) ==Quotation== A quotation from the last paragraph of the book: <blockquote>"May you...be persuaded that true happiness lies in virtue alone and that, though [[God]] allows goodness to be persecuted on earth, it is with no other end than to prepare us for a better reward in [[heaven]]."</blockquote> ==Contemporary reference== ''Justine'' was written around 30 years after [[Samuel Richardson]]'s ''[[Pamela (novel)|Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded]]'', and the thematic influence is clear. The story is quite related in terms of the endless trials which face each heroine, but with the opposite results. While Pamela's unwavering dedication to virtue does force her to suffer the threat of some vices, and confinement similar to that which befalls Justine, she is eventually successful in reforming Mr B. and becoming his wife. She then leads a life of prosperity and happiness. In 1793, the rival writer [[Rétif de la Bretonne]] published his ''[[Anti Justine]]''. ==Film, TV or theatrical adaptations== The story has been adapted for film several times, most notably in a [[1969]] international co-production directed by [[Jesus Franco]] and starring [[Jack Palance]], [[Romina Power]], and [[Klaus Kinski]] as the Marquis, titled ''[[Marquis de Sade: Justine]]''. There has also been a [[graphic novel]] version by [[Guido Crepax]]. In the motion picture ''[[Breaking the Waves]]'', the director and script writer [[Lars Von Trier]] based the character of Bess McNeill upon the story of Justine.{{Fact|date=June 2007}} ==See also== * [[Gothic novel]] == External links == {{wikisource-lang|fr|La_Nouvelle_Justine,_ou_les_Malheurs_de_la_vertu|Complete text of the final 1797 version}} * [http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/Justine/ ''Justine or Good Conduct Well Chastised'', 1791], online e-book. * [http://desade.free.fr/justine/justine.html Complete text of the 1791 edition, in the original French]. * [http://lib.ru/INOOLD/DESAD/juli1.txt Full Russian translation of the final 1797 version]. * [http://www.sade-ecrivain.com/justine/justine.html Justine] (fr) * [http://web.archive.org/web/20021207000736/http://www.monsieurlesix.be/history/engravings.html Engravings from the 1789 Dutch edition] {{DEFAULTSORT:Justine}} [[Category:Novels by the Marquis de Sade]] [[Category:1791 novels]] [[Category:1797 novels]] [[Category:Obscenity controversies]] [[Category:Novellas]] [[de:Justine]] [[es:Justina o los infortunios de la virtud]] [[fa:ژوستین (رمان)]] [[fr:Justine ou les Malheurs de la vertu]] [[gl:Justine ou les Malheurs de la vertu]] [[it:Justine o le disavventure della virtù]] [[ja:美徳の不幸]] [[zh:瑞斯丁娜,或喻美德的不幸]]