Women in French Studies

WOMEN IN FRENCH STUDIES Why Write as a Woman?: The Riccoboni-Laclos Correspondence The period between the 7th and the 10th of April 1782 saw the publication of an epistolary novel, Choderlos de Laclos's Liaisons dangereuses, which was to create a scandal.1 On April 14th, Marie Jeanne Riccoboni addressed her observations on Les Liaisons dangereuses to its author, initiating an exchange of letters between the two writers. Laclos included this correspondence in the 1787 edition of Lei Liaisons dangereuses. In light of the fact that these letters contain one of the few documents in which Laclos states his intention in writing this novel, they have often been commented upon by critics, who alternately use them to prove Laclos's moral purpose behind his infamous novel or to demonstrate the hypocritical self-serving bent of his argument. The part Riccoboni plays in the exchange of letters has been, for the most part, ignored. I am less interested in Laclos's ideological position than the fact that Riccoboni writes from the position of a woman, explicitly denying her critical expertise as an experienced, best-selling author. In this article I examine Riccoboni's curious choice of subject position and the underlying tensions perceived in the interstices of the writers' rhetoric and argumentation. In letter III, Riccoboni writes that it is as woman that she objects: C'est en qualité de femme, Monsieur, de Française, de patriote zélée pour l'honneur de ma nation, que j'ai senti mon coeur blessé du caractère de Madame de Merteuil. (?, 5) What does it mean for Riccoboni to object as a woman? Why not as an author? Why does she choose to write with a woman's pen and not with her authorial one? We need to look at this deliberate choice in light of Susan Lanser's explanation that 'female voice' is not an essence but a variable subject position whose "I" is grammatically feminine. The particular characteristics of any "female voice" then, are a function of the context in which the voice operates. (12) What exactly are these characteristics of the feminine voice and why does Riccoboni call upon them in this specific context? The private correspondence rendered public served as a meta-textual commentary that absolved Laclos from accusations of immoral writing without his having to directly issue an apologie of his work. The fact that the exchange involved Marie Riccoboni, a celebrated woman author of works in the style of the school of moral sentiment, is not insignificant. In writing to Riccoboni, Laclos stresses the moral value of his novel and indirectly draws upon her reputation as a writer. Riccoboni's refusal to admit any moral purpose to Les Liaisons dangereuses and denial that she addresses her criticisms as an author leads the two writers into circular argumentation that resembles a fencing match. Neither correspondent responds fully to the others' objections but rather 34 WOMEN IN FRENCH STUDIES parries them. Complicating the ever elusive line of reasoning in the correspondence is the question of gender which is as contradictory for Riccoboni as it is for Laclos. She writes as a woman but would redefine the term. He compliments Riccoboni as an author while treating her with coquetterie. Three aspects of these letters are of special importance: Riccoboni's objection to the novel, her refusal to be considered as a femme-auteur and Laclos's defense of his methods of characterization. She harks back to classical arguments employed in defense ofthe novelistic genre as a whole: Un écrivain distingué, comme M. de Laclos, doit avoir deux objets en se faisant imprimer, celui de plaire, et celui d'être utile. En remplir un, ce n'est pas assez pour un homme honnête.2 On n'a pas besoin de se mettre en garde contre des caractères qui ne peuvent exister, et j'invite M. de Laclos à ne jamais orner le vice des agréments qu'il a prêtés à Mme de Merteuil. (1,1) In response Laclos counters Riccoboni's charge ofinvraisemblance: M. de L. commence par féliciter Mme R. de ne pas croire à l'existence des femmes méchantes et dépravées...