The 120 Days of Sodom - Marquis De Sade [240]
Detail the departure. And throughout the whole, introduce a quantity of moral dissertation and diatribe, above all at the suppers.
When you produce the final version, keep a notebook; in it you will place the names of all the principal characters and the names of all those who play important roles, such as they who have several passions and who will appear several times in the romance, as, for example, the hell libertine; leave a wide margin beside their names and, as you recopy, fill it with everything you come across that has any bearing upon them; this note is very essential, it is the sole way to keep your work clear of obscurities and to avoid repetitions.
Edulcorate Part The First, it is much too strong; things develop too rapidly and too far in it, it cannot possibly be too soft, mild, feeble, subdued. Above all, never have the four friends do anything until it has first been recounted. You have not been sufficiently scrupulous in that connection.
In Part The First, say that the man who mouth-fucks the little girl prostituted by her father is the same man, of whom she has already spoken, who fucks with a dirty prick.
Do not forget to place somewhere in December the scene of the little girls serving supper, squirting liqueurs from their asses into Messieurs' glasses; you announced such a scene but failed to include it in the plan.
SUPPLEMENTARY TORTURES
- By means of a hollow tube, a mouse is introduced into her cunt, the tube is withdrawn, the cunt sewn up, and the animal, unable to get out, devours her entrails.
- She is made to swallow a snake which in similar wise feeds upon her entrails.
ADDENDA
In general, describe Curval and the Duc as two hot-blooded and imperious scoundrels, 'tis thus you conceived them in the plan and in Part The First, and figure the Bishop as a cool, reasoning and tough-minded villain. As for Durcet, he must be mischievous, a teaser, false, traitorous, perfidious. In accordance with which, have them do everything that conforms with such characters.
Carefully recapitulate all the names and the qualities of all the personages your storytellers mention; this to avoid repetition.
Upon one page in your notebook of characters draw the plan of the chвteau, room by room, and in the blank space next to this page, itemize all the things done in each room.
This entire great roll was begun the 22nd of October, 1785, and finished in thirty-seven days.
MISTAKES I HAVE MADE*
I have been too explicit, not sufficiently reticent, about the chapel activities at the beginning; must not elaborate upon them until after the stories in which they are mentioned.
Said too much about active and passive sodomy; conceal that until the stories have discussed it.
I was wrong to have made Duclos react strongly to the death of her sister; that doesn't sort with the rest of her character; change it.
If I said Aline was a virgin upon arrival at the chвteau, that was an error: she isn't, and could not be. The Bishop has depucelated her in every sector.
And not having been able to reread all this, there must be a swarm of other mistakes.
When later I put the text in final order, I must be particularly careful to have a notebook beside me at all times; I'll have to put down very exact mention of each happening and each portrait as I write it; otherwise, I'll get horribly confused because of the multitude of characters.
For the Second Part, begin with the assumption Augustine and Zephyr are already sleeping in the Duc's bedchamber in the First Part; likewise Adonis and Zelmire in Curval's, Hyacinthe and Fanny in Durcet's, Celadon and Sophie in the Bishop's, even though none of them has been deflowered yet. * As Sade notes, the speed with which he wrote the final draft of The 120 Days, and because he was unable to reread and correct his manuscript, resulted in a number of minor discrepancies in dates, characters, and situations, which the careful reader will doubtless discover. None the less, given the large cast of characters, and the complexity of rules and procedures, his accuracy of detail