The complete lover Book

Sentiment and sentimental education are central themes in French novels of the 18th century. However, what do these fictions really say about the art and practice of love? What part should the emotions--or the intellect--play in sexual relationships? Will the lover find fulfillment in sophisticated urban society, or in the natural world? Is a man's approach different from a woman's? This study looks at these questions and tracks the pursuit of eros through such works as Crébillon's Les Egarements du coeur et de l'esprit, Prévost's Manon Lescaut, Rousseau's La Nouvelle Héloïse, Diderot's La Religieuse, and Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Goodden considers the interplay between love and friendship, the portrayal of beauty, and the rhetoric of passion, to show that the dual character of the 18th century is reflected in the lover who becomes complete by allowing reason to guide sentiment.