Abstract
The relationship that develops between reader and author can last over time, reshaping itself according to the sensitivities of different eras and personal evolution. Chantal Thomas's lifelong relationship with the Marquis de Sade has taken different forms: intimate discovery in the 1960s, critical interpretation in her thesis directed by Roland Barthes, historical recontextualization and rediscovery through his correspondence.
This journey of reading and thinking is both a confidence and a polymorphous picture of the writer, his work and his place in literary history. From Flaubert to the Surrealists, from Barthes to Pasolini, many artists have drawn inspiration from Sade: while his violence and cruelty make his lectures formidable, his work testifies to a rare stylistic perfection and underpins the search for a liberatory movement and ontological rebellion that have been fundamental to history.
