Rousseau And Sade: A Comparative Analysis

The Age of Enlightenment in the 1700’s brought forth a wave of philosophies that sought to explain a range of ideals. One popular topic of authors in this period was that of the sexes, and the difference between the two. Jean-Jacque Rousseau and Marquis de Sade held opposing beliefs; the former alleged that men and women are innately different, and the latter that they are the same, both naming nature as the reason. In his writing Duties of Women, Rousseau claims that men and woman are different based on their sense of morality (or lack thereof), roles in the process of reproduction, and social obligations to others. In Sade’s Dialogue the Fifth of Philosophy in the Bedroom, he contests that both men and women naturally have no sense of morality, engage in sexual activity only for pleasure, and have no obligation of loyalty to anyone besides oneself. Comparing the two philosophies, Rousseau’s claim that women and men are …show more content…
He contends that inherently, women are wanton where men are honorable, women are permanently ruled by their sex while men have leeway, and women must be submissive to her children, husband, and the public while men have no such restrictions. However, once these arguments are truly considered, it’s evident that they are both self-contradictory and conflicting with the values of nature. After it is realized that all the constraints put forth by Rousseau are strictly social, set in place to secure the superior standing of one sex, Sade’s urgings become much more accurate to what is truthfully natural. Sade’s belief in the pursuit of pleasure with no regard for consequences would likely devolve the world into chaos if the mindset was adopted by all, which only strengthens his argument as nature in itself is chaos. When the true origin of the separation of sexes is contemplated, there is no fundamental variance between the two, only that which is