Sexual Violence Deconstructed: Simone de Beavoir, Angela Carter and Rikki Ducornet Investigate Sade

Abstract: The complex universe created by Sade has conditioned the Western imagination in such a way that his figure has been vindicated by the different aesthetic and philosophical perspectives inhabiting the last century. Due to his potential of transgression Sade has become a cultural icon with some relevance for the evolution of feminism in the last decades. It is the purpose of this article to draw a critical line starting with the masculine tradition and analyzing later the different feminist rewritings that begins with Beauvoir’s revision (1955), followed by the essay The Sadeian Woman (1979) by Angela Carter, ending with Rikki Ducornet’’s The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition. A Novel of the Marquis deSade (1999).Resumen: El complejo universo creado por Sade ha condicionado de tal forma el imaginario occidental que su figura sigue siendo reivindicada desde las múltiples perspectivas filosóficas y estéticas que sustentan el pensamiento del siglo XX. Debido a su enorme potencial de trasgresión este escritor pornográfico ha sido un icono cultural significativo en la evolución del feminismo durante las últimas décadas. Es el propósito de este artículo trazar una línea crítica partiendo de la tradición masculina con el objeto de analizar las diferentes reescrituras realizadas por feministas que comienza con el estudio de Beauvoir (1955), seguido del ensayo The Sadeian Woman (1979) de Angela Carter, terminando con The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition. A Novel of the Marquis de Sade (1999) de la norteamericana Rikki Ducornet.