Deadly Desires

Julie Lokis-Adkins

Preface , Introduction , Historical Background , Widowhood and nineteenth-century culture , Rachilde, widowhood, and the fin-de-siècle , Sex, gender, and perversion in the Decadent text , Monsieur Vénus , The construction of decorative fantasy: premarital desire , Monstrous sexualities , The eroticism of death , La Marquise De Sade , The birth of a female sadomasochist , The foundations of masochism , The dawn of sadism , Marriage: autonomy or imprisonment? , Widowhood: self-imposed or inescapable fate? , La Jongleuse , Black and white: vulnerability or a sign of power? , Performing autonomy: the widowed woman as fantasy , The whore’s dress: blatant display of female sexuality , Final masquerade: birth of sexual freedom in death , Conclusion