Madame de Sade is a 1965 play written by Yukio Mishima. It was first published in English, translated by Donald Keene by Grove Press and is currently out of print.
Madame de Sade is a historical fiction play written by Mishima Yukio and published in 1965. The play is based on the life of Renée de Sade (née Pelagie), the wife of the notorious Marquis de Sade. It details the struggles of Renée, her family, and acquaintances during the Marquis' various periods of incarceration. All the onstage characters are female. After reading about Marquis and Madame de Sade, Mishima questioned why Renée waited until the Marquis was finally let out of prison to leave him.
In March 2009 London's Donmar Warehouse staged a production at Wyndhams Theatre directed by Michael Grandage. It starred Rosamund Pike (in the title role) and Judi Dench as her mother, Madame De Montreuil. Frances Barber, Deborah Findlay, Jenny Galloway and Fiona Button co-starred.
Judi Dench was forced to miss several performances after she tripped over the stage-doors and severely sprained her ankle and thus her understudy, Marjorie Hayward, took over the role. When Dench did return four days after the injury, she performed with a walking stick.
Characters
RENEE, the Marquise de Sade
MADAME DE MONTREUIL, Renée's Mother
ANNE, Renée's younger sister
BARONESSE DE SIMIANE
COMTESSE DE SAINT-FOND
CHARLOTTE, Madame de Montreuil's housekeeper
(Madame de Sade, p. iii)
Characters
According to Mishima, every character is symbolic of some form of human nature, thus the play functions as an allegory. He describes them as follows. Madame de Sade (Renée) represents wifely devotion; Madame de Montreuil is law, society, and morality, Anne (Renée's younger sister) shows feminine guilelessness and lack of principles; Madame de Simaine for religion; Madame de Saint-Fond for carnal desires, and Charlotte (the house keeper) for the common people.(pg. 107 Author's Postface Madame de Sade)
Plot
Act one
The first act takes place at the salon in Paris, France at Madame de Montreuil's house, in Autumn of 1772. In this act we are introduced to all the characters and are given a glimpse at their personalities. Act One is also the first and only act where all six characters appear on the stage, (Baronesse de Simiane is absent from Act Two, and Comtesse de Saint-Fond is absent from Act Three). The scene opens with Simiane and Saint-Fond waiting in the saloon after being summoned by Madame de Montreuil. We soon learn that Montreuil has asked them to her home for a favor. She asks them to use their influences to get her son-in-law, the Marquis de Sade, out of prison. Both ladies pledge their help, Simiane using her influential contacts in the church and Saint-Fond her web of lovers and bed fellows.
Soon Renee arrives and we learn that the Marquis has escaped from prison and been on the run for a few months. After a brief discussion the Comtesse and Baronesse excuse themselves, leaving Renee and her mother to discuss the matter of the Marquis. Renée begs her mother to save her husband from imprisonment and the pair get in an argument. Montreuil demands to know the location of the Marquis but Renee denies having any knowledge of his whereabouts. The argument ends when the stress takes its toll on Renee and she grows faint.
As Montreuil and Renee leave the stage, Anne the sister and Charlotte the house keeper enter the scene. Anne appears to be expressing an unwillingness to see her sister to Charlotte right before her mother walks back on stage. Anne reveals that she has just returned from a trip to Venice, Italy with a friend she does not immediately name. Upon further probing by her mother she reveals her travelling companion to be none other than her brother-in-law the Marquis de Sade. Anne then proceeds to tell her mother that she was having an affair with the Marquis and that Renee knew of both the affair and the Marquis' location.
After stumbling on the news of her son-in-law's infidelity with Anne Montreuil is outraged. After getting Anne to divulge the Marquis' location Montreuil immediately has Charlotte write three letters. The first two are to Comtesse de Saint-Fond and Baronesse de Simiane telling them to cease their endeavors on de Sade's behalf; the third letter is to the King of France. Montreuil prepares to have the letters delivered and Act One ends.
