Moral Cupidity and Lettres de cachet in Diderot’s Writing

Taylor & Francis

This volume explores the influence of the lettre de cachet on both Diderot\u2019s personal life and his works, beginning with an examination of Diderot\u2019s experience as recipient of two such arrest warrants, followed by an analysis of his references to these warrants in three of his fictional works, Le P\u00E8re de famille, Jacques le fataliste and Est-il bon? Est-il m\u00E9chant?. A scrutiny of Diderot\u2019s m\u00E9moire/lettre novel La Religieuse proposes that, on the basis of moral cupidity, or self-gain, Madame Simonin sends her daughter Suzanne two veiled lettres de cachet that demand her confinement to a convent. The exploration of a fascinating real-life case of Henriette-\u00C9milie de Bautru, a young comtesse whose mother confined her to a convent as a result of a lettre de cachet also based on motives of greed, leads to an examination of the similarities between Suzanne and the Comtesse in terms of their illegitimacy, questioning of authority and subsequent rebellion. .