Les Liaisons Dangereuses, C

There is so much to talk about!!
I am really intrigued by the use of words as weapons. At first I thought La Marquise and Valemont were the only characters to employ them in this way, but now I've begun to think that all the characters do. The written word is how they express all their emotions and desires, but rarely, except in Cecile's case, are the words truly genuine. They usually serve the purpose the further the interests of the writer or mask true feelings. Valemont seeks to destroy his adversaries with his words and seduce an innocent woman, but this innocent woman may not be as faultless as we think, as she also uses words to reprimand Valemont and convince Madame Volanges of his kindness. Is she really just trying to convince herself? La Marquise seems to be in full control of her words at all times, and is trully remarkable in her ability to manipulate even her closest friends with her terribly subtle and terribly cruel language. In a culture were the "vraisemblable" dictates every aspect of public social interaction, the only resource for real action and movememt people have is through the written word. It creates a strange kind of passive force that I would like to explore but don't really have a clear idea about yet.
Also, on a side note, Valemont is so clever to displace the blame for his love of her onto la presidente. By citing her as the source and cause of his love, he marks her as the active force behind his shameful love. This is how he defeats her. This technique creates an interesting power play that give him complete control of her emotions under the pretense of giving himself and his fate up to her.