Pornography: Men Possessing Women, by: Andrea ... - Feminish

mistake, did not live to rectify it: he was assassinated by CharlotteCorday.Toward the end of 1793, Sade was imprisoned. T he charge wasthat in 1791 he had volunteered to serve the king. Sade insisted thathe had thought the regiment in which he had volunteered to servewas loyal to the revolution. He remained in prison and in July 1794was sentenced to death. T he administration of the prisons was soinefficient that Sade could not be found. H e was not executed.Later that same month, Robespierre was executed, and the T errorended. Tw o months later, Sade was released.In 1800, Napoleon came to power. In March 1801, Sade wasagain arrested, this time for authoring obscene literature (Justine,published in part in 1791 and in a new version in 1797; and Juliette,published in 1797). Except for his imprisonment for antirevolutionaryactivity in 1793, all Sade’s imprisonment in France up to thispoint (he was sixty) had been for committing brutal crimes againstpersons. Sade was imprisoned by administrative order. He deniedthat he had authored either Justine or Juliette and particularlydenounced Justine as filth. H e was imprisoned at Sainte-Pelagie fortwo years, during which time he sexually assaulted other prisoners.As a result of his assaultive behavior in Sainte-Pelagie and becauseof a change in policy that separated the treatm ent of criminals fromthe treatm ent of the insane, Sade was transferred to Bicete, anasylum. H e had been there for forty-four days when, on the basis ofan appeal by his sons, he was transferred to Charenton, whereliving conditions were considerably better—his especially, since hisfamily paid the institution handsomely for his room and board.Marie-Constance Renelle was allowed to live at Charenton withhim. Sade was also permitted to produce expensive theatricalevents, which were open to the public.Several attempts were made to have Sade transferred back toprison, since medical opinion was that he was a criminal, not amadman. But Sade was useful to the head of Charenton, especiallyas director of drama. Sade stayed at Charenton until he died in 1814at the age of seventy-four. In the last year or two of his life, stillcohabiting with Renelle, he had an affair with Madeleine Leclerc,