Dangerous Liaisons

Main Characters and Their Development

• Vicomte Sébastien de Valmont - a skilled seducer and manipulator, initially portrayed as an unscrupulous libertine. Throughout the novel, he undergoes a complex journey from a heartless socialite to a man capable of genuine feelings and suffering due to love.
• Marquise de Merteuil - a high-society woman, calculating and cold-blooded, who engages in intrigues alongside Valmont. Beneath her mask of indifference and control lie deep emotions and a capacity for passionate, albeit destructive, love.
• Madame de Tourvel - a paragon of virtue and morality. Throughout the novel, she undergoes a profound internal transformation, becoming a victim of Valmont's ruthless game, leading to her moral and physical decline.
• Cécile Volanges - a young and naive girl who is pressured by more experienced and manipulative characters. Her journey from innocence to the realization of the complexities of adult life is central to the novel's storyline.