Château de Silling  

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

"A remote and isolated retreat, as if silence, distance, and stillness were libertinage's potent vehicles."--The 120 Days of Sodom (1785|1904) by Marquis de Sade

Related e

Wikipedia
Wiktionary
Shop


Featured:

Château de Silling or Château de Silliny is the fictional castle featured in Marquis de Sade's novel The 120 Days of Sodom. It has become an exemplary pornotopia.

In the 120 Days of Sodom four wealthy perverts lock themselves in, along with a number of victims and accomplices. They intend on listening to various tales of depravity from four veteran prostitutes, which will inspire them to engage in similar activities with their victims.

When the four are going to Silling, they destroy the bridges that allows them access the castle:

Durcet qui avait allé au devant d’eux fit couper le pont de la montagne sitôt qu’ils furent passés

English translation:

"Immediately they crossed it, Durcet had the bridge cut."

Once they are there, it is described as the perfect place for libertinage:

"une retraite écartée et solitaire comme si le silence, l’éloignement et la tranquillité était le véhicule puissant du libertinage"

English translation:

"a remote and isolated retreat, as if silence, distance, and stillness were libertinage's potent vehicles."

And inside, they wall the gates shut to barricade themselves completely.

" il fallait dis-je, faire murer toutes les portes par lesquelles on pénétrait dans l’intérieur, et s’enfermer absolument dans la place comme dans une citadelle assiégée sans laisser la plus petite issue, soit à l’ennemi soit au déserteur … on se barricada à tel point qu’il ne devenait même pas plus possible de reconnaître où avaient été les portes, et on s’établit dans le dedans."

English translation:

"…it were necessary … to have walled shut all the gates, and all the passages whereby the château might be penetrated, and absolutely to enclose themselves inside their retreat as within a besieged citadel, without leaving the least entrance to an enemy, the least egress to a deserter. … They barricade themselves to such an extent there was no longer any trace of where the exits had been; and they settled down comfortably inside."





Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Château de Silling" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

Personal tools