The Life and Times Of The Marquis De Sade, The Man 'Sadism' Was Named After

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Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, or the Marquis de Sade, became well-known for his depraved sexual proclivities. The French aristocrat was a philosopher and prolific writer who penned erotic works featuring rape, incest, violence, and blasphemy - the majority of which he wrote during the 30-plus years he spent in prison. His name even helped coin the words "sadist" and "sadism" (meaning to derive sexual pleasure from causing others pain).

While he certainly had a penchant for painful, illegal, and immoral sex practices, Sade did eventually get married. He even had three children with his wife, though he cheated on her numerous times with a variety of people - prostitutes, men, and even his sister-in-law. If you can think of it, Sade probably either did it or wrote about it (probably both). While you may have heard about Sade's more shocking exploits, here are some other facts about his life you may not know.

He Was A Victim Of Corporal Punishment In School



Sade’s uncle was the one who introduced the then six-year-old boy to debauchery, which is defined as “the extreme indulgence in bodily pleasures and especially sexual pleasures.” When Sade returned to Paris to attend school at age 10, his continued misdeeds resulted in corporal punishment and lead to his discovery of flagellation, which is “a masochistic or sadistic act in which the participants receive erotic stimulation from whipping or being whipped.” From then on, Sade became obsessed with the practice.


His First Arrest Did Not Stop Him From Seeking Pleasure Through Pain



During one of his early sexual romps, he used crosses to sodomize a prostitute, an act that was repulsive to most people. After she reported him to the police, he was arrested; however, he was soon released and went on to continue his deviant behavior.


At Age 70 He Taught His 13-Year-Old Girlfriend How To Read



Sade began an intimate relationship with an insane asylum worker, Magdeleine Leclerc, when she was just 13 and he was 70. Their relationship lasted four years, until his death. Sade kept copious notes about the relationship, and he even recorded specific information about their 57th sexual rendezvous. In addition to a physical relationship with the teenager, he also indicated that he was teaching her how to read and write.


He Was Forced Into Exile Over An Incident With A Chambermaid



During one particularly gruesome incident, Sade had a rendezvous with a chambermaid in which he cut her and dripped hot wax into the wounds. Sade’s family paid off the girl's family so she wouldn’t press charges against him; however, the incident was so embarrassing that Sade was sent into isolation. Then, only four years later he continued his sexual pursuits with with four prostitutes and included his manservant. Despite the fact that sodomy was nothing new to noble folk, the immensity of Sade’s behavior reached a tipping point, and he was exiled to Italy.


His Most Meaningful Relationship Didn’t Involve Sex



At some point, Sade met a woman named Marie-Constance Quesnet, who had left her husband with her son, Charles. The pair hit it off, had a platonic relationship, and even lived together for some time. Sade served as a father figure for Charles, and Marie-Constance worked to support the three of them. She remained by Sade’s side and willingly set up a room next to his when he was admitted to the asylum, where she remained until his death in 1814.


His Handwritten Scroll For 120 Days of Sodom Sold For Nearly $8 Million



Sade’s novel, 120 Days of Sodom, covers sexual depravity, pedophilia, rape, and even murder, and has historically been banned because of its obscene content. Gérard Lhéritier, the president and founder of Aristophil - a company that specializes in gathering rare manuscripts - purchased the scroll for an equivalent of $7.8 million in US dollars.


He Had Temper Tantrums As A Child



When the Marquis de Sade was young, his father (a diplomat in the court of Louis XV) abandoned him and his mother, and as a result she moved into a convent. There, Sade became very spoiled and acted out toward those around him. One time, he even beat up a French prince so badly that as punishment he was sent to live instead with his uncle, an abbot, in the south of France.


He Died As An Obese, Penniless, Social Outcast In An Insane Asylum



While in prison, Sade was accused of trying to molest the other prisoners near his cell. As a result, he was transferred to another prison and eventually to an insane asylum called Charenton so that he wouldn’t have to stand public trial over his purported pornographic works. While at Charenton, he wrote a 10-volume erotic novel, Les Journées de Florbelle ou la nature dévoilée, which was promptly seized by police when they searched his room. Since he had little to do with his time besides eat, write, and pleasure himself, he ended up gaining an incredible amount of weight. He also had problems with his eyes and was convinced that his mother-in-law had bribed the guards to poison his food. Sade died obese, poor, and ostracized in 1814 at the age of 74 following a brief illness.


He Spent Around 30 Years In Prison



Over the years, Sade served a total of nearly 30 years in prison. Having plenty of time to think while behind bars, Sade spent the majority of his time writing, completing a total of 15 manuscripts including Justine and 120 Days of Sodom. It took him just over a month to finish the latter manuscript. He hid the scroll in his cell where a later guard found it before the Bastille was destroyed in 1789.


He Bonded With A Catholic Priest Turned Therapist



The director of the Charenton asylum was François Simonet de Coulmier, former Abbe de Coulmier and a pioneer of psychotherapy. He supported the movement toward replacing punishment and imprisonment with treatment and therapy. He was a proponent of the arts and encouraged Sade to enrich other people’s lives in the asylum by directing plays and having patients perform them for visitors. Coulmier also gave Sade writing materials and allowed his wife to live next to him at the asylum.


He Married For Financial Reasons



Sade’s sexual appetites were difficult to satisfy and he spent a lot of his time sleeping with prostitutes, much to the dismay of his father who wanted his son to marry a wealthy woman. When the Sades began struggling financially, Sade married the daughter of a rich government official, Renée-Pélagie de Montreuil. But Renee wasn’t enough for him and it wasn't long before Sade started renting rooms in order to fulfill his sexual pleasures.


His Mother-In-Law Was Responsible For Sending Him To Prison



Thanks to his mother-in-law, Mademoiselle de Montreuil, Sade was incarcerated through a lettre de cachet - an order for imprisonment sent by the king. During his time in prison, Sade wrote two of his most famous works, Justine and 120 Days of Sodom. Finally, his saving grace came in the form of the French Revolution when he was released by the new regime. However, his freedom didn’t last long - once Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power, Sade was re-imprisoned and then sent to an asylum.


He Helped Make Hospitals Better For Patients



When Sade was elected president of the Pike Section of Paris, one of his jobs was to review hospitals' sanitation practices. At this time, patients were made to share beds, but Sade took strides to make sure patients were given their own beds so they didn’t have to share with someone who was sick. He also ensured that administrators improved their hospitals, making them safer for the sick. Sade’s other duties as president of the Pike Sections included renaming the streets of Paris, acting as a night watchman, and reading eulogies.


He Had Three Children



Sade and his wife had three children: Louis-Marie de Sade, Madeline Laure de Sade, and Donatien Claude Armand de Sade. Madeline lived and died in a convent; Louis-Marie, Sade's favorite, was killed in an ambush while serving in Napoleon’s army in 1809; and his wife later died at her family's estate in Normandy. When Sade died, his remaining son, Donatien, insisted that all of his father’s unpublished manuscripts be burned. But according to Sade’s descendent, Hugues de Sade, Sade loved his family and “wrote touching love letters to his wife, his two sons, his daughter.”


He Opposed The Death Penalty



Sade is quoted as saying: “The law which attempts a man's life [capital punishment] is impractical, unjust, inadmissible. It has never repressed crime - for a second crime is every day committed at the foot of the scaffold.” Interestingly, Sade didn't have a problem with murder, per say, but he opposed the death penalty, believe that killing a man in passion was more acceptable than using the law to put someone to death.


There Are Plans For A Victoria’s Secret Marquis De Sade Lingerie Line



One of Sade’s descendants, Hugues de Sade, is profiting off of his infamous ancestor’s name. He started a line of luxury goods called Maison de Sade, which includes wine and scented candles. He told Smithsonian magazine in 2015: “The Marquis de Sade was a great gourmand. He adored fine wine, chocolate, quail, pâté, all the delicacies of Provence.” He added that he plans on expanding the business and was even in the early stages of creating a line of Sade lingerie for Victoria’s Secret.