Les lettres de rupture dans Les Liaisons dangereuses de Laclos et Le Rouge et le Noir de Stendhal

These two novels present seduction letters where manipulation takes place at the levels of addressers and addressees, encoding and decoding. An analysis of ending letters (lettres de rupture! shows that de/mystification operates differently in both works. For women, asking for the end of a relationship is a mask imposed by society. On the other hand, Valmont's last letter to Mme de Tourvel reveals how powerless he has become while Julien's letter to Mathilde suggests his new freedom. Through these letters, Le Rouge et le Noir can be read as a liberation whereas Les Liaisons dangereuses portrays a world of increasing alienation. (In French) (SCW)