It is the year 1432 in France. A 12-year-old boy, who remains anonymous to this day, is hung by the neck on a metal a hook in the castle of a recognizable stranger. His innocent body shakes as he looks to pull himself upwards while gasping for some air. He gags continuously and chokes on his blood, which now accumulates below his feet. Approaching him is a proud man of great elegance and beauty. He has bob-like hair and a short trimmed bear and mustache (Wolf). Surrounding the man is a group of tight knit men what seem to be the man’s accomplices that have led the boy there (Wolf). The man then undresses hesitantly below and openly shows his erectile state. He grabs the boy and rapes him aggressively throbbing back and forth (Wolf). When he is done being pleasured he brings down the child and consoles him from what has happened. Near death the man once again rapes him and later kills him (Wolf).
The following account is only the first of many hundreds that are about to be committed under one man. His name, which had been held in the hearts of the French people for years, would now become the incarnation of all that is evil and impure in this world. After eight years of torture, sodomy, and killing, Gilles de Rais would finally stand to confess countless murders, his motives, and acts through how they took place. His actions, however, would be the result of several influences that shaped his life. These influences focus on his childhood upbringing, involvement with warfare, homosexuality, and French society. All help justify de Rais’ murders and his sadistic nature of a serial killer.
There can be many excuses one uses to justify a single murder. Some may blame self-defense, an act of vengeance, or even an accident. A serial k...
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...he dozens and the rate of disappearances of children was not something made up. Gilles was most likely involved in most of those crimes although some may have been exaggerated. Today, Gilles is considered a legendary, infamous figure whose life is considered to be the inspiration of the story of Bluebeard (Wolf).
Works Cited
[1] Gribben, Mark. "GILLES DE RAIS — Castle of Horrors — Crime Library on TruTV.com." TruTV.com: Not Reality. Actuality. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .
[2] Tian, Stan. "The Emotional Effects of War on Soldiers." Health Guidance - Free Health Articles. Web. 03 Apr. 2011. .
[3] Wolf, Leonard. Bluebeard, the Life and Crimes of Gilles De Rais. New York, NY: C.N. Potter, 1980. Print.
Not long after Dianne Lavigne’s murder on June 26th 1997, the perpetrators began to receive the penalties of their actions. Stephane Gagne, who was a shooter in both murders, was arrested on December 5th 1997. He pleaded guilty to Dianne’s murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He cut a deal with the prosecution where he received 140$ a month for privileges in prison and 400$ a month for his son. In exchange, he agreed to be the main witness for the first-degree murder trail against “Mom” Boucher for both murders in 2002 . Tousignant, who was the second shooter in the murder, was told by Boucher to lay low. Instead, he got involved in a drunken argument at a saloon that raised concerns of him being a loose cannon. Boucher took precautions to ensure that he would not be another snitch used in his trial and on December 6th of 1997 called “Touts” in. He was later found February 7th 1998 near Bromont fingerless and scorched with several bullet wounds . Boucher was first tried in 1998 for masterminding the assassinations a...
The notion of Bertrande de Rols in The Wife of Martin Guerre as having good intentions suggests not only that she was mindful of her own feelings in her pursuit of the truth, but also of the feelings of others. However, Bertrande’s intentions were to cleanse her soul and absolve herself from sin by indicting the impostor, Arnaud du Tilh. Yet, she undertakes this task considering the despair it would inflict upon the mesnie. These actions also are detrimental to Bertrande in causing her perhaps the most anguish and grief of all. Bertrande intends to uphold the status quo, yet she has due knowledge that pathway to the greater good will be harmful to her and the Mesnie.
This is when the belief that one killer could be responsible for the deaths of eight different people, that they know of, all across France. The Magistrate who jurisdiction over the Laurent Case, Alphonse Benoist of Lyon, noticed similarities as well and using the resources of a reporter was able to gain a common element in many of...
It is my intention to compare the book, Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos, to its modern movie version, Cruel Intentions starring Sarah Michelle Gellar. I intend to examine how the original French text was modified in reference to plot, character, morals/values, and themes. I also plan to discuss how these transformations change the meaning of the story and reflect different cultural/historical contexts. There are some major differences between these two works, if only because of when they were written.
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However, what really frames Francine du Plessix Gray’s biography is not so much the “fin du dix huitième siècle” but the “fin du vingtième siècle” and the “reality” material from Sade’s life that made it possible to represent the Marquis, his sons, his wife, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and uncle as so many of the people who populate the running narrative of criminals, deadbeat dads, incestuous relatives, date-raping playboys, and battered women that fill soap operas, day-time talk, women’s magazines, talk radio, and the tabloids. This paper, then, explores Sade’s biography not as a narrative of (the Marquis de Sade’s) his life, but as a narrative that pleases today’s reader because it serves up a voyeur’s view of (in) his “dysfunctional” family life “at home” that we are all too familiar with. This becomes abundantly apparent when du Plessix-Gray’s rendering of the Marquis and the Marquise’s lives are superimposed over the récit of lives that we read about all the time in the popular press and observe in television soaps and other series. Ultimately, we are interested in what such a reading, writing and representation of Sade’s life does to Sade’s persona and status, both in the world of letters, but more importantly, in the world at large.
Maupassant, Guy De. “An Adventure in Paris”. The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. Cassill, RV. New York: Norton & Company, Inc. 2000. 511-516 Print.
Part I of The Stranger begins with Meursault's attendance at his mother's funeral. It ends with Meursault on the beach at Algiers killing a man. Part II is concerned with Meursault's trial for that same murder, his ultimate sentencing to death and the mental anguish that he experiences as a result of this sentence. Several curious parallels emerge here, especially with regard to Meursault's perception of the world.
The story begins with the Marquise de Merteuil corresponding with Vicomte de Valmont regarding a luscious new act of ‘revenge’, as she describes it, against the Comte de Gercourt. The young Cecile de Volanges has just come home from the convent and her marriage to Gercourt has been arranged. However, before he can wed the innocent child, Merteuil proposes Valmont ‘educate’ her, thus spoiling Gercourt’s fancy for untarnished convent girls. Valmont is uninterested in such an easy seduction and is far more aroused by the thought of lulling The Presidente’ de Tourvel, the very epitome of virtue, into submission. And so the tale unfolds.
The case for the beatification and canonization of Jacques Fesch is fiercely contested. “Where are we headed, if we start beatifying criminals?” asked one police officer chief. Others believe that Fesch’s beatification would “give a great hope to those who despise themselves, who see themselves as irredeemably lost”. Jacques Fesch is often likened to the Good Thief on Calvary. No one is ever truly lost in God’s eyes, even if they have done grave wrong and their whole society has condemned them.
The author Robert Darnton argues in his article “The Great Cat Massacre” the harsh conditions of the daily life of an apprentices. More specifically, Darnton uses statistics and sources to establish his credibility, by mentioning various stories to appeal and persuade to his audience. For example, Darnton commences by intriguing his audience by the statement “The funniest thing that ever happened…”. He successfully makes the reader question what he will say. The author approaches with unimaginable statements keeping the reader intrigued from start to finish. Darnton then uses valid sources by stating the testimony of Nicolas Contat in the shop rue Saint-Severin. Nicolas Contat proceeds by explaining first-hand the life of an apprentice was tough and vulgarized. Moreover, the demise of the cats is already a questionable issue itself. Especially, how the bourgeoisie put cats in a pedestal.
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