Justine

Justine is a classic novel by Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. Justine is set just before the French Revolution in France and tells the story of a young woman. Her story is recounted while defending herself for her crimes, en route to punishment and death. She explains the series of misfortunes which have led her to be in her present situation. The plot concerns Justine, a 12-year-old maiden who sets off, to make her way in France. It follows her until age 26, in her quest for virtue. She is presented with abuse, hidden under a virtuous mask. The unfortunate situations include: the time when she seeks refuge and confession in a monastery, but is forced to become a sex-slave to the monks, who subject her to countless orgies, rapes and other abuses. When helping a gentleman who is robbed in a field, he takes her back to his chateau with promises of a post caring for his wife, but she is then confined in a cave and subject to much the same punishment.