The Place and Sense of the "Outsider:" Structuralism and the Lettres Persanes Author(s): Suzanne Gearhart Reviewed

work(s): Source: MLN, Vol. 92, No. 4, French Issue (May, 1977), pp. 724-748 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2906807 . Accessed: 04/03/2013 16:32
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AND SIDER:" STRUCTURALISM LETTRES PERSANES T3 SUZANNE GEARHART m

...
ai

THE PLACE AND SENSE OF THE

"OUTTHE

la normalit6. La la vanit6, la mondanit6, la nationalite, vulgarit6, I'aeration langue inconnue, dontje saisispourtant la respiration, autourde moi... un en un motla puresignifiance, forme emotive, vertige, m'entraine dans son videartificiel, qui ne s'accomplit k6ger que pour moi. In his Empiredes Signes (p. 18) Roland Barthes describes the formalaspect whichan alien culturetakeson forthe travelerand in The doing so, evokes a situation fundamental to structuralism. traveler,seeminglycut off from the social and political conflicts that mightdefine him in his native land, experiences Japan as a totality,albeit one void of the sense, the "profondeur," which politicsor history mightgive it.' Justas the travelerexperiences the so he experiences the alien language as "la alien cultureas a totality, undivided by any referenceto an outside reality pure signifiance," or by any "sens plein"-by any meaning in the traditionalsense. This experience belongs to the traveleralone ("ne s'acomplitque to his own culture,Barthes pour moi"). The Japanese's relationship indicates,would not be as neutral,as formalas thatof the outsider. The Japanese would be as uneasy in Japan vas the European travelerindicates he is in Europe. Like the European, he would look to a foreignland for "repos."
1 Barthes uses the same formal procedures to describe student "activism"in Japan as he does Japanese cooking or the physical arrangement of Tokyo and charges that attemptsto apply "western"stylepoliticalcriteriato the students'acare evidence of ethnocentrism tivities (p. 139). In an earlierwork,however,he takesa verydifferent position: "Ce touriste est ici un merveilleuxalibi: grace a lui, on peut regardersans comprendre,voyagersans s'interesser aux realitespolitiques. . ." ("La Croisikredu Batory," Mythologies).

1'6tranger, quel repos! J'y suis protege contre la bktise,la

MLN 92 (1977) 724-748 ? 1977 by The Johns Hopkins University Copyright Press in any form All rightsof reproduction reserved.

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Barthes'i description of Japan as an ordered, if meaningless totalitydraws heavily on the work of the anthropologistClaude Levi-Straussand the linguistFerdinand Saussure. His insistenceon the formalityof Japanese culture and on the absence of any or any realityother than that of the formsthemselves spontaneity echoes Saussure's viewsconcerninglanguage. Saussure maintained that language could not be understood by considering its relation to the "real" world to which it supposedly referred; that the in factevoked a signified whichwas a concept indissociable signifier from its signifier.Thus sense was constitutednot by a relation and but by a relationbetween signifier between sign and referent, of the signifiedinteriorto language and, as such, purelya function differences which distinguish one signifier (and thereby, its signified) from another. Levi-Strauss' redefinitionof the family and society has paralleled Saussure's redefinitionof language. Breaking with an anthropologicaltraditionwhich defined society as a conglomerationof biological families,Levi-Strausshas argued of in factsupposes society, conceived of as a system thatthe family exchange. For Levi-Strauss,the familyconsists of a brother (or father),a sister(or daughter) and the sister'shusband; that is, a man to whom the woman belongs,a man to whom she is given,and whichdefinesthe woman's the woman herself.The kinshipsystem, relationshipto one man as incestuousand to the otheras permitted is thus the framework of primitive society, and Levi-Strauss describes the kinship systemsas a language, for, like the sign as in Levi-Strauss'view,cannot be describedby Saussure, thatsystem, outside explained withreferenceto any naturalor historicalreality itself.The formalismof Levi-Strauss'structuralapproach is thus it has wroughtin its "object." The justified by the transformation formal coherence of language and culture become signs of their with autonomywithrespect to any "real" referentand, ultimately, respect to what has been traditionally conceived of as sense. Barthes' Japan, and particularly Tokyo, exhibit the essential characteristicsof the structural object: "La ville dont je parle presentece paradoxe precieux: elle possede bien un centre,mais ce centre est vide" (p. 44). method for his More importantthan his utilizationof structural between link establishes the Barthes is analysisof Japan, however, if as a of culture and significant view language the structuralist the cultural of the situation and special meaningless totality

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outsider. In fact,Barthes' frequentallusions to Europe continually remind the reader of his special status,and it is the contrastwith Europe which gives sense to his descriptionof Japan. The special situation of the traveler/anthropologist is a major theme of where the author confesses that his Tropiques, Levi-Strauss'Tristes own culture has accompanied and even haunted him in his search forcultureswhich,unlike his own, can be described purelyin terms of structure. ... Ma decision ethnographique? au justequ'uneenqukte Qu' est-ce de mongroupe vis-a-vis profonde une incompatibilit6 exprimait-elle de plusen plusisol6? j'kais vou6a vivre quoi qu'ilarrive, socialdont, que peu de dansdes contr~es paradoxe. . . en route Parun singulier plusni les unsni les . . . je n'apercevais contemplkes avaient regards que je de la campagnefranpaise fugitives autres,maisdes visions et de poesiequi etaient de musique deniee,ou des fragments m'etais laquelleil contre d'unecivilisation la plusconventionelle l'expression le bienque je me persuadeavoiropte,au risquede dementir fallait sensque j'avais donnea ma vie.2 The structuralanthropologistdoes not describejust any culture. from different He describes a culture perceived as fundamentally he rejectsand yet the historicalcultureswhich,as anthropologist, continues "even despite himself' to represent. of the statusof the unconscious Jacques.Lacan's re-interpretation intentionallyparallels Levi-Strauss' description of culture and Saussure's description of language and provides furtherinsight which intoboth the statusof the outsiderand the opposing systems define him. Justas Barthes'Japan takes on sense in opposition to of the unconscious takes Barthes' Europe, so Lacan's redefinition which, on much of its sense in opposition to the "ego psychology" according to Lacan, dominated psychoanalysis prior to his "Discours de Rome" (1953) and continues .to dominate the in America. His declarationthatthe analyst particularly profession, of language in analyzingthe unconscious "discovers"the structure view of the unconscious is directed against the ego psychologists' and the instincts as substantial entities which function as the and ultimatesource of the subject'sunconsciousdiscourse. referent cure the view thatthe psychoanalytic In a similarvein, he criticizes a substantialego. The ego consistsin restoringand strengthening is, he argues, an Imaginary construct,and thus its strengthening
2 Claude Uvi-Strauss, Tristes (Paris, 1955) pp. 337-338. Tropiques

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in a cure, but only in the reinforcementof the cannot re~sult Imaginary,which is the realm of alienation. There can only be a cure when the subject comes to termswith the order of language (the Symbolic) through the recognition that he, as well as the analyst, is not the source, but only a function of language (a not a signifie). signifiant, Lacan has given his description of the Symbolic and the Imaginary an anthropological and historical dimension which corresponds to the distinctionmade by Levi-Straussand Barthes betweenthe societiestheystudyand the societiestheyrepresentas observers. estla loi du langagedepuisque les premiers . . . la loi de 1'homme fallu dons,yayant aux premiers ontpreside de reconnaissance mots et fuient par la merpour que qui viennent les Danaensdetestables avecles dons trompeurs les mots a craindre apprennent les hommes par les unissant pacifiques pour les Argonautes sans foi.Jusque-1a, ces les ilotsde la communaute, symbolique noeudsd'un commerce dons, leur acte et leurs objets, leur erectionen signes et leur fabrication sontsi melesa la parolequ'on les designepar son meme, nom.3 For Lacan, as for Levi-Strauss,there can be no deviance and no order which describes the deception withinthe cultural-linguistic so-called "primitive"societies. It is only with the emergence of is the Danaens of the passage just modern man (whose forerunner order becomes cited) that deviation from the cultural-linguistic possible.This deviationfromthe law of language or the Symbolicis the Imaginary. the source of the alienation which constitutes the Imaginary is of and The opposition between the Symbolic Lacan goes much special interestto us for,withinits framework, which shapes the furtherin analyzing the scientificcivilization or than either of the outsider Levi-Strauss Barthes,in perspective for to that civilization remain, references desSignes,whose l'Empire of his man's erection it modern For is the most part, tacit. Lacan, and to others to language of his relationship moi as the condition of his alienation.But ifalienationfrom whichis the major symptom the cultural-linguisticorder (Lacan's Symbolic) constitutes the norm for modern man, how can he break with his alienation and gain access to an order which ideology and historyhave made
Lacan, "Fonction et Champ de la Parole et du Langage en 3Jacques Ecrits(Paris, 1966) p. 272. Psychanalyse,"

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remote? In "Propos sur la causalite psychique" Lacan dates modernityfrom the beginning of the seventeenth century and takes as his model for the moiof modern man Alceste in Moliere's "Le moi de l'homme moderne a pris sa forme,nous Le Misanthrope. l'avons indique ailleurs, dans l'impasse dialectique de la belle Ame pas la raison meme de son etre dans le desordre qui ne reconnailt or qu'elle denonce dans le monde."4 Lacan points out the futility rather, the spuriousness of Alceste's attempt to overcome his alienation for,according to Lacan, Alceste denounces the egotism of others only because his own ego is more demanding than the average. Not content with conventional signs of recognition,he This demand is the perfectalibi forthe demands absolute sincerity. moi,for it permitsAlceste to reject as insinceresigns which are, in fact,only unflattering. ofLe Misanthrope opens witha critical Lacan's own interpretation of the play. In Lacan's allusion to the traditionalinterpretation view, interpreters of Le Misanthrope have been incapable of understanding Moliere's critique of Alceste because they represented themselvesvalorize the spurious formof authenticity by Alceste (withoutrecognizingit as spurious) and hence, deplore the ridicule which it necessarilyprovokes fromothers. But a close reveals that the look at Lacan's own analysis of Le Misanthrope is not as extraneousto his positionas his of thebelle adme problematic remarkson the "beaux-espritsnourrisd'humanites"would make it seem. Though Lacan points out that Alceste benefits from the "disorder"he denounces, Lacan too sees the societyaround Alceste as "disordered" by the dominance in it of the functionof the moi. thatis, he is mad, not because his analysisof Alcesteis thebelle adme, the disorderof society is wrong,but because itapplies to himas well as to the others. qu'il estfou ... pour etrepris... par ... ce narcissisme Je precise du "monde" a toutes des oisifs psychologique qui donnela structure plus qui se manifeste lesepoques,doubleicide cetautrenarcissisme, du sentiment collective danscertaines par l'idealisation specialement amoureux.5 But while he points out that Alceste is in fact governed by the narcissismhe denounces in others, Lacan neverthelessmakes the
4Lacan,
5

p. 281. "Fonction et Champ de la Parole," Ecrzts, Lacan, "Propos sur la Causalit6 Psychique,"Pcrits,p. 173.

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that Alceste does for his virtue.Just same claim for psychoanalysis as Alceste claims to speak for an impersonal, impartial ideal, uncontaminated by the egotism of his peers, so, according to Lacan, the psychoanalystspeaks from a position which totally civilization dominates the Imaginary,"la folie," and the scientific alienation.6 whose norm is which The workof both Levi-Straussand Lacan definesa system but which is is closed, which presumablyhas no exteriorreferent, constitutedby differencesbetween its elements. But the closed order is onlydescribablethanksto the positingof cultural-linguistic culture,the an opposed system(the Imaginary,modern scientific thanksto the privilegedpositionof the Occident) and, ultimately, who, like Barthes' travelerto Japan, anthropologist/psychoanalyst participatesin, and yet remains aloof fromboth systems.And yet claim that of the psychoanalyst's questions remain as to the validity fromthatof Alceste and as different his situationis fundamentally which between authenticand inauthenticsystems to the distinction gives sense to the analyst'sdiscourse and to the anthropologist's journey. whichfollowedMoliere to tradition There is much in the literary importanceLacan attachestoLe Misanthrope,7 the theoretical justify if not his interpretation.Whatever the historical specificityof the statusof the "outsider"is equally problematicfor structuralism, the classical modernity of which Moliere is a part. Thus can provide new insightsinto certain classical texts, structuralism and those texts,insightsinto a problem centralto structuralism. Usbek in Montesquieu's LettresPersanes presents important similarities to Moliere's Alceste as well as to the modern
6 Lacan statesthatthe analysthimselfenjoys no special privilege, but thathe, like "le not a source (a signifie): the patient,is merelya functionof language (a signifiant, (Preface,Ecrits . . . est ce qui representeun sujet pour un autre signifiant" signifiant I, editions"Points" [ 1970] p. 11). But the factthat both the patientand the analyst are functionsof language does not lead to the "equality"between them one might anticipate. In one fundamental respect, their relationship is not reciprocal: the patient can be mad, but the analystcannot be mad. "II me semble qu'A veiller a notreexperience de la folie, maintenirjustesles distanceshumaines qui constituent je me suis conformea la loi qui, a la lettre,en faitexisterles apparentes donnees: fautede quoi le medecin,telcelui qui oppose au fou que ce qu'il dit n'estpas vrai,ne Ecrits, divague pas moins que le fou lui-meme"("Propos sur la Causalite Psychique," p. 177). a d'Alembert, Rousseau, who anxiouslydefends Alceste in his Lettre 7 Jean-Jacques which could be regarded as the founder of the traditionin Moliere interpretation Lacan attacksin his remarksconcerningthe "beaux-espritsnourrisd'humanites."

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anthropologist. His voyage from Isphahan to Europe and ultimately to Paris is based on a rejectionof his own culture. Like Alceste, he believes that his own virtue and wisdom can only increase with the distance that separates him from Persia, whose moral disorder he deplores. He believes in values above cultural and he believes thathis voyage to the westwillallow determination, him to become theirrepresentative. of theLettres Persaneshave made As in the case of Alceste,critics Usbek the undisputed hero of the novel and defended him in the values he representsand which, name of the ideal, Enlightenment to an overwhelming extent, humanist critics share. Lacan's diagnosis of the "meconnaissance" which permits such criticsto interpret Alceste as the tragically misunderstood hero of Le theLettres that,likeLe Misanthrope, raises the possibility Misanthrope Persanes may in fact be a critique of the Enlightenmentideals which have served as the basis for interpretationof the novel. Montesquieu's preoccupation with Usbek's status as cultural outsider places him squarely within the modernityanalyzed by Lacan as the Imaginary. At the same time there is much in the novel which is in apparent opposition to Usbek and his ideal concerns,notablyUsbek's friendRica and the social scene whichhe Persanesas a critiqueof describes.Anyattemptto analyze theLettres the values represented by Usbek must pay close attentionto Rica and to the Paris in whichhe is so readilyat home. But if theLettres Persanes does constitutea critique of idealism, do Rica and the order elementshe representscorrespond to the cultural-linguistic whichin the workof Levi-Straussand Lacan standsopposed to that idealism as embodied in modern, scientificculture? To put it another way, does the critique of idealism necessarilyimply the existence of an authentic position free of the contradictionsit In puttinginto question denounces as the impasse of the belleadme? is it simplya spurious the positionof Usbek, the travelerlphilosophe, thatis being undercut,or rather,is it not the claim to authenticity very position of the outsider, who, because he purportedly participatesin both systemsand at the same time remains aloof fromboth, is at the center of a classical order based on reason as well as a structuralorder based on the unity of language and culture. As has already been indicated,criticsof the Lettres Persaneshave tended to equate the aim of the novel withthe tasks which Usbek

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whetheror not such sets forhimselfwithoutseriouslyinvestigating is justifiedin the lightof the various points a literalinterpretation of view offered by the novel. Jean Starobinski sees the Lettres Persanesas a satiricaldevice designed to liberate Occidentals from certain prejudices in order to permit the unveiling of a more universalconception of man. I1 fautfaire L'6preuvedes masquesest une epreuvede la verit6. costumeset masques pour que la vraie entrerdes personnages reel .... L'Orient en leurpresence se demasque des hommes nature n'est pour rien ki-dedans.C'est un spectacle que les hommes de des valeurstraditionelles pour se liberer se donnent d'Occident l'Occident.8 Starobinski's description of the novel closely parallels Usbek's descriptionof his motivesforundertakinga voyage to the West: he is determinedto liberatehimselffromthe traditionalvalues which have heretoforecircumscribedhis knowledge. parmiles Persansque les premiers Rica et moi sommespeut-etre de leur pays,. . . de savoirait faitsortir l'envie maisnous n'avons florissant; nes dans un royaume Nous sommes et que la cellesde nos connaissances, pas cruque ses bornesfussent (LP, I) dut seule nous eclairer. orientale lumiere is letterthatUsbek thephilosophe But indicationsexistfromthe first From the very outset of his voyage, we see in fact the belleadme. Usbek, not merelylooking ahead to the universaltruthshis voyage is to uncover, but back to the societywhose conventions he has determined will not circumscribehis knowledge: "Mande-moi ce que l'on dit de notre voyage; ne me flattepoint;je ne compte pas sur un grand nombred'approbateurs." (LP, I) Usbek's own account of his decision to travel to the West reveals that his quest for knowledge is motivated as much by his own position in Persian court societyas by a disinterestedattachmentto science: Jele puisdire:mon Jeparusa la Cour d&sma plustendrejeunesse. memeun granddessein: point;je formai coeur ne s'y corrompit je m'en eloignai; Des que je connusle vice, j'osai y etrevertueux. ensuite pourle demasquer.... Maisquandje maisjem'enapprochai . . . que, dans une cour fait des ennemis; m'avait visque ma sincerite je plus que par une faiblevertu: je ne me soutenais corrompue, pour les resolus de la quitter.Je feignisun grand attachment il me vint (LP,VIII) reellement. de le feindre, et,a force sciences,
I

(Paris, 1953), p. 63. par lui-meme Jean Starobinski, Montesquieu

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Usbek's unmaskingof corruptionreveals his paradoxical position whichis shocked and amazed by his desire the courtsociety vis-A-vis to be virtuous.Usbek's actions implythat the Persians are at once but virtuousenough to recognize too corruptto reformthemselves, virtue. his unmaskingof theircorruptionas an act of disinterested Usbek's project recalls that of the Roman dictator Sulla, as portrayedin Montesquieu's "Dialogue de Sylla et d'Eucrates." As in conversingwithSulla, it is his Eucrates learns withastonishment love of absolute freedomthatpromptedSulla to become dictatorof Rome: "pour vous empecher d'etre esclave, il vous a fallu usurper la dictature."But Sulla findshe himselfcannot be freein the midst of a population his dictatorshipenslaves: "J'ai cru qu'on dirait quelque jour que je n'avais chatie que des esclaves." Thus he uses by terrorizing his power to restore Rome's republican institutions the Roman population which was willingto give up its freedom. liberationof the indicates,Sulla's forcible But as Sulla's interlocutor theirenslavementand thusonly only reinforces Romans ultimately his isolationas a freeindividualfromthe societyhe rules reinforces as dictator.The freedom he had sought to establishon a broader base than his own person is undermined. His attemptto restorethe Romans to their former independence will disappear with him. Similarly,Usbek's forcibleunmasking of vice does not make the more virtuous,but only personalizes the virtuehe seeks courtisans can only interprethis virtueas the ruse to impose. The courtisans of a supremelyambitiousman. Like Sulla's freedom,Usbek's virtue comes to reside in his person alone. It is supremelyvulnerable,for it can be extinguishedby a mere assassin. Usbek and the The similaritiesbetween the Persian philosophe Persian and, the of idea the for fortuitous, not are Sulla dictator more generally, the idea of the Orient figure prominentlyin des Lois as well as in the Lettres Montesquieu's work-in De l'Esprit Persanes-and coincide with Montesquieu's discussion of despotism.There is a parallel to be drawn between Montesquieu's despotism on the one hand and the modern culture analyzed explicitly by Lacan and alluded to by Levi-Strauss. Though Montesquieu does not emphasize the historicalstatusof the three types of governement,still they do imply a certain chronology. While Montesquieu states that the monarchy is the specific of governments, of the "modern" age to the typology contribution (for it, unlike the despotism or the republic, is not found in

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Antiquity)in fact,it is despotism which is modern. Montesquieu relegates the republic to Antiquity.9 Despotism, present in is also the wave of the future,for every monarchyis a Antiquity, potential despotism, but every despotism is not potentially a monarchy: ou d'Europe sont monarchiques, La plupartdes gouvernements plut6tsont ainsi appelks:car je ne sais pas s'il y en a jamais eu qu'ils aient subsiste de tels; au moinsest-ildifficile veritablement qui degenere dans leur puret6.C'est un 6tatviolent, longtemps en despotisme.... (LP, CII) toujours The modernity of despotismis not the only traitit shares withthe Imaginary as described by Lacan. The despot, like Alceste of Le is cut off by the course of historyfrom the Ancient Misanthrope, worldin whichideal, republicanvirtuesstillexisted: though Sulla is separated by only a few years from that world, neverthelessthe separation is absolute. Thus in attemptingto impose republican it is not those virtueshe is promoting, virtueson a modern society, power he exercises in seeking to impose them. but the arbitrary of the societyfrom Like Alceste,the despot is a perfectreflection in order to reshape it in his own image. In whichhe isolateshimself imposinghis willor his virtuethe despot createsterrorand a slavish in his subjects,thusnegatingthe societyhe rules. "Dans le mentality [gouvernement] despotique, un seul, sans lois et sans regle, entraine tout par sa volonte et par ses caprices." (EL, II, 1) 'a vivreavec les autres ... "L'6education, qui consisteprincipalement y est donc en quelque facon nulle." (EL, IV, 3) The reductionof his a the absence of social relationshipsis ultimately subjectsto slavery, of any reflection of the nullity of the despot himself and value-egotistical or altruistic-he mightrepresent.He becomes a prisoner,in his own house, of his own power,as much a slave as any of his subjects: la la mechancete, ... ces serailsd'Orient;.. ces lieux ou l'artifice, d'uneepaissenuit;ou un et se couvrent dansle silence, ruse, regnent est le premier vieux prince,devenu tous les jours plus imbecile, du palais.(EL, V, 14) prisonnier Montesquieu's despot is very much like Lacan's Alceste, who is mad because his analysis of the disorder around him determines him firstof all, and no doubt but what this composite portrait
9 For a full discussion of this point, see page 10.

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describes Usbek, particularlyin his relationship to his seraglio. Usbek imposes an order on his seraglio whichis purelya reflection of that order as the of his will. He then denounces transgressions are a faultof his eunuchs or his wives; in factthose transgressions directresultof the absolute nature of the order Usbek has created. of Usbek than does No one does more to undermine the authority policed, and Usbek himselfby insistingthat his order be strictly indeed, as the course of the novel reveals, the more ruthlessthe enforcement, the greater the disorder. Usbek's authority is fromhis wives. absolute only when he commands absolute fidelity For that very reason, his authorityis threatened by the slightest indiscretion: ... ce n'estpas que nous si6troitement Quand nousvousenfermons mais c'estque nous savonsque la infid1ite; la derniere craignons tachepeutla et que la moindre ktre ne saurait tropgrande, puret6
corrompre.(LP, XXVI)

Because theyare domestic slaves and because, in this sense, their "love" for Usbek is prescribedby the law, thereis no sign by which for Usbek thatwould go his wivescan express a sincereattachment of his law: beyond the prescriptions que vous m'avezet toujoursfidele.Eh! Vous me direz peut-etre la vigilance auriez-vous trompe ne 1'etre pas?Comment pouviez-vous de la vieque vousmenez?. . . qui sontsi surpris des eunuquesnoirs et peut-etre que vos d'unevertu qui n'estpas libre, Vousvousvantez et le prixde cette desirsimpursvous ont ote millefoisle merite tant.(LP, XX) que vousvantez fidelite createsa situationin Usbek's law, by commandingabsolute fidelity, which there is no way he can determine whether his wives are or not. Because there is nothingeitherhis wivesor "truly"faithful his eunuchs can say to allay his suspicions, he is devoured by jealousy:
... mes femmes: je ne puis pensera ellesque je ne soisdevorede chagrins. a cetegarddansune Ce n'estpas ... queje les aime:je me trouve serail Dans le nombreux de desirs. qui ne melaissepoint insensibilite mais, l'amouret l'ai detruit par lui-meme; ou j'ai vecu, j'ai prevenu Je il sortunejalousiesecrete, qui medevore. de ma froideur meme, je n'ai laisseespresquea elles-memes; vois une troupede femmes peine a etreen J'aurais que des ames lachesqui m'en repondent. s'ilsne le sontpas? si mesesclaves Que sera-ce, fideles. etaient surete

(LP, VI)

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Like the despot, Usbek is the firstand last victimof his absolute will.'O viewed as a liberal. Even a Montesquieu has been traditionally critic such as Roger Laufer, who views Roxane's suicide as the victoryof "la vertu concrete de l'esclave" over the signifying "mythed'une raison universelleet intemporelle"and the "concepts creux de la vertu" views Usbek as Montesquieu's ideological spokesman." But it is evident that Usbek's "failure"to resolve the contradictionbetween his philosophical ideals and his repressive of theoryand policies is more than the resultof some contingency practice.Indeed, Usbek's ideals are not "creux" as Laufer claims: it is precisly theseideals whichorder the disorderof Usbek's seraglio. Montesquieu shows thatthe universalvalues whichUsbek claimsto embody in his opposition to Persian societyand which he expects when theyare enforced on his his voyage to the West to confirm, seraglio in the formof "virtue" create disorder and repression. In contrastto Usbek, Rica and his descriptionsof societyhave of the "frivolous" or "superficial" side been viewedas representative of Montesquieu's nature. Even those criticswho view the Lettres a social satire have not considered that satire Persanesas primarily to be of significant philosophicalconsequence. In takingthisstance the character of Rica and the systematicnature of the contrast between Rica and Usbek have been neglected. And yet the opposition between Rica and Usbek not only furtherunderscores the untenable nature of Usbek's position,it seems to hold out the to his impasse. Indeed, Usbek's voyage of an alternative possibility to the West only intensifies the contradiction inherent in his idealism. As he pursues a knowledge above cultural prejudice, the
10 Usbek himselfargues that an absolutelyperfectGod, if he existed, would be destroyedby the contradictions inherentin his perfection:"Les philosophes les plus senses qui ont reflechisur la nature de Dieu ont dit qu'il etait un 6tre souverainementparfait:. . ils ont faitune enumerationde toutesles perfections differentes ... s'entr' et en ont charge l'id&e de la Divinite,sans songer que souvent ces attributs dans un meme sujet sans se detruire."(LP, empkhent, et qu'ils ne peuvent subsister LXIX) "Roger Laufer, Style Rococo,Style des "Lumieres" (Paris, 1963) p. 71. For Laufer, Roxane is a characterwhose actionsescape the controlof Montesquieu. In order for her action to have theoreticalsignificanceand thus to representa commitment to radical action on Montesquieu's part,thataction would have to resultin a "prise de conscience"leading to concretepoliticalactionon the partof Usbek. By denyingany "theoretical"significanceto Roxane's "praxis," Laufer seems to accept too easily a distinctionbetween theory and practice which he criticizesMontesquieu for not overcoming.

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jealousy whichattacheshim to his own cultureand his own seraglio cause the self which his idealism supports to crumble:. a toutce qui m'importune, barbare,present Je vis dans un climat je me saisit; sombre Une tristesse de toutce qui m'interesse. absent il me semble queje m'aneantis affreux: dans un accablement tombe .... (LP, CLV) and his assimilation But for Rica, the loss of his Persian "identity" painless. and into French societyare gradual Mon Je me repandsdans le monde,et je cherchea le connaitre. et se plie toutce qui lui rested'asiatique, perdinsensiblement esprit de voir Jene suisplussietonne europeennes. aux moeurs sanseffort etje aveccinqou sixhommes, cinqou six femmes dans une maison (LP, LXIII) que cela n'estpas mal imagine. trouve The contrast between the two characters reflects an essential difference in their attitude towards the alien culture, and towards theirown. ultimately, beaucoupde ce il m'aditqu'ilte parlait unelonguelettre; Ricat'ecrit pays-ci. La vivacite de son esprit fait qu'il saisit tout avec je ne suisen etat Pourmoi,qui pensepluslentement, promptitude. de te riendire.(LP, XXV) Because he seeks a profound understandingof whathe sees, Usbek deprives himselfof the immediate reactionswhich are the subject letters.In the long run, his relationshipto this alien of Rica's first world becomes as uneasy as his relationshipto Persia, forjust as he goes to Paris in order to better understand Persia, so he must retreatto the countrysidein order to gain a betterperspectiveon Paris. But Rica, like Barthes' travelerto Japan, because he seeks nothing,no universallyvalid principle,is capable of immediately In capturingthe alien cultureas an ordered, ifmeaninglesssystem. contrastto Usbek, who is continuallyretreatingin order to gain a betterunderstandingand who, for that reason, continuallydefers the understandingwhich is his stated goal, Rica's descriptionof societycannot be dismissedas "frivolous"and "purelysatirical."In fact, the theory underlying Rica's attitude towards culture is as coherent,or rather,is no less coherent,than Usbeck's idealism. The coherence of Rica's position can perhaps be more readily des Lois. grasped when viewed from the perspectiveof De l'Esprit We have argued that, in the case of the Lettres Persanes, Montesquieu's reputation as a liberal has caused criticsto neglect

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Rica in favorof the humanist,Usbek. This argumentechoes Louis Althusser'scontentionthat Montesquieu's reputation as a liberal des Lois has caused criticsto neglect certain elements of De l'Esprit have focused Much as critics and to give false emphasis to others.12 values represented by Usbek, critics on the liberal Enlightenment of De l'Esprit des Lois have, according to Althusser,placed heavy emphasis on the section on the English constitutionalmonarchy and failed to recognize that both this section and the typologyof governementswhich organizes the work as a whole constitutea defense of monarchy pure and simple. For Althusser, it is a ideologywhichunderliesthe workas a whole. Indeed, conservative one can argue that the purpose of the republic and despotism as conceived by Montesquieu is to act as foils for the notion of monarchy,much as one could argue that Usbek, who combines both ideal and despotic traits, serves ultimatelyas a foil for a culturallydefined Rica. Montesquieu projects his taxonomy of governmentsonto a grill in which "nature" corresponds to the and "principe,"to time,or to idealityof a giventypeof government which is subject to time and which permitsit thatin a government to degenerate fromitsideal type.Despotism,thanksto the absolute nature of the despot's will, coincides perfectly and contradictory with pure change, that is, with pure time. Thus the "nature" of despotism is to have only a "principe:" sans cesse, despotiquese corrompt du gouvernement Le principe par sa nature.Les autresgouvernements parcequ'il est corrompu le principe: en violent particuliers parceque des accidents perissent, lorsque quelques causes celui-ci perit par son vice intfrieur, de se corrompre. (EL, pointson principe accidentelles n'empkchent VIII, 10) A perfectinversionof the formula for despotism,the republic is pure "nature"-it is purely its ideal type. It has no historical dimension, for it exists only in an heroic prehistory. While Montesquieu admires the republic, he qualifies his admirationby sharplybetweenthe republicansof his own day and distinguishing who possessed the ideal virtueswhich made those of the Antiquity, possible this ideal formof governement: ... de l'amour pour la patrie,du desir de la vraie gloire,du etde de sespluschers a soi-meme, interets, du sacrifice renoncement
12

(Paris, 1964). la Politiqueet l'Histoire Montesquieu: Louis Althusser,

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toutes ces vertusheroiques que nous trouvonsdans les anciens, et dont nous avons seulement entendu parler. (EL, III, 5)

While Montesquieu relies on concrete historical examples to illustrate his points on the monarchy and the despotism, his description of the republic draws heavily on the utopian model furnishedby Plato's Republic.(EL, IV, 6) Thus the republic and despotism simplycoincide with the axes designed to analyze the monarchy; for it is situated at the intersectionof "nature" and of "principe,"of the idealityof the republicand the pure historicity despotism. That the republic and despotism are ultimately points of reference for the analysis of the monarchy does not mean, however, that the monarchy is the "object" of analysis in a traditionalsense. Like Barthes'Japan, the monarchyis, at least in theory, an order whose center is empty. The "nature" of the (EL, II, 4), and monarchylies in the existencewithinit of a nobility and hence of the the fundamental "principe" of that class it fromthe distinguishes which is the code of honor monarchyitself about the which brings virtue, the false is Honor of the nation. rest existed: if it true virtue, would results as same
le prejuge de chaque personne et de chaque c'est-A-dire, L'honneur, condition,prend la place de la vertu politique dont j'ai parle, et la representepartout. I1 y peut inspirerles plus belles actions; il peut, joint a la forcedes lois, conduire au but du gouvernementcomme la vertu meme. (EL, III, 6)

The essentialvirtueof the republicwhichceases to be a utopia and becomes an historicalphenomenon will necessarilybe corrupted, whose essence is to have no but timecannot corruptthe monarchy, essence. Time cannot bring degradation, but only a change in convention. On the other hand, though one convention may replace another, the result is not the pure change which characterizesdespotism.Convention itselfwill alwaysbe respected of the monarchythroughtime and thus willguarantee the stability and change. Indeed, fromthe point of view of the monarchy,despotismand an illusionabout the nature of political the republiceach exemplify illusion that virtue, when determined society: the republic, the from within an historicallydefined society rather than a mere defined of culturally more than a reflection utopia can be anything the despot, individual, as an illusion that values; despotism, the

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escapes the controlof the culturaland historical rightly or Wrongly, processes over which he imagines he has absolute control. The existence of a given culture cannot be explained by the prior existence of a natural order, by the eventual existence of an ideal order, nor by the will of some despot who would live in a state of nature in the midst of society.13 A state of nature which never existed cannot explain a state of culture which exists: this is the conservativemessage Althusser finds expressed in De l'Espritdes Persanes: echoed in the Lettres Lois and which is frequently par Je n'aijamais oui parlerdu droitpublicqy'on n'aitcommence ce qui me des societes, quelleestl'origine rechercher soigneusement point, s'ilsse quittaient Si les hommes n'enformaient parait ridicule. il faudrait en demander la raison.... et se fuyaient lesunsles autres, Maisils naissent tousliesles uns aux autres.... (LP, XCIV) De l'Esprit des Lois gives explicit formulationto the laws which guide Rica in his wittyand irreverentdescriptionsof Paris. The thesisunderlyinghis observations-that it is-cultureitselfwhich is natural-finds an echo in the theoretical bases of structural anthropology as formulated by Levi-Strauss in Structures and thereis no doubt thatstructuralism de la Parente',4 Ele'mentaires has created a situation in which the coherence of the specific aspects of Rica's descriptionof Parisian societyand the absence of any natural referent for that description becomes almost self-evident. As portrayedby Rica, Paris is the "pays des signes" where nothingis above social convention:"On dit que l'homme est un animal sociable. Sur ce pied-la, il me parailtqu'un Fran~ais est plus homme qu'un autre; c'est l'homme par excellence, car il semble etre faituniquement pour la societe." (LP, LXXXVII) "La Mode" regulatesall aspects of life in the Paris discovered by Rica. In the absence of any value not subject to "la Mode," it becomes absolute,and thisabsolutenessis, for Rica, the surprisingcorollary of its arbitrariness: "Je ne saurais guere ajuster cette fureur pour leurs coutumesavec l'inconstanceavec laquelle ils en changenttous lesjours." (LP, C)'5
13Indeed, Montesquieu defines despotism with an example which underscores the "extreme" libertyimplied in the concept of the state of nature: "Quand les sauvages de la Louisiane veulent avoir du fruit,ils coupent l'arbre au pied, et cueillentle fruit.VoilAle gouvernementdespotique." (EL, V, 13) de la Parenti (Paris, 1949), p. 9. Elementaires Structures 14 Levi-Strauss, 15 Rica describes "la Mode" withthe same paradox used by Saussure to describe

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In the Paris described by Rica, no value escapes fromthisradical relativization. All value is illusory,and there are in Paris as many "metiers"as there are illusionsto create. Rica liststhose illusionsin letterLVIII: wealth,spiritualexaltation,knowledge of the future, virginity, beauty,health.The absolutenessof "la Mode" is such that which it does not regulate, there is, at least in theory,no activity including the activity of trying to understand the societyruled by "la Mode." Usbek would clearly like to exempt the pursuit of fromPersia knowledgefromthe rule of convention,since his flight put on his indicated a refusal to accept the social interpretation quest for knowledge (thathe, like the other membersof the court, seeks recognition). But as Rica's letters reveal (LXXIII, LXVI, are illusionsto be created like the LIV), knowledgeand intelligence others, and being a philosopher, that is, being recognized as a philosopher, is a question of mastering one of the styles who set consecrated by the many social groups and institutions them. The absolute nature of "la Mode" precludes the existenceof any metalanguage not governed by its laws. It is not only Usbek's claim to represent universally valid philosophicalprincipleswhichis undercutbythe Persiancontextof his speculation. Applied to the case of the status of women in societyand to relationsbetweenthe sexes, the equation between"la Mode" and "la Loi" has implicationsas disquieting for Usbek the In apparent contrast to the despot as for Usbek the philosophe. as an illusion Persian woman, the Parisian woman views virginity among others,one which she creates as consciouslyas her beauty. To borrowthe language of De l'Esprit desLois, though there might be virgins in Paris, virginityis alien to the "principe" of the "Parisiennes;" it is accidental and not systematic. Chez les peuplesd'Europe,le premier quart d'heuredu mariage de les difficultes: les dernifres faveurs sonttoujours aplanittoutes n'yfontpoint mneme date que la benediction nuptiale; les femmes le terrain des mois commenos Persanes, qui disputent quelquefois c'est siellesne perdent il n'ya riende si plenier: rien, qu'elles entiers; n'ontriena perdre.... (LP, LV) In Paris,jealousy can existonlyafterthe fact;it is alwaystoo late to
"le signe:" "C'est parce que le signe est arbitraire qu'il ne connaitd'autre loi que celle de la tradition, et cest parce qu'il se fonde sur la traditionqu'il peut ktrearbitraire" (Ferdinand Saussure, Coursde Linguistique Ginirale [Paris, 1968] p. 108).

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lock up, one's wife. The jealous husband is always ridiculous, cuckolds. because husbands are, by definition, que personnene I1 y a parmieux des hommestr6smalheureux jaloux. I1y en a que toutle mondehait:ce console:ce sontles maris ce meprisent: sontles maris jaloux. I1 y en a que tousles hommes jaloux. (LP, LV) sontencoreles maris The equalityof the sexes in Paris is founded on theirequal capacity for infidelity. de sa avec raisonde l'infidelite Pourqu'un hommeput se plaindre dansle monde;ils personnes il faudrait femme, qu'iln'yeutque trois seront toujours a butquand il y en aura quatre.(LP XXXVIII) precautionsto Usbek, who is legallyentitledto take extraordinary has only to exercise his rightsas husband ensure his wives' fidelity, to please his wives who, presumably,are in no position to make comparisons,favorable or unfavorable. But in Paris it is only the "mari jaloux," the most ridiculous of all men, "qui abuse de la necessitede la Loi pour suppleer aux agrementsqui lui manquent. ..." (LP, LV) The Parisian of either sex must seduce a partner who remains free to go elsewhere. Thus neither can invoke the to create an illusionthatwillcaptivatethe Law; instead each strives other-she, of beauty,he, by his "badinage," of potency: de celui different un certain talent I1 faut, pourplaireaux femmes, qui leur plait encore davantage:il consistedans une espece de badinage dans l'esprit qui les amuse en ce qu'il semble leur que dans de trop ce qu'on ne peuttenir promettre a chaqueinstant (LP, LXIII) longsintervalles. Just as political virtue in a monarchy is honor, which is "'philosophiquement parlant" a false virtue, so the sentimental virtueof the monarchyis not love, but "galanterie." au attache Notreliaisonavec les femmes est fondeesurle bonheur etd'etre aime,etencoresurle d'aimer des sens,surle charme plaisir parceque ce sontdesjuges tresOlairessurune desirde leurplaire, le meritepersonnel.Ce desir partiedes choses qui constituent mais la galanterie, qui n'estpoint1'amour, de plaireproduit general de l'amour. (EL, maisle perpetuel mensonge le delicat, maisle leger, XXVIII, 22) becomes impossible or at least only relative in the Inauthenticity Paris describedbyRica, ifonlybecause thereis no aspect of Parisian

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life not determinedby cultureand, hence, there existsno measure of authenticity. As Usbek and Rica's absence fromPersia lengthens,Rica adapts to French life while Usbek grows increasinglyanxious about the stateof his seraglio. Usbek complains thatthe westernizedRica has or understandingforhis emotional plight.(LP, CLV) no sympathy Ironically,Usbek's rejection of Rica's Paris causes him to cling to the despotic values of whichhis own voyage was to be the negation, for that rejection, as well as his estrangement from his fellow an invertedrecognitionthat the values he Persian Rica, constitute representsare threatenednot only in France, but where he is most vulnerable, in his seraglio in Isphahan. Though Usbek holds the interpretation himselfas aloof as possible fromFrench society, whichthatsocietywould place on his own behaviour is nevertheless inescapable. For the Parisian, acceptance of the social code preserveshim fromplayingthe ridiculousrole of the "marijaloux." But the Parisian code is obviously unacceptable to Usbek, whose relation to his wives is defined, as he himself admits, solely by jealousy. From the French perspective,Usbek's relationshipto his wives is that of the man who imposes himself,who abuses the advantages given him by the Law in order to compensate fora lack of "merite personnel." Thus Usbek's extreme subjugation of his wives becomes a sign of his impotence. Indeed, Usbek has attemptedto secure the interestsof his own potencythrough the castrationof his male slaves; but his and Rica's observationson relationsbetweenthe sexes in France reveal thatthe potencyUsbek values in himself is of secondary importance. Usbek's own observationson thissubjectcome back to haunt him when theyare remembered by one of his wives and included in a letterwhich reaches him in Paris: avecles femmes godtent Je t'ai ouYdiremillefoisque les eunuques, une sorte de volupt6qui nous est inconnue,que la nature se dedommagede ses pertes;... On est commedans un troisibme (LP, pour ainsidire,que changerde plaisirs. sens,ouil'on ne fait, LIII) And just as his eunuchs "goutent avec les femmes une sorte de volupte" which Usbek can only imagine,so his wives know a form of pleasure he is incapable of experiencing: Cependant, Usbek, ne t'imaginepas que ta situationsoit plus connais que tu ne, plaisirs j'ai gouteicimille heureuse que la mienne;

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que languir. prix; j'ai vecu,et tu n'as fait je suispluslibreque toi: Dans la prisonmemeouitu me retiens, queje ne garder, pourmefaire tesattentions redoubler tune saurais tajalousie,teschagrins, et tessoup~ons, jouisse de tesinquietudes; de ta dependance. (LP, LXII) de marques sontautant Like the Parisian of either sex, Usbek's eunuchs and his wives know a form of pleasure foreign to that experienced by Usbek Usbek manipulates "with"his wives.Thus while as husband/master the relationshipbetween his eunuchs and his wives to suit his own purposes, the letterswhich Usbek receives from Asia as well as Rica's descriptions of French society reveal the possibilityof a of pleasure independent of the potencyUsbek valorizesand system fromthe point of view of which the women and the eunuchs are "natural" accomplices. Usbek, unlike Rica, resists the process of becoming French and never gives up the idea of returning to Persia. But as his absence lengthens,as "le desordre croit dans le serail," as Usbek's jealousy grows strongerand his health fails it becomes clear thatno returnto Asia could restorethe "order" that absent would be a sign of his presence. Usbek was alwaysimplicitly and impotent,and the sign of both his absence and his impotence him intojust anotherslave in his was hisjealousy, whichtransforms own seraglio: pourmoique pourles plusterribles dansdes murs m'enfermer J'irai
femmes qui y sont gardees. J'y porterai tous mes soupcons; leurs empressementsne m'en deroberont rien; dans mon lit, dans leurs bras, je ne jouirai que de mes inquietudes; dans un temps si peu

pas; myn imaginationa travaill6sans cesse a m'en faireconnaitrele

de la Nature humaine, esclaves vils dont le coeur a ete ferme pour jamais a tous les sentimentsde l'amour, vous ne gemiriez plus sur votre condition si vous connaissiez le malheur de la mienne. (LP,

Rebutindigne a en faire. majalousietouvera aux reflexions, propre

CLV)

It would seem that Rica's Paris provides the ultimatealternative to the despotic social forms constructedby Usbek's idealism. It would seem too that the contradictionsinherentin that idealism have been liquidated in Rica's Paris. With the "real" potency on which Usbek based his despotic rule negated, despotismwould no longer be possible. The roles played by all members of society in thatall would be indistinguishable would become fundamentally conventional. It is precisely the work of structuralists like Lacan and

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to the coherence of cultureand Levi-Strausswhichdraws attention language and to the redundancy of the natural and historical invoked to explain theirexistence.And yet "realities"traditionally label neitherLevi-Straussnor Lacan would accept the "culturalist" glance seem to merit.As we have already theirwork mightat first is, by his argued withreferenceto Levi-Strauss,the anthropologist an outsider to both the historicalculture he rejects own definition, and to the "primitive" culture he valorizes. Despite the anthropologist'srejection of the alienation and prejudices which are the norm in his own culture, he cannot simply adopt the "norms" of the "primitive" culture without ceasing to be an anthropologist.Though the societies he observes are, in theory, fromhis own, his positionis in theoryessentially radicallydifferent the same with respect to each-the anthropologist defines the "primitive" and historical cultures, but neither defines him. Karen Horney and other "feminist" Similarly, Lacan, in criticizing refusesthe culturalist label he applies to them: "Ce psychoanalysts, n'est pas du rapport de l'homme au langage en tant que phenomene social qu'il s'agit, n'etant meme pas question de quelque chose qui ressemble 'a cette psychogenese ideologique 16 Levi-Strauss and Lacan both resist "going qu'on connat. native," that is, abandoning the position outside the order fromwhichtheirown discoursedescribing cultural/linguistic thatorder takes on its sense. The positingof an authenticcultural or symbolicorder does not liquidate the problem posed by the "moi" and the idealism which is its ideological support, for this order becomes authentic only when the position of the subject above any implicationin that order is maintained. One must also, if not similarly, qualify Montesquieu's which,forAlthusser,underlies all "culturalism"-the conservatism of De l'Espritdes Lois. As Montesquieu's work demonstrates,the revelationthat Usbek's despotic power is illusorydoes not conjure the threat of "despotism" once and for all, any more than the positing of an authentic cultural or linguistic (symbolic) order resolves the problem posed by idealism. Indeed, Usbek's idealism conclusionsin his does not preventhim fromreaching"culturalist" speculationon the nature of society.(LP, XCIV) Nor is the idealism represented by Usbek absent from French life, for France is a
16

du Phallus,"Ecrits,p. 689. Lacan, "La Signification

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virtualdespotism.Rica's lettersreveal thatthe illusorypower of the monarch can have the effectsof the "real" power of the despot. The figureof the despot is verymuch presentin Frenchsociety-in the personnage of Louis XIV: de se faire obeir:il On ditqu'ilpossedea un tr6s hautdegr6le talent sa cour,son 6tat.On lui a avec le memegeniesa famille, gouverne du Monde, entendudire que, de tous les gouvernements souvent lui plairait le mieux, celuides Turcsou celuide notre augustesultan (LP, XXXVII) tantil fait orientale. cas de la politique Louis XIV is a despot, not because he disregardssocial convention, but because he manipulates it. Montesquieu's descriptionof social man fitsLouis XIV as well as anyone else. While otherscreate the illusion of beauty or of wisdom, Louis XIV creates the illusion of power: ou soutenir de grandesguerres, n'ayant On lui a vu entreprendre d'honneur fonds a vendre, et,par un prodige d'autres que des titres payees,ses places de l'orgeuilhumain,ses troupesse trouvaient equipees.... I1 exerceson empiresurl'esprit et ses flottes munies, memede ses sujets;il les faitpensercommeil veut.S'il n'a qu'un et qu'il en ait besoinde deux,il n'a million d'ecusdans son tresor, S'il a qu'un ecu en vautdeux, et ils le croient. qu'a leur persuader il n'a qu'"a d'argent, une guerre difficile etqu'iln'aitpoint a soutenir, etils de papierestde l'argent, qu'unmorceau dansla tete leurmettre en sontaussit6t convaincus. (LP, XXIV) The Law System was, in Montesquieu's view, a continuation of despotism on an economic plane. While many of Montesquieu's value-the value contemporariessaw money as having an intrinsic of the metalof whichit was made-Montesquieu considered thatit had value only as the sign of wealth. He deplored the Law System, worthfor paper moneywithno intrinsic not because it substituted gold or silver, but because the conventional value of the paper moneywas manipulated in such a way as to ruin the classes which were, in Montesquieu's view, the mainstayof the monarchy.Like the politicalillusionscreated by Louis XIV, the economic illusions created by Law did have real "effects,"for they destroyed the fortunes of many members of the traditional ruling class and created a new wealthygroup overnight.(LP, CXXXVIII) Montesquieu's social man-the aristocrat-is invulnerableto an attack on his essential values, for he has none that are, in Montesquieu's sense, essential. He is, on the other hand, highly vulnerable to the despots who attain their goals by playing upon

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thatsense of honor and by manipulatingthe conventionsby which the nobility is ruled. Montesquieu is forced to appeal to values he in order to preservethe conventionalorder has elsewherecriticized represented by the aristocracy from the ambitious monarch. Though the idealism inherent in philosophy constitutes the mainstayof despotism,it is preciselyto that idealism-in the form of philosophy-that Montesquieu is forcedto turnto guard against to have the moderatingeffect despotism. In order for the nobility on the monarchy whichpreventsit frombecominga despotism,the nobility needs more than a code of honor, more than the weightof social conventionto defend its prerogatives: conservative son meprispour "l'ignorancenaturelle'a la noblesse,son inattention, civil,exigentqu'il y ait un corps qui faitsans cesse le gouvernement sortirles lois de la poussiere ouielles seraientensevelies."(EL, II, 5) The occidentaldespot who can achieve his ends workingwithinthe of the aristocratic code cannot be stopped by the idle constraints who understand theirown interestsless well than does aristocrats the despot. He can only be stopped by an enlightenedmagistracy. Even in De l'Esprit des Lois Montesquieu states (in apparent contradictionwith his declaration that nobilityequals monarchy) that it is the enlightenmentof the king and his ministerswhich distinguishesmonarchyfromdespotism. (EL, III, 10) Rica's analysis of Paris makes apparent a political structure implicit in Usbek's own despotically organized seraglio. But despotism and idealism are themselves implicit in the political structureRica describes. Similarly,though Rica's description of relations between the sexes makes apparent the ways in which Usbek's slaves are stillfreeto "pervert"the moral order he seeks to reveals somethingabout impose on them,so the seraglio'sstructure the French societyanalyzed by Rica. French societydemonstrates that sexuality is independent of the potency Usbek valorizes in himself,and therebyreveals that the relationshipswhose purity Usbek had soughtto guarantee throughthe castrationof his slaves are in factsexually charged. But what indeed is the nature of the existingbetweenthe slaves and the women in Usbek's relationships absence? Like the relationshipbetween men and women in French it is theoretically a relationshipbetweenequals, for there is society, no "real" upon which a claim for the supremacy of masculine potency can be based, which could be interpreted as giving a monopoly on sexuality to some while excluding others from it.

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With the "real" abolished, sexualitycan no longer be a question of identity, but one of role, with women and eunuchs playing the "masculine"or dominantrole and the "feminine"or alternately submissiverole. In fact,however,this apparent bisexualityof the but of actors is a sign, not of a liberationfromsexual stereotypes, the triumphof a unique measure of sexualityto which some will conform,fromwhichotherswilldeviate,but according to whichall will be judged. The "premier eunuque" describes the reversal of roles betweenUsbek's twosetsof slaves-his wivesand his eunuchs: au pointouielles pourme mener pas de pretexte Ellesne manquent aveugleet une une obeissance dans ces occasions, I1 faut, veulent. sansbornes:. . sije balanpais compliance a leurobeir,ellesseraient en droit de me chdtier.... Ellesontdes quartsd'heureouije ne suis rien,des quarts pointecoute,des quartsd'heureouil'on ne refuse tort. (LP, IX) j'ai toujours d'heureoui et il me que j'etaisne pourles commander, toujours Je me souviens semble que je redevienshomme dans les occasions ouije leur du commande encore.Mais toutcela . . . n'estriensansla presence maitre. Que pouvons-nousfaire avec ce vain fant6med'une (LP, XCVI) jamais touteentiere? autorite qui ne se communique Insofar as the women rule the chief eunuch, they exercise an authorityborrowed from Usbek. Insofar as he rules them, the eunuch becomes like his master-'je redeviens homme." Thus couple may be comprised of Usbek and a though the master-slave eunuch, Usbek and a wife,or a eunuch and a wife,each alternately occupyingthe dominant or submissiverole, the "equalitybetween the sexes" which permitsthe various "actors" to exchange roles is apparent only from the point of view of the absent, ideal man representedby Usbek; forit is fromthispointof viewthatwomen, eunuchs and ultimately Usbek himself appear as "castrated" versionsof that ideal. The despotic idealism represented by Usbek dominates the as it did culturalorder fromwhichthe "real" is absent as effectively a "natural" order in which "le reel, quelque bouleversementqu'on "1 7 puisse y apporter,. . y est toujours et en tout cas 'a sa place.... Indeed, just as Montesquieu is obliged to appeal to Enlightenement in order to preventthe monarchy criticizes values he systematically from being transformed into despotism, so it is only
17

Lacan, "Le Seminaire sur La Lettre Volde," Ecrits,p. 25.

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SUZANNE

GEARHART

enlightenment-that same idealism which rationalizes Usbek's virtue-which preventsthe European to a self-serving attachment from taking greater advantage of the privilege which the most culturalist of societies attaches to the male role. Though the enlightened European deplores the state of affairs,nonetheless, like his oriental counterpart, he still views it as in some sense "natural:" "l'empire que nous avons sur elles est une veritable tyrannie;elles ne nous l'ont laisse prendre que parce qu'elles ont plus de douceur que nous.... ." (LP, XXXVIII) The debate on the place of women in societyremains a debate among men; for the in conventionalsocietyas a closed system barrierwhichconstitutes opposition to the despotism reflectsa transcendant perspective fromwhich the potencyand autonomyclaimed by the despot and renounced by social man is retained as an ideal of man. In theLettres Persanesan order dominated by the functionof the witha culturalorder moi-despotism-is denounced and contrasted fromwhich the moiis presumablyabsent. But the culturalorder is in fact organized by the same value as despotism, that is, by the the psychoanalyst) claim of the subject (Usbek, the anthropologist, to be outside it as well, to occupy a vantage point fromwhich that order can be described and given coherence. From the perspective of the outsider, the cultural orders are seen as linked by a negation-a "meconnaissance"of each other-and thislinkreveals to the outsider thateach is the "truth"of the other. Interpretedin terms of the "truth" this opposition makes possible the transcendance of nature and culture representedin the positionof the But by revealing that the outsider psychoanalyst/anthropologist. and the opposition which he claims to transcendare in factimpliPersanesobliges us to cated in the idealism he denounces, theLettres as is not to be interpreted conclude thatthisnegation/denunciation but ratheras an attemptto preserve simplya denial of the "truth," whatis denied as the "truth;"and thatthe denunciationof idealism for preservingit. may well be the last, but not the least, strategy
San Diego of California, University

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