“I believed myself to be completely delivered from the frailties of love […]. Yet one unhappy moment hurled me again over the precipice.” (The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut, Chapter V)
a) Certain characters in the novels of The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut by Prévost, Julie; or, The New Heloise by Rousseau and Dangerous Liaisons by Laclos experience love as a “fall,” at least at some point in their journey. Who are these characters? Is their experience in this regard comparable?
b) Can we say, suddenly, that the three novels present the same pessimistic view of the dangers of love?