Dangerous Liaisons, Letter 64 summary

What happens

1. Danceny expresses distress and denies abusing Madame de Volanges’s trust or her daughter’s innocence.
2. He argues that his sudden absence could provoke gossip and asks Madame de Volanges to reconsider the ban on visits.
3. He offers to avoid private conversations and correspondence during permitted visits, but renews his vow of lasting love.
4. He refuses to surrender Mlle de Volanges’s letters because doing so would betray her confidence.
5. He explains that he changes the bundle’s label to identify the letters as Mlle de Volanges’s property.

In this letter

What to notice

Danceny makes confidentiality a duty stronger than obedience to the mother’s request. This principle supports his refusal to surrender the letters.

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