“Justine” Garden in summary
“People who are inexperienced in the feat of virtue, may find it advantageous for them to indulge in vice, instead of resisting it.” Therefore, “it is necessary to imagine the power of examples of unhappy virtue,” capable of leading to the good “a spoiled soul, if at least any good principles remain in it.” Such aspirations are guided by the author of the novel, in a gloomy grotesque form, painting modern manners.
Fate subjects Justine and Juliet to a severe test: parents die, and the girls find themselves on the street without means of livelihood. Beauty Juliet enters the path of debauchery and quickly turns the latter into a source of income, and just as charming her sister wants at all costs to remain virtuous. A few years later, Juliette, steeped in vice and having stained herself with a multitude of crimes, including murdering her husband, illegitimate children and lovers, achieves everything she wanted: she is the Countess de Lorzange,
Once, traveling with de Corville, at the inn, Juliette meets a girl who is taken to Paris for her death sentence: the girl is accused of murder, theft and arson. The gentle and sad face of the beautiful woman awakens in the Countess’s heart the compassion unknown to her hitherto, with the permission of the gendarmes she greets the girl and asks her to tell her story. The girl agrees, but refuses to reveal her origins. However, the reader probably guessed that before him – unfortunate Justine, so that in the future we will call the girl her real name.
Once outside the gates of the monastery alone and without money, Justina decides to engage in servants, but soon she is horrified to see that she can only get her place by virtue. Finally, a rich money lender takes it to the service. He tests Justine’s decency – makes her steal a rich neighbor. When she refuses, he accuses her of stealing, and the girl is imprisoned. There she meets an adventuress Dubois and, along with her, escapes from
The robber Dubois makes Justine join the gang, and when she refuses, she gives it up to scold robbers. Every day suffering moral and physical torture, Justine remains in the gang, but with all her might trying to keep her virginity. Once robbers capture a Saint-Florenta; Justine of philanthropy helps the prisoner escape and runs along with him. But St. Florent turns out to be a scoundrel: he deafens Justine, unconsciously rapes her and throws her into the woods to the mercy of fate.
The tortured Justine unintentionally witnesses the unnatural connection of the Count de Brissac with his lackey. Finding the girl, the earl first intimidates her half to death, but then changes her anger at mercy and arranges her maid to her aunt. Despite the charming appearance, Mr. de Brissac’s heart is full of all kinds of vices. In an effort to inspire Justine principles of his perverted morality, he orders her to poison her aunt. The terrified Justine tells all to Madame de Brissac. The old woman is outraged, and the count, realizing that he was betrayed, beckons Justine out of the house, tears off her clothes, harasses the dogs, and then lets go on all four sides.
Something Justine gets to the nearest town, finds a doctor, and he heals her wounds. As Justina runs out of money, she ventures to write to Count de Brissac, so that he returns the salary due to her. In response, the count reports that his aunt died from poison, the poisoner considers Justine and the police are looking for her, so it is in her best interest to hide somewhere in a secluded place and not bother him anymore. Frustrated Justine trusts Dr. Rodin, and he offers her the place of a servant in her house. The girl agrees.
In addition to doctoring, Rodin contains a school where boys and girls study together, all as charming. Unable to understand what’s the matter, Justina is asked to question the daughter of Dr. Rosalia, with whom she managed to make friends. With horror, Justine learns that the doctor is committed to debauchery both with students and with his own daughter. Rosalie takes Justine to a secret room, from where she watches the monstrous orgies that Rodin has arranged with his victims. Nevertheless Justine, at the request of Rosalia, remains in the doctor’s house and begins to instruct her friend in the Christian faith. Suddenly, Rosalia disappears. Suspecting her father in another monstrous trick, Justine searches the house and finds her friend locked in a secret closet: Rodin decided to kill her daughter by performing a certain surgical operation on her. Justine arranges Rosalia escape, but she falls into the hands of the doctor; Rodin puts a brand on her back and lets go. Justine is horrified-she’s already sentenced, and now she’s also branded… She decides to flee south, away from the capital.
Justine goes to the monastery, where the miraculous statue of the Holy Virgin is kept, and decides to go and pray. At the monastery, she is greeted by rector Don Severino. The noble appearance and the pleasant voice of the abbot inspire confidence, and the girl tells him frankly about her misadventures. Making sure that Justina has no relatives or friends, the monk changes his tone, roughly grabs her and drags her deep into the monastery: behind the facade of the holy monastery lies a nest of debauchery and vice. The four hermits led by the rector entice maidens whose disappearance does not entail any consequences, force them to participate in orgies and indulge in the most unbridled debauchery, satisfying the perverted voluptuousness of the holy brethren. Depending on the age of the girls are divided into four categories, each class has its own color of clothes, its daily routine, its activities, its mentors. Extreme caution of the holy fathers and their high position make them invulnerable. Women who are bored with monks are released, but, judging by some hints, this freedom means death. Escape from the monastery is impossible – on the windows there are thick lattices, around the ditch and several rows of a prickly hedge. However, the tortured Justine, who almost lost her spirits under the whips of libertines, decides to flee. Accidentally found a file, she saws the window lattice, wades through the thorn bushes, slides into a moat full of corpses, and runs to the forest in horror. There she kneels and praises the Lord. But then two strangers grab her, put a bag on her head and drag her somewhere. judging by some hints, this freedom means death. Escape from the monastery is impossible – on the windows there are thick lattices, around the ditch and several rows of a prickly hedge. However, the tortured Justine, who almost lost her spirits under the whips of libertines, decides to flee. Accidentally found a file, she saws the window lattice, wades through the thorn bushes, slides into a moat full of corpses, and runs to the forest in horror. There she kneels and praises the Lord. But then two strangers grab her, put a bag on her head and drag her somewhere. judging by some hints, this freedom means death. Escape from the monastery is impossible – on the windows there are thick lattices, around the ditch and several rows of a prickly hedge. However, the tortured Justine, who almost lost her spirits under the whips of libertines, decides to flee. Accidentally found a file, she saws the window lattice, wades through the thorn bushes, slides into a moat full of corpses, and runs to the forest in horror. There she kneels and praises the Lord. But then two strangers grab her, put a bag on her head and drag her somewhere. Accidentally found a file, she saws the window lattice, wades through the thorn bushes, slides into a moat full of corpses, and runs to the forest in horror. There she kneels and praises the Lord. But then two strangers grab her, put a bag on her head and drag her somewhere. Accidentally found a file, she saws the window lattice, wades through the thorn bushes, slides into a moat full of corpses, and runs to the forest in horror. There she kneels and praises the Lord. But then two strangers grab her, put a bag on her head and drag her somewhere.
Justine is brought into the castle of the Count de Gernande, an elderly debauchee of enormous growth, coming into excitement only at the sight of blood. Justine is to serve his fourth wife, who is dying from constant bloodletting. The kind-hearted girl agrees to help her unfortunate mistress-to hand over the letter to her mother. But alas! Descending the rope from the window of the castle, she falls right into the arms of the owner! Now Justine is being punished – a slow death from the loss of blood. Suddenly there is a cry: “Mistress at death!”, And Justine, taking advantage of the turmoil, runs away from the castle. Escaping from the clutches of the terrible Count, she gets to Lyon and decides to spend the night in a hotel. There she is met by St. Florent; he suggests that she become a paternal with him, who is obliged to supply him with two virgins a day. Justine refuses and quickly leaves the city. On the way, she wants to give alms to the beggar, but she hits her, pulls out her purse and runs off. Calling to the Lord, Justina goes on. Having met a wounded man, she is helping him. Upon coming to consciousness, Mr. Roland invites her to his castle, promising a maid’s place. Justine believes, and they embark on a journey together. As soon as she approached the gloomy secluded dwelling of Roland, the girl realizes that she was again deceived. Roland is the leader of a gang of counterfeiters; first he forces the unfortunate Justine to turn the heavy gate, and then tosses into the dungeon, where he torments her, in order to satisfy his lust. Poor thing is put in a coffin, suspended, beaten, thrown on the mountains of corpses… Upon coming to consciousness, Mr. Roland invites her to his castle, promising a maid’s place. Justine believes, and they embark on a journey together. As soon as she approached the gloomy secluded dwelling of Roland, the girl realizes that she was again deceived. Roland is the leader of a gang of counterfeiters; first he forces the unfortunate Justine to turn the heavy gate, and then tosses into the dungeon, where he torments her, in order to satisfy his lust. Poor thing is put in a coffin, suspended, beaten, thrown on the mountains of corpses… Upon coming to consciousness, Mr. Roland invites her to his castle, promising a maid’s place. Justine believes, and they embark on a journey together. As soon as she approached the gloomy secluded dwelling of Roland, the girl realizes that she was again deceived. Roland is the leader of a gang of counterfeiters; first he forces the unfortunate Justine to turn the heavy gate, and then tosses into the dungeon, where he torments her, in order to satisfy his lust. Poor thing is put in a coffin, suspended, beaten, thrown on the mountains of corpses… where he torments her, in order to satisfy his lust. Poor thing is put in a coffin, suspended, beaten, thrown on the mountains of corpses… where he torments her, in order to satisfy his lust. Poor thing is put in a coffin, suspended, beaten, thrown on the mountains of corpses…
Unexpectedly, gendarmes come; they arrest Roland and are taken to court in Grenoble. A noble judge believes in Justine’s innocence and lets her go. The girl leaves the city. At night, in a hotel where she stopped, a fire occurs, and Justine goes to jail for arson. The unfortunate turns to St. Florent for help, he steals her from the dungeon, but only to torment and abuse her. In the morning St. Florent returns the girl to prison, where she is sentenced to death.
After hearing the story of the unfortunate, the Countess de Lorzange recognizes Justine, and the sisters fall into each other’s arms with sobbing.
M. de Corvil seeks the liberation and justification of the girl; Mrs. de Lorzange takes her to her estate, where Justine will finally be able to live happily and happily. But fate decides otherwise: a lightning flies into the castle window and kills Justine. Her sister Juliette repents of her past sins and goes to the monastery. We can only shed tears over the unfortunate fate of virtue.
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