Network of Letters in Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons: Epistolary Structure and Plot Analysis
This paper makes the case that epistolary studies and networked approaches to literature share an important set of concerns. Moreover, the union of these two approaches has a natural application to a specific genre: epistolary novels. In particular, Laclos's novel, Les Liaisons dangereuses, provides an excellent case study in the application of network models to epistolary novels. This research demonstrates that the structure and dynamics of the network of letters in an epistolary novel is sufficient to make some reasonable inferences regarding the plot without automated dialogue extraction.
Washington & Jefferson College