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The present thesis focuses on how Angela Carter (1940 – 1992) recaptured the ideas and
principles of the Marquis de Sade (1740 – 1814) so as to assert her feminist ideas through the
exploitation of pornography and sexual violence in The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor
Hoffman (1972). After an overview of Carter’s literary life, it will trace the author’s views on
Sade and what she called “moral pornography” as well as the relationship the latter can have
with feminism, on the one hand by taking a close look at the highly controversial essay The
Sadeian Woman (1978) and on the other hand by dealing with the explosive debate on the
pornography issue that took place within the feminist movement during the 1980s. It will then
offer an analysis of Carter’s novel, approaching a variety of topics ranging from the inclusion
of Sadeian characters within the plot to the elaboration of powerful Carterian heroines by way
of distinctive features directly borrowed from pornography – such as dehumanisation, the
stereotypical representation of femininity and gender relations, and the banalisation of sexual
violence against women, all of it being subjected to criticism.

Angela Carter --- The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman --- Sade --- Pornography --- Moral Pornography --- Sexual Violence --- Feminism --- The Sadeian Woman --- English Literature --- Arts & sciences humaines > Littérature