With history set aside, the context of the books content is the next large aspect of this widely banned book. Within this story it is important to keep in mind that the four main characters play almost god like figures as they control others around them and fulfill sexual desirers on a whim. This thought leads to the essential theme of ultimate power. The sexual acts themselves are trivial and as mentioned in the book only give satisfaction and arousal when they are dangerous. without threat, crimes and lubricous acts mean nothing. This book can be seen as a long string of thoughts in an almost compulsive chronological order that shows almost no end to sexual acts. However, there are points in the book where the characters interject and have Ann existential conversation or thought and this was read almost as De Sade speaking through the characters. I believe this is done as it Gives De Sade some of the satisfaction and gratification of being in the book. De Sade wants to feel his devious writings have weight and thus he blurs the lines between omniscient and a very present narrator. Another interesting aspect in the text is the way sexual acts are described and worded. It is not often that these acts are left to the imagination, and in fact seem to rather force the mind to see them. With that being said not all details are exposed in their entirety and rather are replaced with a more elegant term. For example urine in the story is often referred to as “Liqueur” which gives these acts an almost stamp of high society despite completely clashing with these ideas in nature. With the roles of the four characters defined as members of high society it does make you question if the upper class is so respectable or if this is what takes place behind closed doors, or even worse if this is the overall mentality that the ultra wealthy adopt. It is hard to distinguish crime with high society, as if anything this group of people could commit these acts with some impunity.