One of the main things I contemplated during my reading of this text was whether or not it is based in fact. In the context of the time and some content in the book itself it is hard to tell. Some parts of it, such as the implied religious commentary and the parallels between his characters and the Estates General, as well as the fact that it was written in the time of the French Revolution, make it seem like it could mostly be social commentary. On the other hand, the acts that De Sade himself committed during his life, such as the “little girls affair”, make it obvious that much of it was based on reality. Something I found interesting was how De Sade’s tone surrounding the sexual acts changed. He said that it was expected for people to derive pleasure from reading the text, making it seem like his focus was on its sexual pleasures, but within the text he writes the four men talking of the acts in a very detached manner, making it seem like they stood for something separate from pleasure. Another thing I found interesting was the importance of the text to De Sade. He wrote that every detail was meticulously planned out, even making a note about a detail from ‘notebook 18’, and he took every measure to ensure the text could be written. Following the storming of the Bastille, when he thought his work was lost, Sade found himself “crying tears of blood”. Regardless of the possible commentary of it all, I find the fact that there is even a question of how much of such an abhorrent text is based in truth is horrifying; as well as all of the people and behaviors the text itself could have inspired.