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Theme of Sexuality in Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville

Two Tahitian Women, 1899, Paul Gauguin

Origins

Because of his study of nature and the advancements in life sciences, Denis Diderot came to the conclusion that universal progress depends largely on Eros.  For Diderot, Eros is “a priori existence of sexual energy that fuels the universe.”  This concept greatly influenced Diderot’s views on human sexuality.  His involvement in Enlightenment movements such as sensualism, vitalism and materialism also helped him developed his ideas about human sexuality.  He believed that nature had a moral end and encourages humans to have children.  Since nature favors procreation, laws and rules should not restrain the sexuality of men and women.   Since 18th century French society had many rules controlling people’s sexuality, Diderot believed that French society is not a suitable place for Eros because of its “artificiality and formalism.”  For Claudia Moscovici, Diderot’s critique of 18th century French society, especially its rules controlling human sexuality, can especially be seen in the Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville.

Diderot’s Views on Human Sexuality

Diderot’s views on sexuality is contained in the Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville. In the book, Diderot uses a dialogue between Orou, a Tahitian man, and a chaplain in order to contrast the French and Tahitian societies. Tahitian people are governed by nature and portrayed as happy and content. They also have less restrictions on their sexual conduct because men and women are not obligated to marry before having a child together.  People can have sex with the opposite gender in order to procreate, which is nature’s intended purpose for humans.  In Tahiti, women are not considered property of any man and are not ridiculed for having a child before marriage.  Claudia Moscovici argues that Diderot uses the Tahitian society to criticize the laws and norms regarding sexual behavior in 18th century French society and Western culture. Unlike the Tahitians, the French are governed by laws and convention.  They had more restrictions on the sexual behavior of men and women.  For instance, it was unacceptable to have a child with someone without being married in French society.  Once married, family life for women was very constraining.  French women did not have much freedom to pursue jobs outside of the home and was considered the property of their husband. In this way, Diderot believed that marriage controlled human sexuality because women and men were bound to one another, prohibiting them from having children with others. For Claudia Moscovici, Diderot also believed this idea because French women were no longer free to satisfy their own desires, especially sexual ones, and had to adhere to the commands of their  “bourgeois patriarchs.”

Diderot’s Contradictory Views on Sexuality

While Diderot suggests that women should be liberated and not be property of men in Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville, Walter E. Rex argues that Diderot contradicts himself when he writes a letter to Angelique, his daughter, on her wedding day.  In this letter, Diderot discusses how his daughter should act once she is married to her husband.  Instead of reiterating that she is not the property of her husband, he tells her, in a sense, she is her husband’s property. He asserts that a wife should obey and give pleasure to her husband.  She should respect him at all times and keep him entertained in order to guarantee that he will not leave her.  Diderot even says that her whole existence is to ensure that her husband is satisfied. In this way, according to Rex, Angelique does not have the same amount of sexual liberation as the Tahitians in Diderot’s Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville.  Rex argues this idea because Diderot did not give Angelique the ability to act on her own accord but rather, dictated that her actions must conform to her husband’s wishes.  She was not free to act on her own natural instincts, especially those of the sexual kind.  Rex articulates that Diderot controlled his daughter's sexuality, which is contrary to the sexual liberation displayed in the Tahitian lifestyle in Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville.  Walter E. Rex argues that the contradiction occurred because Diderot’s enthrallment with the expedition accounts of Bougainville caused him to overlook the fact that his views on human sexuality contained in the letter to his daughter was different than those explained in Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville.