ABSTRACT
The skepticism with which male-female friendships are viewed is remarkably consistent with a widely accepted opinion in early modern Europe: sexual desire is an obstacle to women and men being friends. In early modern France, however, not all mixed-gender friendships fit so neatly into the spiritual vs. worldly/galant dichotomy. This chapter explores how women and men were able to justify and practice friendships that were situated between these two antithetical ideals, especially in salon setting, using the case of the Marquise de Sable. Madeleine de Souvr, Marquise de Sable is perhaps best known for her friendship with Francois de La Rochefoucauld and her role in the composition of his Maximes. Sable echoes Aristotelian model by making virtue the source for good deeds and earthly pleasures one receives from friendship. Sable draws a clear distinction between friendship and love, whereas La Rochefoucauld often blurs the boundary. For Sable, friendship is reciprocal and is choice, whereas love is neither of those things.
