Set in Paris in the 1780s, REtif de la Bretonne's novel IngEnue Saxancour is a thinly veiled account of his daughter's disastrous marriage to an abusive husband. From the time of her marriage in January 1780, until she left her husband in July 1785, AgnEs REtif suffered continually from severe physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Published in 1789, REtif's novel scandalized the public with its graphic descriptions of his son-in-law's sexual perversity and brutal violence.
REtif's novel remains shocking even two centuries later and continues to raise disturbing questions...