Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) Part 1, Letters 1-5 Summary

Letter 1: Cécile de Volanges to Sophie Carney at the Ursuline Convent of —

Cécile is getting used to life at home away from the convent.
Here she can be as idle as she pleases.
She writes to her friend Sophie whom she knew in the convent, telling her about her new routine.
Cécile's mother has sprung her from the convent in preparation for her marriage.
In a moment of embarrassment, Cécile nearly fainted when meeting the man she thought was to be her husband.
Oops—the guest was the shoemaker. No worries.

Merteuil begs Valmont to return to Paris.
She wants his help with her revenge against the Comte de Gercourt, a man who'd left her for another woman.
She figures that Valmont will want to play the vengeance game with her because the woman Gercourt had taken up with had at the time been with him.
That's how these two—Merteuil and Valmont—know each other: they were jilted by the same pair of lovers.
Gercourt plans to marry Cécile, the daughter of Madame de Volanges.
Merteuil demands that Valmont come to dinner.
Her plan is for Valmont to "educate" the young bride, rob her of her innocence, and make Gercourt a laughing stock in Paris high society.
Hell hath no fury, etc…

Cécile recounts the events of last night's dinner.
She's vague on who the guests were, but she remembers a friend of her mother's calling her "gauche." (That means socially awkward.)
She had fallen asleep among the company, so her mother's friend is probably right.

Valmont finds the challenge too easy for him.
He thinks that anyone could easily seduce Cécile.
He has higher ambitions: seduce the Présidente de Tourvel, a married woman known for her piety, devotion, and principles. Just, you know, for the fun of it.
Madame de Tourvel is staying with Valmont's aunt while her husband's out of town.
Valmont's staying there, too. Game on.

Merteuil mocks Valmont for his plot. She believes it isn't doable or worthwhile.
She tells him that prudish women can never really give a man pleasure, and besides, she thinks Tourvel is pretty unattractive.
She has a different task for Valmont that suits her own purposes for revenge against Gercourt.
Good news for her own plot, Cécile already has an admirer: the Chevalier Danceny. He's her music teacher.
Merteuil jokes about her own current lover, another chevalier, whom she might just decide to leave just to make him miserable. She enjoys seeing her lovers suffer.