Though the novel takes place, and was published, before the French Revolution, the major causes leading up to it are portrayed in the novel. These causes include an aristocracy rampant with moral and social corruption, and the subsequent sufferings of the lower classes due to a very strict hierarchical-social structure. The novel also reflects some of the changing social and sexual mores of the era.

The corrupting influence of a depraved aristocracy on the lower classes is illustrated through the ways in which the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont behave with their servants, and how those servants react to the former’s commands and demands. The time before the French Revolution is known in history as the Ancien Régime (the “Old Regime”). It extended from the Late Middle Ages up to the Revolution. Society was structured into three classes of people, also known as “estates.” The first estate was the aristocracy, the second was the clergy, and the third estate made up the vast majority of the French population, the common people.

During the 18th century, there was a major philosophical and scientific movement underway called “the Enlightenment.” It was a cultural and intellectual movement that emphasized reason, science, and individualism.