Claude-Romain Lauze-Duperret

 

Rise and Fall

 

Born in the South of France on February 28, 1747 of a noble family, Dupperret’s first posting during the Revolution was as an advisor to the mayor of Saint Etienne de Val Francisque. He was at first a member of the Jacobins, and even rose to the position of secretary. He later left the party and joined with the Girondists.

Becoming a Girondist deputy for the branch of the party located in the Bouches du Rhône region, he was considered an extremist in the Assembly.  He soon fell under the influence of Charles Jean Marie Barbaroux, secretary to the Commune of Marseille in the Convention. Duperret voted for the death of the King, but did so only with the reservation that the sentence was approved by the people. His moment of fame came in April, 1793 when he drew his sword during the Convention debate on the accusation that he was involved in the death of Marat. Duperret was not among the first of the Girondists suspended, but he was later arrested and executed in October, 1793 because of his contact with Charlotte Corday, which had implicated him in the murder of Marat.

 

Meeting Corday

 

When Girondist deputies arrived at Caen, Charlotte Corday immediately sought them out. It is not known for certain if she had already formulated a plan for assassinating Marat at this time. She came to them at their hotel seeking remuneration for an abbess of her acquaintance, but left there with her plan fully formed. Although she did not meet Duperret at that time, she did discuss the plan with others who contacted him in Paris. When no reply came, she presented herself, along with a letter of introduction from Deputy Barbaroux to Duperret. She left Caen on the pretense of going to England to live away from the Revolution. The farewell letter she wrote to her family concluded, “Adieu, my dear papa; embrace my sister for me, and do not forget me.”

 

After taking up residence in a small hotel on the Rue de Vieux Oldestein upon her arrival in Paris, she came to Duperret, who was not at home but in the Convention. She did make contact later that evening, asking Duperret to accompany her to see the Minister of the Interior. Duperret allegedly knew nothing of her plot, but noted that she seemed to be suspicious in some way. He did go with her to the Ministry of the Interior the next morning.  Again, Duperret was ignorant of the plan; but, because the letter she had sent from Caen was intercepted and Duperret’s home raided, he warned her to leave Paris and go home.  In response, she urged him to go to Caen. When he declined, she is said to have advised him to “take my advice and fly before to-morrow evening!” Duperret and Corday would not meet again.

 

Was Duperret Corday’s Accomplice?

 

There is reason to believe Charlotte Corday did not act alone. Caen was a hotbed of activity against the Montagnard Convention. Certainly, a plot had been prepared for July 14 or 15, to assassinate "Danton, Robespierre, Marat and Company." It is very possible Corday knew the details. When she visited Duperret, she handed over some leaflets and the letter from Barbaroux.  All of these indicate that the woman might very well have been more the tool and less the architect of what might have been a Girondist-royalist plot.

 

Was Duperret a Sex Maniac?

 

In Weiss’s text, Duperret is presented as Charlotte Corday’s lover.  This, of course, is historically not proven—at best.  It is interesting to speculate, however, as to whether it is actually Weiss or the characters in Marat/Sade who have made this revisionist decision. After all, the patient who plays Duperret is noted to suffer from “sexual mania,” and does have a difficult time keeping his hands away from the patient playing Corday.  Sade, as not only a writer of erotica, but also as the presumed writer of the play, would have probably gravitated toward this angle.

 

One may wonder, given the length and breadth of various sexual dysfunctions, what might have constituted the “sexual mania” of the Duperret inmate. In all probability—and because it is most visible on stage—this patient probably suffers from frottage or frotteurism.  This is the act of achieving sexual gratification by rubbing the body or body parts against others. Frotteurism carries a connotation of "anonymous and discreet rubbing," especially in a public place; however, the contact may also be mutual. One who practices frotteurism is known as a frotteur.

 

The following information is freely adapted from www.wikipedia.com:

 

As with other sexual practices, frottage with a non-consenting person is regarded as a form of sexual assault in most jurisdictions.

 

Two people engaging in clothed frottage in a manner that simulates intercourse is known in the vernacular as dry humping. A modern dancing style which involves partners rubbing their clothed bodies on one another is called grinding.

 

A variation on this practice is known as groping. The difference between frottage and groping is sometime hard to define.  However, groping is generally considered to be done with the hands; whereas, frottage is generally another body part.  Groping is a sexually aggressive act. Buttocks, thighs and breasts are often groped. When done without permission or against the will of another person, this can be considered a form of sexual abuse.

Groping women in trains is a widespread phenomenon in Japan. As the suburban trains are usually crowded, bringing the workers to large cities and back to their suburban homes, close physical contact is unavoidable. Many men use this to their advantage, pressing onto women and groping them.  According to one survey, about two thirds of Japanese women between 20-40 years old have been groped on trains or at stations. Young teenagers (schoolgirls) are also often subject to groping. Japanese women are less likely to openly react to such abuse than their Western counterparts, probably because of cultural differences. In the most extreme cases, when a victim is repeatedly harassed in such way, police protection can be assigned to her. To allow women to exclude the possibility of being groped by men, some trains have women-only cars. There are some magazines and websites dedicated to groping women in trains, where the perpetrators discuss their favourite pastime and share experiences.Groping is a somewhat popular fetish in Japanese pornography.

 

Intercrural intercourse is a type of "outercourse" which involves placing the penis of one partner between the other partner's thighs, either from the front or rear, and thrusting to create sexual pleasure. It is often practiced by couples who have chosen not to have vaginal or anal intercourse, which may be due to fear of pregnancy or STDs, or a distaste for penetration. This form of sexuality is not completely safe, as it still carries some risk of STD transmission and pregnancy. This can also be done by inserting the penis in the armpit.

 

Intercrural intercourse is frequently seen on ancient Greek ceramics depicting pederastic sexual scenes, the more common genital groping pose may be a sort of foreplay specific to intercrural intercourse, lifting the testicles so that the penis may better enter the area between the thighs. It is also known colloquially as the "Oxford style", as opposed to the "Princeton rub" (penis-to-penis frottage). These names refer to homosexual practices supposedly characteristic of the universities they are named after.

 

DSM-IV Background on Frotteurism

302.81 Criteria for Frotteurism

·        Repeatedly for at least six months, the patient has intense sexual desires, fantasies, or behaviors that involve rouching and rubbing against a person who doesn’t consent to this behavior.

·        This causes clinically important distress or impairs work, social, or personal functioning.

 

A Case Study of Frotteurism

 

Henry McWilliams had been born in London.  Dressed in his short gray pants, white shirt, and school tie, he rode the London Underground every day to his exclusive school.  Once day, when he was nine, he saw a man rubbing up against a woman on the Underground.

 

Henry was small when he was nine, and even in the crowded subway car he had an excellent eye-level view.  The woman (she was an adult, though Henry had no idea how old) was a bit overweight and dressed in a tight-fitting mini-skirt.  She was facing away from the man, who allowed the weight of the crowd surging through the doors to press him up against her.  The man tugged his crotch, and them, as the train began to move, rubbed himself against her.

 

“ I never saw her face, but I could tell she didn’t like it,” said henry. “She tried to push him away, she tried to move, but there was no place for either of them to go.  Then the train stopped and he ran out the door.”

 

Henry the adult, age 24, had now referred himself for treatment.  He moved with his parent to the United States when he was 15.  Since his graduation from high school, he had worked a s a messenger for a large legal firm.  Many days he spent several hours on the subway in his official capacity.  He guessed that he had rubbed against 200 women in five years.  He was seeking help at the insistence of one of the partners in his law firm, who the week before had happened to ride the same train and had watched him in action.

 

When Henry was in need, he would go into the men’s room and put on a condom so as not to stain his trousers.  Then he would roam up and down the outskirts of a crowd on a subway platform until he found a woman who interested him.  This would be someone who was youngish but not young (“They’re less likely to scream”), and well-rounded enough to stretch tight the material of her skirt of slacks.  He especially like it if the material was leather.  He would board after she did, and if she did not turn around, would rub his erect penis up and down against her buttock as the train began to roll.

 

Henry was sensitive, so it didn’t take much pressure.  Sometimes the woman didn’t even seem to realize what was going on, or maybe she didn’t want to admit it, even to herself.  He usually climaxed within a minute.  Then he would bolt out the door at the next stop.  In the event that he was interrupted, he would hang around the platform until he spotted another woman in another crowd.

 

“It helps if I imagine that we’re married or engaged,” he explained.  “I’ll pretend that she’s wearing my ring, and I’ve come home for a quickie.”