Les Bijoux Indiscrets

Les Bijoux Indiscrets (The Indiscreet Jewels) is a short story by Denis Diderot, first published in 1747. The story follows a young woman named Sophie who receives a mysterious package containing a series of small, exquisite jewels. As she admires each piece, it transforms into a different object, revealing the wearer's deepest desires and secrets. The story explores themes of desire, privacy, and the power of objects to reveal our innermost thoughts and feelings. Through Sophie's experiences, Diderot critiques the societal expectations placed on women and the ways in which they are judged and evaluated based on their appearance and behavior. Throughout the story, Diderot employs a unique narrative structure, using the jewels to represent the complexities of human emotion and the ways in which our desires and secrets can be both exposed and concealed. The story is a masterful exploration of the human condition, challenging readers to consider their own desires and the ways in which they are shaped by societal expectations.

By Denis Diderot · First published 1749 · Genre: Philosophical Fiction, Satire, Erotica · 51 chapters

Contents

• "Birth of Mangogul."
• "Education of Mangogul."
• "Which may be regarded as the first of this history."
• "Evocation of the Genius."
• "Mangogul's dangerous Temptation."
• "First Trial of the Ring."
• "Second trial of the Ring."
• "Third trial of the Ring."
• "The state of the academy of sciences at Banza."
• "Less learned and less tedious than the preceding. Continuation of the academical sitting."
• "Fourth trial of the Ring."
• "Fifth Trial of the Ring."
• "Of the opera at Banza."
• "Orcotomus's experiments."
• "The Bramins."
• "The Muzzles."
• "The two Devouts."
• "The Toyman's return."
• "Seventh trial of the Ring."
• "Eighth trial of the Ring."
• "Ninth Trial of the Ring."
• "A Sketch of Mangogul's moral Philosophy."
• "Tenth trial of the Ring."
• "Eleventh trial of the Ring."
• "Twelfth Trial of the Ring."
• "Mirzoza's Metaphysics."
• "Sequel of the preceding conversation."
• "Thirteenth trial of the Ring."
• "The best perhaps, and the least read of this history."
• "Fourteenth trial of the Ring."
• Was Mangogul in the right?
• "The fifteenth trial of the Ring."
• "Sixteenth trial of the Ring."
• "Seventeenth trial of the Ring."
• "Conversation on literature."
• "Eighteenth and nineteenth trials of the Ring."
• "Mirzoza's dream."
• "Twenty-first and twenty-second Trials of the Ring."
• "Dreams."
• "Twenty-third Trial of the Ring."
• "The history of Selim's travels."
• "Twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth trial of the ring."
• "Selim at Banza."
• "Twenty-sixth trial of the Ring."
• "Cydalisa."
• "Twenty-seventh Trial of the Ring."
• "Prodigious events of the Reign of Kanaglou, Mangogul's Grand-father."
• "Twenty-eighth Trial of the Ring."
• "Twenty-ninth Trial of the Ring."
• "Platonic Love."
• "Thirtieth and last trial of the Ring."

More by Denis Diderot

• Rameau's Nephew (1805)
• This Is Not a Story (1767)
• The Indiscreet Jewels (1748)
• All works by Denis Diderot