/lit/ - Literature

As much as I enjoy DeSade, I find it hard to call Justine 'dark and disturbing'. 120 Days, sure - but the entire time I read Justine, it felt much more like a very black comedy. Even putting aside the more handwavey elements (like the amount of times her body is utterly wrecked or damaged, how many things she has shoved inside or whatnot, and still ends up being tight/healthy enough for things to get hurt again). but even the various evil characters and their over-the-top actions (like the towns people who try to get Justine killed because they blamed her for the death of a child she had no hand in), and just how she Lucille Ball's her way into shitty situations - it's funny. The ending too, the way it's worded, and what happens. The whole thing is funny.

>Awful life only grows more awful the more she lives
>Every good deed goes punished ten fold
>Even when happiness comes, she cannot handle it properly after all the shit she went through
>God then literally smotes her.

I know the book is a satire of moral ingénue stories, but I couldn't help but feel bad for her the entire time.