浪荡子在西方文化中一直是一个引人关注的文学形象。17、18世纪的法国文坛，即曾出现过“浪荡子”热的现象，众多的文学作品中都不约而同地出现了浪荡子的形象。这些浪荡子形象有若干共性，但也有其复杂面，包括自由与征服、虚情与真情、放纵与忧愁，等等。在更深层的意义上，人格这种多重性，既反映了浪荡子心理世界中情与理的张力，又折射了其所处时代的复杂性。

Libertines have been attractive literary images in the Western culture. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, there was a "libertine" fever in the French literary circle and numerous literary works described libertines. These libertines have a lot in common andcomplicated dimensions, including freedom and conquering, fulsomeness and true love, indulgence and sadness, etc. Furthermore, the multiple dimensions of the personality of a libertine reflect not only the tension between emotion and reason in his mentality but the complexity of the time as well.