Themes of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 'Confessions'

EOB-356
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Themes in ‘Confessions’ by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an 18th-century philosopher, composer, and writer. He was born in 1712 in
Geneva, which at the time was a city-state under the Republic of Geneva, Switzerland. Rousseau is
widely credited with having had a significant influence on most of the major philosophical themes and
ideas that characterized 18th-century Europe. This includes the Enlightenment movement throughout the
continent, the Romanticism school of literature, as well as the French Revolution.
One of his most famous works is his autobiography, titled ‘Confessions’. Written between 1767-69, it
recounts the incidents of Rousseau’s life, from the time of his earliest memory right up until his present. It
is a vast body of writing and was published in two parts. The first part, consisting of six books, was
published posthumously in 1782, four years after Rousseau’s death. The second part, also consisting of
six books, was published in 1789.
Confessions is very diverse in the themes and topics that it deals with. At the beginning of book one,
Rousseau openly professes that what he’s going to write is going to be the pure, unadulterated truth, and
even if there are some factual inaccuracies in the work, his feelings and ideologies would be represented
with complete sincerity.
Throughout the narrative, there is an overarching shadow of impulsiveness. Almost every major step that
Rousseau takes in his life that results in drastic consequences seems to be taken on impulse. He paints a
painfully honest picture of his youth and depicts himself as the impatient, fickle person that he was, and
doesn’t shy away from shedding light on even his most disgraceful moments. The fact that Rousseau
would include in his autobiography incidents like the time he framed a servant girl for a petty theft he
committed, or the time he abandoned his companion, who was having a fit, in the city and returned to the
country just serves to attest to his initial statement of having set out to paint the most holistic portrait of
himself possible, flaws and all. Nevertheless, all these incidents also serve to emphasize his fickle
temperament and impulsive nature.
Another major theme in Confessions i s the emphasis that is put on Rousseau’s escapist tendencies.
Several times throughout his youth, he ran away from places, either because he didn’t want to stay any
longer or because he didn’t want to face the consequences of some impulsive action he had taken. He
seems particularly inclined towards making the most out of life and grabbing each opportunity that is
presented to him, and yet, whenever he’s faced with the consequences of his own actions, he chooses to
run and hide rather than handle them with grace. But even without external motivations to run, Rousseau
seems inherently averse to settling down in one place anyway. He led a life that was largely
transient—both in the respect of his inclinations that ranged from music to literature to gambling and
seemed to change with the wind, as well as the circle of acquaintances he associated himself
with—drifting from place to place and people to people. This capricious nature of his was the reason why
he eventually had a falling out with most of his connections in life.
Another motif that, while never explicitly stated, is nevertheless still discernible throughout the narrative
is the twisted relations Rousseau seems to have had with the women in his life. His mother had died while
giving birth to him and as such, he never had a proper maternal influence over him while growing up and
he was separated from his father at a young age too. This lack of healthy family dynamics in his vicinity,
particularly with regards to women, might have contributed to his distorted perception of what a normal
relationship with a woman looks like. Throughout his life, he had numerous affairs and promiscuous
escapades, most of them with women much older than him. From a psychologist’s point of view,
Rousseau might have been trying to fill the gap that was left by the absence of a maternal figure in his
life, seeking some sort of validation from these older women or for someone to nurture and care for him.
Or it might simply have been the result of the lack of reference he had for healthy relationships in life.
Whatever the case, Rousseau’s relationships with the women in his life were certainly very dysfunctional.
A vital part of Rousseau’s writing, not just with respect to Confessions b ut to his philosophy as a whole,
was the significance he assigned to the notion of the ‘individual’. In The Social Contract, he tried to unify
this notion with the idea if the sovereign and attempted to explain how these two don’t necessarily have to
be mutually contradictory. But in Confessions, the spotlight is on the individual. Rousseau believed in the
uniqueness of every human being and consequently believed that the individual and all of its
facets—whether positive or negative—are deserving of portrayal. This idea in itself, courtesy of
Rousseau, is one of the major shaping points for 18th century social and political thought. In writing
Confessions, he put out into the world the raw truth of his own individual person and uniqueness.
These are, of course, not the full extent of the various themes and subjects that Rousseau’’s autobiography
has touched upon. Since it covers almost all of his life, from childhood to up until about twelve years
before his death, its scope is quite a wide one, especially with the remarkable life that Rousseau seems to
have led.

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EOB-356

continent, the Romanticism school of literature, as well as the French Revolution.

six books, was published in 1789.

with complete sincerity.

temperament and impulsive nature.

he eventually had a falling out with most of his connections in life.

facets—whether positive or negative—are deserving of portrayal. This idea in itself, courtesy of

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