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Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions (Book I)
The first book of Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions represents a groundbreaking approach to autobiographical writing. Rousseau expresses his ambition through a declaration that states, “I have entered upon a performance which is without example, whose accomplishment will have no imitator” (Rousseau, Book 1). In his narrative, Rousseau presents his entire character, showing both admirable qualities and weaknesses without hiding anything. When the book starts, Rousseau states that he will provide an absolute truth about himself by writing, “I have concealed no crimes, added no virtues” (Rousseau, Book 1).
Rousseau details his early life in full, which shows how his emotional nature developed during that period. Geneva served as his birthplace in 1712, where his father worked as a watchmaker alongside his mother, who possessed higher education. The death of his mother shortly after birth marked him deeply emotionally. He describes his father’s enduring sadness by recounting their conversations about his mother: “When he said to me, ‘Jean Jacques, let us talk of your mother,’ my usual response was, ‘Yes, father, but then, you know, we shall cry’” (Rousseau, Book 1). Rousseau presents his early emotional growth as a combination of losing his mother and feeling both tenderness and guilt.
Throughout Book I, Rousseau focuses on his educational experiences from school and personal life. Rousseau learned how to read from his father, who used his mother’s romance novels to share nightly reading sessions that generated strong emotions: “We soon found ourselves so interested in the adventures they contained, that we alternately read whole nights together” (Rousseau, Book 1). Through reading these stories, Rousseau developed a passion for literature, yet simultaneously acquired unrealistic heroism-related fantasies about life that reality could never change according to his own words (Rousseau, Book 1).
Rousseau describes his early republican ideals and love of liberty as they developed through reading Plutarch’s Lives. He says, “I was fired with these examples; could fancy myself a Greek or Roman” (Rousseau, Book 1). The early readings influenced his future political ideas, yet at the same time generated conflicting thoughts within him. He struggled to balance his idealistic views with the degrading experiences of his apprenticeship under cruel masters.
Book I presents the primary psychological revelation about Rousseau’s early disciplinary experiences and their complicated emotional impact. His memory of Miss Lambercier’s spanking stands as one of his most important psychological recollections. Instead of feeling anger about the discipline he received, it strengthened his love for the disciplinarian. He writes, “This punishment increased my affection for the person who had inflicted it” (Rousseau, Book 1). Rousseau openly discusses the unusual sexual overtones of this incident, together with its impact on developing his emotional and sexual nature. The admission marks the beginning of Confessions because Rousseau chooses to reveal all aspects of his nature without omission or embellishment.
After being wrongfully accused of breaking a comb, a significant dramatic moment shows his suffering. Rousseau kept silent about a crime he had not committed, even when the beatings continued. According to Rousseau, this experience left such a deep emotional impression that every comparable event continues to stir his feelings (Rousseau, Book 1). This experience instilled in him a permanent antipathy toward unjust authority, which then influenced both his personal development and his later revolutionary concepts.
The hardships Rousseau faced did not diminish his strong dedication to nature, along with his love for friends and his desire to remain independent. Rousseau maintained a pure and affectionate spirit through his recollections of planting a tree at Bossey and his deep friendships. Rousseau acknowledges the event which brought an end to his innocent childhood state of peace (Rousseau, Book 1). The innocent period of his life ended prematurely, which led to the development of his later constant unrest.
Overall, book I of Confessions reveals Rousseau as a person who combines sentimentalism with pride while feeling keenly about injustice and easily gets hurt, along with his intense idealistic nature. His project represents a revolutionary approach because he reveals both admirable conduct and the disgraceful and conflicting emotions of his past. Rousseau declares through his words, “Such as I was, I have declared myself” (Rousseau, Book 1). Through his honest and deep insights, Confessions became a masterpiece which established the foundation for contemporary autobiography.
Works Cited
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques.
The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau: Complete in 12 Books. Privately Printed for the Members of the Aldus Society, 1903. Retrieved From:
