What I took from Rosseau’s Confessions is that this is kind of a reflection of the life he led when he was young. From what he experienced and saw and what he felt and did. He moved around a lot and had a lot of people coming in and out of his life which must not have been easy. Moving around a lot and not having a stable situation does a lot to someone.
I mean, I definitely did not have as rough of a time as Rosseau had with his father going to prison and his brother leaving but constant change can really effect a young persons mind. Although he does seem to enjoy the attention he gets from basically being an only child I can not imagine the loneliness he might have felt without his parents or brother.
Perhaps a lot of his rambunctious nature came from his unstable home life. I remember that one of the toughest times during my childhood in which I acted out a lot was when we moved around a lot. There was nothing wrong with my home life per say but the constant change and settling of a new neighborhood.
From what I’ve noticed reading about Rousseau’s jobs and experiences is that he lives kind of nomadically and sporadically, similarly to his childhood. He becomes infatuated with something or his situation in one area and eventually the momentum dies out and he moves on to the next thing in the next city. The same change that molded him as a child follows him into young adulthood.
What I receive from this is the concept of trend. You see it in all types of people and I see it within myself. Even moving around a lot made growing up hard and made a lasting impact on my life, I find myself not wanting to stay in one place throughout my young adulthood and my future as well. I have no intentions to stay in one place. Whether that be in the U.S or internationally. The idea of moving and new experiences excites me even though it had the opposite effect on me as a child.
What I see from Rosseau is that he has an upbringing that is full of rockiness and uncertainty and that is incorporated into his character as an adult. He seems to just roll with the punches or go where the wind blows him. His life seems to be made up of a lot of inconsistencies. He will lie that he is a catholic in order to be educated and works hard for it but as soon as that work is done, he does a bit of a hiatus. I can relate to that. I am not proud of it but I will have surges of productivity and hard work and as soon as I get one thing done I take a little too much rest and relaxation rather than keeping up my proactive momentum to get more work done.
