1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
2. For Rousseau, what is the relationship between feeling and thinking?
3. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description
4. Why do you think Rousseau chooses to include the anecdote about stealing from his employer?
5. Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description
He describes his childhood as a time that his father gave him all the attention, whereas his older brother was essentially cut off from attention. Additionally he talks about having an innocent childhood, not being exposed to bad deeds or anything of that sort. The significance is that until he was sent to his aunt, he had no real life experiences, and then when he went to his aunt and on from there, he experienced things that he never had before.
3. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
In “Confessions,” Book Two, Rousseau speaks of his birth, the cause of his mother’s death, as one misfortune of many throughout his life. Despite reminding his father of his dead wife, they developed a relationship that benefitted both. Father and son would stay up late reading romance novels to each other. Through this, Rousseau said he became aware of his feelings and emotions. The stories also left him with romantic notions about human life that were eventually done away with after reading works by philosophers and historians. These works inspired Rousseau‘s “free, republican spirit.”
He speaks of his rearing as a child as one that exceeded those of royal princes. Rousseau writes of how loved he was by the “best people in the world.” He was very educated and sought to avoid letting down his guardian, after his father left. When he was punished by his guardian, a sexual desire in him was awakened. After this, he viewed all beautiful women he met as the woman who punished him as a child. This is reminiscent of Sigmund Freud’s Oedipal Complex.
Rousseau admits that his childhood sexuality, or lack thereof, burdened him for the rest of his life. He writes: “and so I have spent my life coveting but never declaring myself to the women I loved most.” However, Rousseau saw this as an advantage in keeping his “heart pure and … behaviour honourable.”
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions” is to serve as a regression to his own life, and to change the society or people’s view to his life. I know the narrator’s purpose by reading the book because “confessions” is a autobiography of his life, and this is published after his death. First of all, people around 18th century are still embracing the enlightenment, which are not completely accepted. The narrator is Catholic, so the narrator have religious belief, so he wrote his own personal life including every detail of though. In this case, he is telling everyone his sin, and he want to be forgive. For example, in the book he has bad childhood experience, that he didn’t have mother, and he has being involve in the adultery with the mistress. All in all, the autobiography is negative, and his have horrible life, which he made bad choices. Therefore, he named his book “confessions”, and include all his sin, and accomplishment in his life, and try to unburden his sin by the confession or the religious belief.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
Rousseau wrote the good and the bad things in his life. Rousseau told lies, molested woman, stole something, and even had a habit of stealing. He didn’t evade the evil of human nature. He expose that he was abused after he entered the society and witnessed the darkness and injustice in the society. Also,I think the main idea that he wanted to say that humanity is good, but evil social environment will make people to become bad.
5. Using your own language, how would you describe the narrator, given his self-presentation in The Confessions?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau is depicted as a positive, thoughtful, and remorseful individual with susceptible and prideful proclivities. Mme de Vercellis, his boss who was curt, dismissive, and cold to him in his years of service, was illustrated as a noble woman of intelligence. He describes his cold experience with her, but never denounces her and grows to actually care for her despite her dismissive attitude towards him in life and in death. He shed genuine tears for a woman who disregarded him and barked questions at him. His thoughts consume his writing throughout his confession. He mentioned feeling guilt and remorse for accusing Marion of something she didn’t do. However, as cruel as his action was to Marion, he misplaced her name in the wrong area of conversation. It seems as though he liked Marion, found her attractive and full of great qualities. However, he was susceptible to his feelings of pride and bitterness that he took the ribbon, accused the girl he liked of it, and stuck to his erroneous claims.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The narrator’s purpose for writing these “confessions” was to attempt to reconcile with the people, because he was a well known person but quickly became infamous due to his book that discussed how to take care of children when he actually left his children in orphanages and various other reasons . He wrote Confessions as a way to lay it all out on the line and expose his darkest secrets and moments as a way to ask for forgiveness and just show everyone what he has gone through.
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The purpose of Rousseau’s confessions is to prove that man is evil and have become corrupted. Throughout his confessions from his childhood to his adulthood, you can see that Rousseau is completely honest in admitting to his wrongdoings. He includes this in his essay to show that he did not have the best childhood which had an effect on his character and events that occurred in his life. Rousseau believes that from birth men are innocent until they are corrupted by society and malpractices. Rousseau displays that it is societies fault for the metamorphosis of humans from good to evil.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description
Rousseau tells in his childhood about the loss of his mother and the love and attention he got from his father. We discussed in class how is constant attention from his father led him to constantly desire love and attention and he always needed everyone to like him. Never having a mother led Rousseau to have very unique sexual attractions towards older women.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
Rousseau, those men who knew him had an idea that he was perfect. However, the author wasn’t what everyone believes. The biography ” Confessions” was published after his death. The biography was hidden while he was alive to protect him. However, the author wrote its own confessions in order to show the world that he wasn’t too “good” in the eyes of God. He relates his bad actions as sins, throughout the biography we are able to see how he, fall in love with an older woman, how he steals, and later on, he feels the guilt in himself. Rousseau couldn’t have all the guilt in himself so he wanted to share himself to the public, he was a coward, could be responsible for his actions so he waited till he died in order to publish his “sins”
1. What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
Rousseau’s purpose for writing confession was creates a piece of work no one had created before, a piece of work unique to him, and also I believe he used this writing to unburden himself of all he had lived through. Just by examining the title we can guess that this may be about something troubling. Usually the word confess is used when you have something troubling to share or to take responsibility for something troubling, the word has a strong negative connotation and for Rousseau to use it as a title hints at him sharing somber stories. Reading it we find stories that most people would find humiliating and shameful to share. He even says many times that he felt ashamed just writing about certain events, nonetheless he explains that this writing is about his life and he just wants his truth to be known.
Rosseau’s writing is unique, as it is a story of his own life and no one knows his life better than he does. His account of the more negative aspects of his life is something most people of his time haven’t done and this makes his writing even more unique. Rosseau fled where he was living, and was seen by the public as a fraud, this caused him great distress and by writing this he is saying “please don’t judge me so harshly, I had a rough life” yeah this excuse might not fly but it could bring him some peace, and maybe that was all he needed at that point of his life.
3. How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
Rousseau begins his Confessions by starting off with the death of his mother. He discussed his childhood before his father left him and live with his other family members. He talks about the most embarrassing experiences in his life, such as stealing and telling lies.
How does Rousseau describe his childhood? What significance can we draw from this description?
We knew that his mother dead when he was born. Since he never has a feeling about her mother, he must lack of love. It is very cruel for children. I can totally understand that he would fall in love with someone who older than him. Just like he wrote in his book: “Just as Mlle Lambercier felt for us the affection of a mother, so too she had a mother’s authority.” His longing for maternal love translates into love for women. As I see, a child’s growth experience will affect his whole life.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
The purpose of the narrator writing these “confessions” is to show that no one is perfect.
There are reasons for these imperfections. The author’s mother died when he was born, which made him dependent and obsessed with older women. Although his father gave him all the attention, his growth environment was still flawed. The growing environment will cause him to be mentally ill. He lies and steals. He may want the reader to understand his life and forgive his behavior.
What is the narrator’s purpose in writing these “confessions”? How do you know?
Rousseau had always been looked as a graceful man of honor but he lived with such guilt from all the things he got away with, that he deemed right to write a book entailing his confessions. Growing up as a child who had it all and had whatever he wanted grew him up with humility but after his rough years with his uncle and aunt, it shaped the way he was completely. Growing with affection towards older women and with the hidden fetish of being beaten as a form of pleasure, proved the lack of maternal love. Rousseau wanted to provide people who hated him and others who admired him that he wasn’t perfect and his mistakes were caused by the unfortunate loss of his mother and disappearance of his dad later on in his life.