An Exploration into the Reveries of Rousseau

Abstract

From Antiquity to the Enlightenment, several biographical writings from Parallel Lives of Plutarch to the Memoirs of Saint-Simon were practiced. However, the eighteenth century saw the first emergence of the autobiography of introspection in the works of Rousseau. This new literary creation, far from being a simple description of memories, contained the analytical study of Rousseau’s psychological evolution. Following the tempestuous years of composing the Confessions and the Dialogues, a period of quietude and interior consolation began with the Reveries. In this paper, through examining this final stage of Rousseau’s self-analysis, we attempt to procure the answer to the mental problems of modern man; the notions of solitude and falsehood which have been a tragedy for the man of today are herald of «Joie de vivre» in the Reveries. For this end, we examine the analysis carried out by some contemporary authors and critics while having Rousseau's perspective in mind.