30 h 42 minAudiobook10 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 754 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 754 pagesAbout this book
What does a man reveal when he wants the world to hear his side of the story?
In The Confessions, Jean-Jacques Rousseau turns his gaze on his own life, from childhood in Geneva to wandering through Savoy, France and Italy. A harsh apprenticeship, love and dependence on Madame de Warens, and the struggle to make a name in Paris shape his searching account.
Famous for The Social Contract and Emile, Rousseau faces condemned books, exile and broken friendships with Diderot and Hume. He wants to tell his story before others define him. Yet this is no simple defence: he admits theft, cowardice and the abandonment of his children, exposing the distance between his ideals and his acts.
What you’ll discover
- A childhood in Geneva Follow the early experiences that shape Rousseau’s feelings, fears and sense of himself.
- Love and dependence Meet Madame de Warens, whose place in his life brings affection and lasting emotional ties.
- Faults brought into view Confront admissions that make this self-portrait unsettling rather than a smooth account of achievement.
- A thinker under pressure Trace the quarrels, condemnation and exile surrounding a writer who champions human freedom.
- The self as a subject Explore an early promise to portray a whole person, with shame and vanity included.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like honest, personal life stories, the age of the Enlightenment, or the roots of modern ideas about the self. It may be less suited to those who want a tidy argument, or a brisk and fully reliable record of facts.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A Geneva childhood shapes a feeling heart
- Apprenticeship, flight and a new faith
- Servant, thief and the stolen ribbon
- Madame de Warens and the happy years
- Paris, music and the making of a name
- A prize essay changes everything
- The Hermitage, love, and broken friendships
- Condemned, hunted and driven from place to place
- What kind of book this is and why it lasts
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau — Complete
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau· 1782
Rousseau recounts his life, examining his feelings, faults, and quarrels.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A Geneva childhood shapes a feeling heart
Rousseau opens by claiming he is doing something no one has done before. He will show a man exactly as he is, and he will let God judge him. He was born in Geneva in 1712, and his mother died within days of his birth. He always felt that his birth had cost her life.
His father, Isaac, was a watchmaker with a restless temper. In the evenings father and son read novels aloud together, often until dawn. Rousseau says this gave him an early grasp of feeling before he had any grasp of reason. Later he read Plutarch, whose heroes of Greece and Rome fed his love of liberty and virtue.
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The author
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1712–1778 · Genevan philosopher and writer
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva in 1712 and died in Ermenonville, France, in 1778. He lived in Switzerland, France, and England. He wrote philosophy, fiction, autobiography, and music. His works include Discourse on Inequality (1755), Julie (1761), and Emile (1762). His Confessions was published after his death.
“I have resolved on an enterprise which has no precedent, and which, once complete, will have no imitator.”
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What is The Confessions by Rousseau about?
It is Rousseau's account of his own life, from his birth in Geneva in 1712 through his wandering youth, his rise as a writer in Paris and his later exile, told with open admission of his faults.
Is Rousseau's Confessions a true story?
Yes, it is an autobiography, written in the 1760s and 1770s and published after his death. Scholars note that he wrote from memory and shaped events in his favor, so some details are wrong or one sided.
Why did Rousseau write his Confessions?
He wanted to present his true character in his own words after his books were condemned and he was attacked by former friends. He also believed no one had yet shown a person honestly and completely.
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