35. Emile, or, On Education

Another novel by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, which I've just finished.  I found this fascinating, both as philosophy and as an insight into French society in the eighteenth century.

The novel was published in 1762 in Paris.  In the guise of a tutor talking about the education of his student, Emile, Rousseau expounds his views on topics such as education, religion, the role of women, citizenship, city vs country life, and marriage.  I begin to understand what the French Enlightenment was about, because some of his ideas must have been quite revolutionary for the time.

Before I read this, I associated Rousseau's name with the idea of the social contract (thanks to an anthropology class some years ago) and now have a better understanding of what that actually means.

34. Rameau's Nephew by Denis Diderot

Now this I know I did read.  Denis Diderot lived in France, 1713 to 1784, and was a major philosopher of the French Enlightenment.  He edited the world's first Encyclopedia.

The narrator is a philosopher and describes his conversation with the nephew of the composer Rameau, who lives by his wits.  They discuss morality.  The philosopher says happiness is gained by being virtuous, and the nephew argues happiness is being rich and well-regarded by other people.

(I'm always suspicious when people set up dialogues to make their point - like Socrates.)

And I'm left wondering why Diderot chose Rameau to be the uncle of the hero?

33. Julie; or, the New Elouise

Wikipedia tells me that Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a major philosopher, writer and composer who was born in Switzerland in 1712 and died in France in 1778.  Julie was published in 1760.  Writing this two books later, I confess I can't remember much about Julie, so I'm cheating here and referring to the synopsis a lot.

This book was immensely popular when it was first published.  The story is told through letters, and it's about Julie who is loved by and loves her tutor, Saint-Preux.  He's banished from her father's house. Later she marries Wolmar.  Saint-Preux becomes part of their household, but virtue triumphs over desire and they all make honorable choices.  Julie dies young.

Did I read this at all?  I can't find it on my Kindle, but I've just found an online edition and it doesn't look very familiar.  Ah, the Kindle version costs $19 - maybe I decided it was too expensive?  Bother, I shall have to go back and read it.