After reading Reveries of a Solitary Walker, I thought Rousseau was paranoid. Now that I've read Confessions, I don't know what to think. Towards the end of his life, Rousseau believed that a man called Grimm had conspired with various people to destroy him. His Confessions can be read as an appeal for justice, putting the facts as he knows them in front of the public. He admit his own faults, and is honest about his own feelings - although I think he tends to blame circumstances for his actions instead of accepting full responsibility.
It must be hard to be a nerdish genius in a society where you need social skills to attract a wealthy and powerful patron. Rousseau had a gift for offending people without realising it. In Myers Briggs personality types, I'd characterise him as Introvert (not Extravert), Sensing (not Intuitive), Feeling (not Thinking) and Judging (not Perceiving).
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