Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Transparency and Obstruction

Product Description

Jean Starobinski, one of Europe's foremost literary critics, examines the life that led Rousseau, who so passionately sought open, transparent communication with others, to accept and even foster obstacles that permitted him to withdraw into himself. First published in France in 1958, Jean-Jacques Rousseau remains Starobinski's most important achievement and, arguably, the most comprehensive book ever written on Rousseau. The text has been extensively revised for this edition and is published here along with seven essays on Rousseau that appeared between 1962 and 1970.

From Library Journal

Starobinski offers neither a conventional biography of Rousseau nor a study of his thought. Rather, he describes Rousseau's consciousness, relying on details in Rousseau's work that most critics ignore; he shows, e.g., that Rousseau often described himself as crystalline . Defense against the constant assaults he imagined his enemies were planning preoccupied him , and his illness, as one might expect, is treated for its impact on his personality. Starobinski's illuminating work uses a method that in lesser hands would be dangerous but here succeeds admirably. David Gordon, Social Philosophy & Policy Ctr., Bowling Green St. Univ., Ohio
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jean Starobinski, winner of the 1984 Balzan Prize, is emeritus professor of French literature at the University of Geneva.

Arthur Goldhammer is an award-winning translator who has translated books by Georges Duby, Jacques Le Goff, and Jean Starobinski.