Confession

Author: Rousseau
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Among the countless autobiographical works in history, it is evident that very few possess genuine literary value, and even fewer have become literary masterpieces. As for those that have established the author's literary status through their significant contributions to thought, art, and style—achieving not just an ordinary literary seat but a lofty and enduring position revered for generations—perhaps only Confessions qualifies. Rousseau, a figure who ushered in a new era in social and political thought, literary content, style, and tone, primarily propelled and inspired 19th-century French literature through this autobiography. As one highly authoritative critic of the time remarked, it brought "the greatest progress" and "the greatest revolution since Pascal." This critic humbly acknowledged, "We 19th-century people are the products of this revolution."