The Confessions

Content Warning: Part 2 describes the sexual exploitation of a child.

Rousseau opens Book VII by alluding to what the title’s allocation Confessions originally intended to address—the abandonment of his children and his divorce from the academic community. Rousseau leaves Warens, determined to make his way in the world so that he can one day return to her and provide for her. He arrives in Paris at the age of 30 and quickly develops a social life, surrounding himself with important people with deep pockets. He presents his musical Essay to the Academy, but it is ultimately rejected. The experience opens him to the world of academia, and he makes intelligent friends who influence his thinking. He gives music lessons to young women and falls in and out of love. In his spare time, he writes an opera.

Rousseau accepts a position as secretary to the French ambassador at Venice. The ambassador makes foolish errors and treats Rousseau badly. Rousseau resigns from the position, and the two part ways in disagreement. He stays in Venice, attending operas, learning symphonies, and having affairs with sex workers. He and a friend meet a woman who wishes to “sell” her daughter, who is between the ages of 11 and 12, and they begin paying for the child’s maintenance with the intention of sexually assaulting her when they grow older—which they incorrectly view as paid work, rather than rape, since they are providing for her.