For Montesquieu, this appeal to natural morality is why viewers find the play such a moving and pleasurable an experience. [6] Rousseau's views on the theatre are also thought to echo current concerns with global entertainment, television and Internet taking over local customs and culture. Free trial is available to new customers only. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Geneva on June 28, 1712; his mother died on July 7. Their exchange, collected in volume ten of this acclaimed series, offers a classic debate over the political importance of the arts. Nonetheless, important differences between Muralt's account of French and English societies and those accounts offered by Rousseau and Montesquieu suggest that Rousseau uses Muralt in order to strengthen his rebuttal of Montesquieu. As a result, he advises that the greatest part of the penalty should be the infamy of suffering it.Footnote34 Furthermore, in Racine's depiction, Theseus is enraged at Hippolytus precisely because he regards his son's action as treasonous,Footnote35 and Montesquieu warns repeatedly that outrage at this particular crime can result in atrocious punishments for the guilty and innocent alike.Footnote36. An example is how the Letter itself is open and expressive in style, while the content of the Letter is about this openness. It was the first of Rousseau's writings to be translated into Russian. Julie succeeds in forgetting her feelings for Saint-Preux and finds happiness as wife, mother, and chatelaine. Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987), 559-80. By the time his Lettre dAlembert sur les spectacles (1758; Letter to Monsieur dAlembert on the Theatre) appeared in print, Rousseau had already left Paris to pursue a life closer to nature on the country estate of his friend Mme dpinay near Montmorency. Montesquieu's own partiality to the gaiety of French society in particular becomes manifest when he defends it against anyone who would propose that it be restricted and reformed: One could constrain its women, make laws to correct their mores, and limit their luxury, but who knows whether one would not lose a certain taste that would be the source of the nation's wealth and a politeness that attracts foreigners to it?Footnote27. 32 Spirit, 12.2, 188. 74 Various scholars have touched upon aspects of one or both of these points: see Mostefai, Le citoyen de Genve, 5, 8082; Forman-Barzilai, Emergence of Contextualism in Rousseau's Political Thought, 45556, 442; Jensen, Rousseau's French Revolution, in The Challenge of Rousseau, edited by Grace and Kelly, 231, 238, 245; Rahe, Soft Despotism, 97; Michael Sonenscher, Sans-Culottes: An Eighteenth-Century Emblem in the French Revolution (Princeton, NJ, 2008), 15455. Rousseau's Letter to d'Alembert on the Theatre offers an important discussion of the relation of the arts to the health of a political community. (one code per order). Of course, Montesquieu does not broach the specific issue that Rousseau considersthat is, the spread of the theatre in modern times into the small, virtuous mountainside republic. He considered women, by virtue of their nature, to be the primary agents of moral reform, and that the success of the state depends on the harmony within private, domestic life. The principle of the theatre is to please, it is not, Rousseau argues, functional because the characters are always distant from man. Because that praise exemplifies so much of what was fundamental in Rousseau's thinking, both it and the Letter as a whole are mandatory reading for anyone who wishes to understand him. He writes that the actor is someone who is artificial, performs for money, subjects himself to disgrace, and abandons his role as a man. Contact us The main action is on a platform [estrade], called the stage [thtre]. 37 Jean Racine, Phaedra, translated by Richard Wilbur (New York, NY, 1987) 5.1, 89. But sometimes human beings forget themselves and their natural feelings. His thought marked the end of the European Enlightenment (the "Age of Reason"). 33 See, for example, Michael Zuckert, Natural Rights and Modern Constitutionalism, Northwestern University Journal of International Human Rights, 2 (2004), 42-66 (4546, 52). The particular play that Montesquieu selects for praise in this regard is Racine's Phaedra, which enacts many of Montesquieu's teachings and elicits the very sentiments he finds valuable. The central character, Saint-Preux, is a middle-class preceptor who falls in love with his upper-class pupil, Julie. Among them, Le Devin du village was the most popular French opera of the eighteenth . In this manner, one sees that Rousseau's engagement with Voltaire in his Letter is matched by a subtle, yet substantial, engagement with Montesquieu. Indeed, Montesquieu refers in The Spirit of the Laws both to those who write to proscribe the theatre because of its evoking softening emotions such as pity and tenderness and to one who might endeavour to restrain French women.Footnote90 Not so quixotic as to attempt the latter, Rousseau certainly endeavours the former by opposing most vehemently the establishment of a theatre in Geneva. 70 Letter, 325 (5: 92). Jean le Rond d'Alembert's article on Geneva ignited much controversy when it was published in 1757 in the seventh volume of l'Encyclopdie.Footnote1 The article, which names Geneva as one of the most flourishing cities of Europe, served as a vehicle by which d'Alembert endeavoured to promote not only a tolerant and enlightened Christianity, but also the establishment of a theatre in the otherwise stern Calvinist city.Footnote2 D'Alembert enlists by name the authority of both Voltaire and Montesquieu to aid him in his treatment of the small, Protestant republic. First, Montesquieu describes them as timide, a term which Rousseau adopts. What d'Alembert intended as an encomium, Jean-Jacques Rousseau regarded as an outrage.6 In 1758 Rousseau penned an open letter to d'Alembert expressing his indignation at the essay's claims regarding his beloved birthplace. Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? However, Muralt's focus is on the inverted character of each sex, which results in a society that replaces good sense and simplicity (masculine characteristics) with wit and beauty (feminine characteristics); see Muralt, Lettres, 246, 260. Dufour (Paris, 1924), i, 379-380,384.Further quotations from this work will be cited as "R." and will refer to this edition. [4], The Letter starts off with a more grim and urgent tone, then shifting at the end to a brighter and optimistic one when the community oriented solution to the problem of the theatre is discussed. Various symptoms of paranoia began to manifest themselves in Rousseau, and he returned to France incognito. Cody Valdes provided perspicacious editorial assistance. Wed love to have you back! While he concedes that the exchanges and interactions which occur when men and women congregate in the theatre are often artificial and result in theatrical behaviour far from the stage, he refuses to criticise such a form of sociability. Though a theatre can work to distract the masses of the cities from crime, it is of no use to a smaller city like Geneva, which is relatively innocent. In the next book of The Spirit of the Laws, Montesquieu specifically illustrates how the theatre appeals to our natural morality: In our theaters we watch with pleasure when a young hero shows as much horror on discovering his step-mother's crime as he had for the crime itself; in his surprise, accused, judged, condemned, banished, and covered with infamy, he scarcely dares do more than make a few reflections on the abominable blood from which Phaedra is descended; he abandons what he holds most dear [] to give himself up to the vengeance of the gods, a vengeance he has not deserved. Ourida Mostefai offers the most current and exhaustive treatment of the letter and its context that we know, while Patrick Coleman presents a highly instructive and provocative textual analysis that explores among other themes the manner in which Rousseau offers himself as an actor and his text as his own public stage; see Ourida Mostefai, Le citoyen de Genve et la Rpublique des Lettres: tude de la controverse autour de La Lettre d'Alembert de Jean-Jacques Rousseau (New York, NY, 2003); Patrick Coleman, Rousseau's Political Imagination: Rule and Representation in the Lettre d'Alembert (Geneva, 1984). Whereas Montesquieu and Rousseau speak of female society forming and perfecting taste, Muralt asserts that the subordination of the masculine to the feminine in society corrupts tastes: on se corrompt le got; see Muralt, Lettres, 246. 64 Mosher, Judgmental Gaze of European Women, 30; Schaub, Erotic Liberalism, 14243. Believing that Thrse was the only person he could rely on, he finally married her in 1768, when he was 56 years old. Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan! 15 For a fuller discussion, see Thomas, Negotiating Taste in Montesquieu, 7172. April 18, 2023, SNPLUSROCKS20 The publication of Rousseau's sentimental novel Julie, ou la Nouvelle Heloise in 1761 gained him a huge following. Rousseau continues to say that actors coming to the town of Geneva will be indifferent to the town's morality, and will quickly corrupt it. Montesquieu's captivating depictions of the sociability that the French theatre can engender was surely an obstacle for Rousseau's opposition to its influence in Geneva. No longer, as in the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, was Geneva depicted as a model republic but as one that had been taken over by twenty-five despots; the subjects of the king of England were said to be free by comparison with the victims of Genevan tyranny. In this different context religion plays a different role. This is not exactly the standard Enlightenment vision. At points in his Letter to d'Alembert Rousseau borrows Montesquieu's images and sometimes his very language, adapting them to his purpose in condemning the establishment of a theatre in small and virtuous Geneva.Footnote45 Thus, Rousseau accepts many of Montesquieu's claims regarding French society and its form of sociability. This edition seeks to uncover the originality and complexity of Rousseau's argument in a text that seems to reprise traditional religious . Emphasis added. Moreover, theatre is incompatible with the rural mindset, where people work hard, and as a result should find simple relaxation pleasurable, rather than the extravagant, over-stimulating entertainment which retards the imagination. More generally, it is a critical analysis of the effects of culture on morals, that clarifies the links between politics and social life. Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership. At the end of The New Eloise, when Julie has made herself ill in an attempt to rescue one of her children from drowning, she comes face-to-face with a truth about herself: that her love for Saint-Preux has never died. Mostefai quotes this letter; see Mostefai, Le citoyen de Genve, 41. By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. He had no formal education, but read widely in ancient and modern authors, inspired initially by his father's collection of books. He reasons that even if comedy writers write a play that is morally acceptable, the audience will not find it funny. Women of Geneva (from the Letter to D'Alembert). Corrections? For the Letter, the French, when cited, is given in parentheses, taken from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, crits sur la musique, la langue, et le thtre, in uvres compltes, edited by Bernard Gagnebin and others, 5 vols (Paris, 19591995), V. 3 D'Alembert, Geneva, in Letter, 246. For example, Rousseau in his Letter both adopts and adapts salient elements of Montesquieu's juxtaposition of French and English societies in Book 19. Described by the author as a treatise on education, it is not about schooling but about the upbringing of a rich mans son by a tutor who is given unlimited authority over him. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Music and the French Enlightenment: Rameau and the Philosophes in Dialogue by Cy at the best online prices at eBay! Once again, the morality of Ancient Rome and Greece is frequently referenced as an ideal that should be aspired to. 63 See Spirit, 28.22, 56162, where Montesquieu declares that men's connection to women is related, in part, to the fact that women are quite enlightened judges of a part of the things that constitute personal merit. Mchten Sie Encyclopedie: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1754; Copper engraving from: Diderot & d'Alembert 'Encyc kaufen? Cette uvre exclusive ainsi que d'autres uvres d'art uniques ne peuvent tre trouves qu'ici! Il cite ce pour quoi il crit. [4], Towards the middle of this final section Rousseau reasons that the theatre does very little good for the poor, who cannot afford the taxes required to support a theatre. The little community, dominated by Julie, illustrates one of Rousseaus political principles: that while men should rule the world in public life, women should rule men in private life. See also Thomas, Negotiating Taste in Montesquieu, 8182. Muralt does not use the verb attirer to describe France's effect on foreigners as do both Montesquieu and Rousseau. 14 For example, in Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality among Men, Rousseau takes issue with an illustrious Philosopher, evidently Montesquieu, on the timidity of human beings in the state of nature; see Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Second Discourse, in Collected Writings, III, 21. 43 Montesquieu, of course, acknowledges that a variety of factors can affect how any given people responds to a theatrical work; see, for example, Spirit, 14.2, 233. 66 For example: The English people think it is free. In making this case in Letter to d'Alembert, Rousseau engages Montesquieu's thought by confirming some aspects of his predecessor's reflections while challenging others, frequently adopting Montesquieu's very language in order to counter the trends his predecessor's work might promote. 28 Spirit, 19.8, 311 (2:560). The essay reconstructs the socioeconomic and political context of eighteenth-century Geneva in order to explain the intended meaning of Rousseau's Letter to d'Alembert. He met Madame des Warens, a noted Catholic lady of leisure, in Savoy. Having long regarded Voltaire as an additional target of Rousseau's criticism in the Letter, the scholarship has largely ignored the extent to which Rousseau also engages with and responds to Montesquieu in this particular work. In addition, the very foundation of Rousseau's concern for Geneva has a basis in Montesquieu's thought. The members of the Wolmar household are depicted as finding happiness in living according to an aristocratic ideal. Rousseau's later quarrel with Voltaire was legendary for its violence. Although he debated extensively with critics of his earlier work, First Discourse, Rousseau never mailed his replies to the major critics of Discourse on Inequality, Charles Bonnet (writing as Philopolis) and Charles Le Roy (writing as Buffon). When Geneva was so threatened with the possibility of embracing such French mores, Rousseau engaged directly with the very authority whom d'Alembert invokes. [3], D'Alembert himself was moved by the response, even intimidated. Although Montesquieu nowhere explicitly refers to France in this discussion, he reveals its identity if not through his depiction of a society that exults in a striking une joie dans la vivre, where men and women mingle together freely, then certainly through his use of the first-person plural.Footnote23 Nature, Montesquieu says, has given us a vivacity capable of offending and one apt to make us inconsiderate. Very many literate people in the eighteenth century read and responded to Rousseau, in France and elsewhere. Phaedra thus dramatises the very concerns that Montesquieu's treatise discusses at such length and in such detail, but does so in an emotionally affecting manner precisely because Racine presents Hippolytus as so undeserving of such a callous and vindictive father. Online: Amazon (Recommended translation) Google Books (Free preview available). 4. The French government ordered that Rousseau be arrested, so he fled to Neuchatel in Switzerland. 2 Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert, Geneva, in Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Letter to d'Alembert and Writings for the Theater [hereafter Letter], in The Collected Writings of Rousseau, edited by Roger D. Masters and Christopher Kelly, 13 vols (Hanover, NH, 19902010), X, 241. Rousseau takes comfort in an allegiance to truth alone at the time of his break with Diderot and at which he becomes convinced that he must live without friends. It is also halfway between a novel and a didactic essay. From 1742 to 1749, Rousseau lived in Paris, barely earning a living by teaching and by copying music. Her frustration with the lack of control she has over her passions drives her to perpetuate the calumny against Hippolytus so that he may be banished forever, and therefore beyond the reach of her uncontrollable lust. Rousseau restates many of his predecessor's insights and observations, including the importance of mores and the juxtaposition of French and English society, in order to oppose critical aspects of Montesquieu's thought and influence. Summary. His reforms revolutionized taste, first in music, then in the other arts. Rousseau; D'Alembert; Habitants de Genve; Les Montagnards; Rsum. In the remaining 10 years of his life Rousseau produced primarily autobiographical writings, mostly intended to justify himself against the accusations of his adversaries. By entering your email address you agree to receive emails from SparkNotes and verify that you are over the age of 13. Rousseau rarely acknowledges the extent to which Montesquieu's writings influenced his political and moral thought, but study of his Letter reveals the great degree to which Rousseau builds his case from and in response to Montesquieu's observations and ideas. [1], Rousseau believed that public morals could be created not by laws or punishment, but simply by women, who have access to their senses and largely control the way men think. Vous souhaitez acheter Encyclopedie: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1754; Copper engraving from: Diderot & d'Alembert 'Encyc? The Scottish philosopher David Hume took him there and secured the offer of a pension from King George III; but once in England, Rousseau became aware that certain British intellectuals were making fun of him, and he suspected Hume of participating in the mockery. The Letter on Providence aroused Voltaire's great interest. [4], Rousseau turns to the topic of love, which, he says, is in the realm of women. Rousseau was the eighteenth-century's greateast admirer, even idolator, of Sparta. [4], Rousseau continues to say that though Greek and Roman society functioned well with tragic and violent content in theatres because it was part of the traditions specific to the time and place, putting these plays in a French context would be far more dangerous. Because Montesquieu understands women as the judges and bestowers of a man's honour, when women are placed in the public sphere, men adopt mannerisms and behaviour to win their approval.Footnote63 Thus, women enhance the theatricality of public life, putting men (and themselves) on display for each other. GREAT 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG. While Montesquieu lavishes distinct praise on a society that permits the formation of taste and promotes the gentleness that comes from commerce, understood both as economic and social exchange, Rousseau resists such influences. marriage for financial reasons, order, lust, convenience). for a customized plan. Despite laws and historical examples that attempt to overcome or deny those natural feelings, theatre offers the assurance that they continue to exist or can be recalled. He states that though men have their vices, like drinking, they are far less harmful to society than women's vices. by Alan Bloom (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1968) [First published by Agora Editions, 1960]. In Rousseau's opinion, true love for the nurturing, feminine mother, instead of lustful love for a mistress, goes hand in hand with patriotism and civic harmony. Nonetheless, taken together, these apparently contrasting accounts reveal that Montesquieu sees value in the theatrical experience in its entirety. While Rousseau and Montesquieu dispute the goodness of theatre and the desirability of women's active role in society, they agree on something much more fundamental. An obstreperous critic of the theatre, Rousseau presents its stories not as clarifying and correcting humanity's moral compass, but rather as obscuring it. 1758 marked a break with many of the Enlightenment philosophers; his Letter to d'Alembert attacked d'Alembert's article in the French Encyclopedia on Geneva. Discount, Discount Code 30 Montesquieu's view was quite common at this time; see Mostefai, Le citoyen de Genve, 4763. They eventually became lovers, and des Warens persuaded him to convert to Catholicism. His death caused a great outpouring of sentiment amongst his many readers and admirers. Rousseau came under increasing attack, in print and in practice, from the French monarchy, Voltaire and many others. Lettre d'Alembert de Rousseau. SparkNotes PLUS $24.99 Those methods involve a noticeable measure of deceit, and although corporal punishment is forbidden, mental cruelty is not. For example, in praising the exclusion of women from society, which Geneva with its lack of a theatre exhibits, Rousseau adduces the English, depicting them in terms very similar to Montesquieu's portrait of them in Book 19 of The Spirit of the Laws.Footnote17 Yet whereas Montesquieu's depiction of the dour and grave English is critical, Rousseau's is explicitly laudatory. Thus, despite making similar observations regarding the power of the theatre, Rousseau's and Montesquieu's ultimate valuations of it are quite different. Rahe broaches the possibility that Rousseau's deep reflection on Montesquieu's Spirit, which his work for the Dupins afforded him, was the catalyst for Rousseau's illumination that occurred on the road to Vincennes when he was travelling to visit his imprisoned friend Denis Diderot; see Rahe, Soft Despotism, 7377. He posits that Rousseau had in mind Montesquieu's analysis of duels in Spirit, 28.2024; see Coleman, Rousseau's Political Imagination, 83 note 9. Though the actor is not necessarily malevolent with his talents of deception, Rousseau goes on, the seductive, manipulative nature of acting could potentially be used by actors to do harm in society outside of the theatre. de Montesquieu rightly calls a fine law the one which excludes from public office the citizens who fail to pay their own debts or those of [their] fathers after their death.Footnote5, What d'Alembert intended as an encomium, Jean-Jacques Rousseau regarded as an outrage.Footnote6 In 1758 Rousseau penned an open letter to d'Alembert expressing his indignation at the essay's claims regarding his beloved birthplace. 9 Letter, 27174, 35960. The theme of The New Eloise provides a striking contrast to that of The Social Contract. In this manner, Rousseau adheres closely to Montesquieu's language, even if their ultimate judgements on the phenomenon differ. 325 ( 5: 92 ) in forgetting her feelings for Saint-Preux and finds as! 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