Confessions

E51250

Confessions is an autobiographical work by Jean-Jacques Rousseau that candidly recounts his life, thoughts, and experiences, pioneering modern introspective autobiography.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Les Confessions 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf autobiographical book
literary work
memoir
aim to present Rousseau as he is, with all his faults
author Jean-Jacques Rousseau
circulation posthumous publication of complete text
countryOfOrigin France
coversPeriodOfLife from Rousseau’s childhood to his later years
firstPublicationDate 1782
form first-person narrative
genre autobiography
memoir
philosophical literature
hasTitleInFrench Confessions self-linksurface differs
surface form: Les Confessions
influenced Romantic literature
development of modern autobiography
personal memoir tradition
legacy key text in the history of autobiography
model for later confessional writing
literaryDevice detailed psychological self-analysis
literaryMovement Age of Enlightenment
surface form: Enlightenment
literarySignificance one of the first major modern autobiographies
narrativeMode autodiegetic narration
notableFor candor about personal life
pioneering modern introspective autobiography
originalLanguage French
philosophicalContext Rousseau’s broader political and moral thought
publicationPeriod 1782–1789
relatedWorkByAuthor Emile, or On Education
Reveries of the Solitary Walker
The Social Contract
secondPartPublicationDate 1789
setting Geneva
Paris
various parts of France and Europe
structure twelve books
subjectMatter introspective self-examination
life of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
personal experiences
theme guilt and remorse
individual identity
memory and truth
self-revelation
social alienation
tone candid
introspective
writtenIn 18th century

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Confessions hasTitleInFrench Confessions self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Les Confessions
Jean-Jacques Rousseau notableWork Confessions
St. Augustine notableWork Confessions