Rousseau, the Memory and the Forgetfulness. Towards Stendhal

Journal title PARADIGMI
Author/s Bartolo Anglani
Publishing Year 2016 Issue 2016/2
Language Italian Pages 14 P. 13-26 File size 174 KB
DOI 10.3280/PARA2016-002002
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The author analyses some passages from the first volume of the Confessions in order to derive useful hints in regard to the major theme of the memory and forgetfulness in Rousseau, classifying the Rousseauan experience halfway between the Lockean pattern of the memory as "warehouse" of ideas and Stendhal’s vision of a "tapestry" that has lost a few parts. What comes to light from the reading of the autobiographical passages is a peculiar use of the visuality, thanks to which Rousseau deceives the reader providing him the illusion of "seeing" the childhood scenes without having depicted them. The essay starts from the critical contributions by Starobinski and Orlando, of which it offers both a summary and a commentary.

Keywords: Childhood, Forgetfulness, Memory, Rousseau, Stendhal, Visuality

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Bartolo Anglani, Rousseau, la memoria e l’oblio. Verso Stendhal in "PARADIGMI" 2/2016, pp 13-26, DOI: 10.3280/PARA2016-002002