Yulissa Rojas
Ms. Rochman
English 12 H
30 December 2014
The Confessions Needs to Be Burned and Banned
Sex, masturbation, adultery were what people viewed as a negative impact to society and
sought to destroy any literature that contained such vile content. Jean-Jacques Rousseau had
died in 1778; however, his autobiography, The Confessions, was published four years later.
Rousseau had uncovered his sexual curiosity and desire throughout the pages of his book. These
details made outraged people. One of his mistresses had turned against him and set a bad
reputation for Rousseau. The Catholic Church and Anthony Comstock, who was an important
figure in New York, had also fought against the book. The Confessions by Jean-Jacques
Rousseau was banned and challenged for its sexual content.
Rousseau often described one of his mistresses, Therese Lavasseur, with whom he had
five kids with in his biography. “During the 19th Century, however, the work was often banned
or abridged ‘for its sexual content and for [Rousseau’s] open discussion of life with his mistress
of 16 years’” (Karolides, Bald & Sova 279). He was not afraid to talk about his issues. He liked
to describe his masturbation and prostate problems which sometimes embarrassed him in public.
He was addicted to sex and self-pleasure and he didn’t know how to hold back. This infuriated
the people of the Church.
In Rome, The Bishop Etienne Antoine Boulogne wanted to ban The Confessions because
he felt that the irreligion could have negative impact on society. The book speaks openly of his
addiction to masturbation and so he must ban it. He wanted to tighten up the laws so that the
book would be banned.
Rojas 2
We renew all the censorship orders issued, between the years 1782
and 1785, by the clergy of France, and the individual orders issued
by the archbishops of Paris, in which these works were condemned
as godless and sacrilegious, and as tending to undermine morals
and the States. We prohibit, under canonical law, the printing or
sale of these books within the territory of this diocese, and we
charge the vicar-generals to enforce this regulation and to see to
that carrying out of the necessary penances for all who make
confession of disobediences to these regulations. (Putnam 175176)
The Catholic Church also felt that it was their duty to protect society and ban this book.
Pope Pius VII had added The Confessions into the Roman Index 1806 due to the sexual content.
“It proceeds to say that the works comprehended in this Index are those when had been
prohibited by Pius VI and Pius VII” (67). The book was not to be printed or sold within their
territory. The Church had strict laws that kept people from every buying this book because they
were trying to keep society pure and clean.
The Confessions would not have been banned if it wasn’t for the Bishop. It was the
request of Bishop Boulogne to ask the Pope to add the book into Roman Index. The Index was
“the exact list or catalogue of books, the reading of which was once forbidden to Catholics by the
highest ecclesiastical authority” (Knights of Columbus Truth Committee 721-722; vol. 7).
Rousseau’s book was again challenged in 1892 but it failed and the Roman Index got abolished
in 1966.
In France, things had played out differently. Madame Lousie d’ Epinay was a formal
friend of Rousseau. She had asked the Paris authorities to ban The Confessions because she was
criticized in his book. In her memoir, it had described a positive relationship with Rousseau;
however, the positive relationship changed after her friend manipulated her. Her friends Grimm
and Diderot had edited major parts of her memoir and making Rousseau look bad. Grimm was
also jealous of Madame d’Epinay’s relationship with Rousseau. Ms. Macdonald argued, “It is
Rojas 3
doubtless, conceivable that Grimm, who was Madame d’ Epinay’s lover, was jealous of
Rousseau, who was Madame d’ Epinay’s friend.” (Strachey 212). However, Rousseau had an
intimate relationship with another mistress.
A lady named Madame d’ Houdetot, who was another mistress to Rousseau, caused
tension between him and her formal friend Madame d’ Epinay. Madame d’Epinay had begun a
petition to stop Rousseau’s work.
The Confessions was a grotesque book which was not viewed well in society. This book
was banned during the French Enlightenment when Louis XV ruled. The king had royal censors
who sought out books that were in the process of being published. In 1759, Chretien- Guillame
de Lamoignon de Malesherbes became known as “the writer’s friend”. He became the opponent
of the French Parliament but he could not save The Confessions from being banned. He tried to
save as many books as he can because he viewed them as gateway books that led to the new era.
There was a process into deciding if a book can be censored which was similar to a
movie rating. Raymond Birn had said the first level was “G-rated” which was that the
manuscript gave contribution to science and morals. The next one was “PG rated” which is what
the French call permission de sceau, and it meant that it had no fanfare and lacking the economic
protection. After that came the “R rated” which was known as permission tacite, and it meant
that it had to be off the record verbal tolerance, and false publication address. Finally came “X
rated” as known as ancient regime which was denounced as immoral and illicit. The royal
censor’s goal was to keep the language pure and to ensure progress for cultural evolution. The
Confessions contained inappropriate sexual content such as:
I could not suffer any other of my sex to approach her, I had short
but passionate, assignations with a Miss Goton, who thought
proper to act the school mistress with me. Our meetings, though
absolutely childish, afforded me the height of happiness. I felt the
Rojas 4
whole charm of mystery, and repaid Miss Vulson in kind, when
she least expected it, the use she made of me in concealing her
amours. (Rousseau 31)
Rousseau had no boundaries into what he had written. He saw no wrong being done and was just
expressing himself. He tried to make society see that there was nothing wrong with talking about
an intimate relationship. This passage from the book contained Rousseau’s sexual encounter
which was to vivid for the audience and so the royal censors had banned the book. The petition
of Madame d’Epinay had also helped ban The Confessions. The censorship had ended in 1799
which was right at the end of the French revolution.
In the United States, Anthony Comstock had risen into the Supreme Court and in 1873.
He suppressed trade and he attacked the U.S office of Customs. He had also bought stocks from
Worthington Book Publishing Company which was a huge publishing company at that time.
Since he attacked U.S office of Customs, and he had stocks of the publishing company, he was
able to have more insight on certain books. He read The Confessions and so he wanted to ban it.
Comstock was disgusted by what he read, “And there was good reason for the confessions to be
little read. It was widely regarded as a scandalous work, revealing intimate sexual episodes
dealing with masturbation, homosexuality, incest, fornication and adultery” (Mitchell 649). He
took the cause up to the New York Supreme Court which Comstock believed Justice O’ Brien
was going to oversee so he could pay him off.
Justice O’ Brien was announced to oversee this case by Comstock. The Justice didn’t
want the book burned and so he appointed a man named Joseph J. Little to sell books. “In
authorizing Receiver Little to sell the books, I was guided by the law governing the case and by
my own views to their moral character. It may be simply an honest difference of opinion on the
Rojas 5
part of Mr. Comstock” (The Bookseller’s Friend 68). The Bookseller’s Friend mentioned that
these books were just a form of literature. The book was not banned and was saved.
The Confessions by Rousseau was viewed as barbaric and too sexual to society. There
were laws that had permitted Rousseau’s book from being read. These challenges had stopped
Rousseau from having an opinion. The Bishop and The Catholic Church wanted to ban the book
because they were offended by its content and wanted to keep society pure. Madame d’ Epinay
wanted to ban The Confessions because she had a personal matter to deal with Rousseau. Her
friends manipulated her and Rousseau had to pay the price. Comstock was disgusted by what
was in the books pages and wanted the book burned. However, Justice O’Brien voted otherwise.
The Confession by Rousseau was mainly banned for its grotesque sexual content.
I do not believe that The Confessions should be banned. One of the reasons it was banned
was because of a personal problem which I think is ridiculous. Rousseau has the right to express
himself through his work. People can chose to read a different book instead of Rousseau’s book
The book can be a lesion to others because of all the wrong things that Rousseau has done so I
see no point of banning it. Rousseau was a the first to speak for his common people and he is a
modern man who was born in the wrong time and people didn’t understand his sex views which
is why I think this book should not be banned.
Rojas 6
Work Cited
Banned Books. Bauman Rare Books. Print. 15 Dec. 2014.
Birn, Raymond. Book Censorship in Eighteenth Century France and Rousseau’s Response.
Princeton. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Egan, Maurice. Confessions of a Book-Lover. Double Day, Page & Company, 24 Dec. 2007.
Web. 16 Dec. 2014
“Jean-Jacques Rousseau.” Salem Press Apr. 1997:1-1. Ebscohost. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Soylent Communications. Web. 27 Dec. 2014.
Karolides, Bald & Sova. Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Bauman Rare Books. Web. 16
Dec. 2014.
Knights of Columbus Truth Committee. The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of
Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church:
Volume II. Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Print. 17 Dec. 2014.
Liukkoneon, Petri. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). Ari Pesonen, 2008. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Louis XVI (1754-1793). BBC. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
Macdonald, Frederika. “Jean Jacques Rousseau.” The New York Public Library. 1906: 1-405.
Google. Web. 27 Dec. 2014.
Mitchell, W.J.T. “Influence, Autobiography, and Literary history: Rousseau’s confessions and
Wordsworth’s the Prelude.” The John Hopkins University Press. 1990: 643-664. JSTOR.
Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Ockerblook, John. Banned Book Online. UPenn. Web. 15 Dec. 2014
Putnam, George. The Censorship of The Church of Rome. The Knickerbocker Press, 1907. Print.
29 Dec. 2014.
Rojas 7
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Confessions of J.J Rousseau. An Electronic Classics Series
Publication. Web. 16 Dec. 2014.
Strachery, Lytton. “Books and Characters.” Harcourt Brace and Company. 1922: 1-319. Google.
Web. 27 Dec. 2014.
“The Book Seller’s Friend.” The New York Public Library July. 1894: 1-291. Google. Web. 16
Dec. 2014.