This book proposes a resolution to the paradox of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's sexual politics—that he is the philosopher of freedom for men yet philosopher of servitude for women. The author examines psychological oppression, which is often overlooked as a consequence of sexual and identity politics, which is revealed in Rousseau's
Les Solitaires
and Gustave Flaubert's
Madame Bovary.
The author addresses logical problems for Rousseau and certain forms of contemporary "difference" feminisms. With the aid of Simone de Beauvoir's notions of liberty, the author proposes a way to use Rousseau's philosophies to overcome psychological oppression.