Rousseau on the education of women

This study investigated the theories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the education of women. The works of Rousseau were consulted in the original French and translated by the writer for the study. Many publications concerning the educational themes of Rousseau have appeared, but minimal attention has been given to the importance and significance of the inclusion of women in his writings. Rousseau's most famous treatise on education, Emile, contains one chapter given over to a discussion of feminine pedagogy. His novel, La Nouvelle Hèloïse, has as its heroine the "new woman," who personifies and gives substance to his theories. His incomplete and little-known sequel to Emile, entitled Emile et Sophie ou les solitaires, was considered as constituting a retrospective evaluation of his educational program. The study led to an investigation of the century and life of Rousseau, his philosophy of education in general, his pedagogical theorizing as applicable to women, and his novel where his idealized educated woman is given form