Rousseau and the Problem of Human Relations by John M. Warner (review)

seventeenth and eighteenth. The present tome was originally intended to be the last, but since“la matière s’est avérée plus ample et plus riche que prévu,”Viennot plans two more to complete the project that aims to be “une Histoire de France vue sous l’angle des rapports de pouvoir entre les sexes; la première du genre” (9). What Viennot’s measured treatment of this pivotal period demonstrates is just how engaged women were in France’s regeneration and in the pursuit of equal rights (their energy in elaborating and publicizing their ideas between 1788 and 1793, for example, is qualified as nothing short of “stupéfiante” [50]), even as their efforts met resistance at every turn by men loath to abandon their allegiance to the privilège masculin. Of particular interest is chapter 2, on le féminisme révolutionnaire. There,Viennot traces the development of the concept of citizenship for women; shows how women’s participation in rebuilding France was intertwined with their emancipation; outlines their demands, social (hériter, apprendre, travailler, choisir sa vie) and political (combattre, voter) alike; and, most notably, gets to bottom of their failures. Among the feminists’ strengths: their knowledge and rhetorical gifts; their pride in being a member of “ce sexe esclave, utilisé, méprisé, manipulé, repoussé, moqué...” (79; her ellipsis); their courage in openly criticizing men. Olympe de Gouges’s status as one of the finest thinkers is evidenced by her landmark Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne.While it may appear that she did little more than replace terms referring to men in the Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen with their feminine counterparts, “cet ajout change tout,”avers Viennot, because it exposes the faux neutrality of the original document (91) and the determination of the political elite to maintain its ascendancy (92). Viennot’s talent for considering all sides of an issue comes to the fore in her discussion of the flaws in this feminism, such as its failure to get noble women involved (Mesdames Charrière and Genlis being exceptions [107]) and its tendency to denounce prostitutes rather than to try to help them (the signatories of one petition even proposed that ladies of the night bear a distinctive mark to distinguish them from other women [105]). In her conclusion,Viennot drives home her point that the period between 1789 and 1804 was decisive for women not only in France, but in Europe and the French colonies as well.And yet, she notes, in a tease sure to encourage readers to stay with her for the next installment in the series, the Code Napoléon will guarantee that the principle“les hommes décident, les femmes obéissent”endures for over a hundred years (357). University of Arkansas Hope Christiansen Warner, John M. Rousseau and the Problem of Human Relations. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 2015. ISBN 978-0-271-07100-8. Pp. xi + 255. $80. Warner’s book draws together a number of Rousseauan themes commonly treated in relative isolation,and binds them together in what could be termed a“unified theory” 286 FRENCH REVIEW 90.3 Reviews 287 of Rousseauan relations. Examining a wide range of Rousseau’s works including Émile, Julie, the Discourses, the Social Contract, the Letter to D’Alembert, the Reveries and others, Warner surveys “the major forms of human association” (2) in Rousseau’s thought. Adopting a perspective that is both literary and philosophical, Warner examines relationships based on pity, sexual desire, romantic love, friendship, and political association. In so doing, he seeks to determine whether or not these varied relationships can resolve the fundamental problem of man in society. This problem is defined in the study not as the establishment of freedom, but rather as the creation of inner unity within the fragmented individual. Warner’s keen eye for detail leads to complex and subtle analyses that defy simplistic resolution of the problem. Statements such as “I emphasize the defectiveness of Rousseau’s characterizations of the state of nature and the sentiment of pity not because he was unaware of them, but because he was” (69...