Status Updates From Politics and the Arts: Lett...

thank fuck thats over

As the intellectual tirade against modern flourishes that a theatre would bring to Geneva draws to a close, Rousseau starts to resemble a befuddled old man longing for the supposedly simple life. One can imagine him shuffling along the carriage-less streets, recalling his countrymen carousing in public spaces while dreaming of chaste debutante-ish balls for beautiful young couples as the city refuses its development.

The seemingly sensible arguments put first: theatres require an infrastructure Geneva is not prepared for, morals like such roadways and clothing shops are not a reality in such a small town. The immorality of actors and actresses in the same building is mildly dubious, but something snaps in Rousseau’s reasoning and he suddenly get very defensive over tobacco and booze-filled men’s clubs with ironical allowed vices.

Turning his attention away from the religious matters which got Jean-Baptiste in enough trouble from other quarters, Jean-Jacques gets around to his major complaints about theatre: tragedies are immoral, comedies are even worse and the focus on women prompts Rousseau to share some of his unenlightened thoughts about man true place, i.e., making boring, useful furniture and not daring to dream of what might have been.

Mon dieu! For someone so opposed to the public consumption of drama, Rousseau makes a meal of his theatrical protestations with as much gusto as a Monty Pythonesque impersonation of a maître d’ with the outrageous accent: “but my dear friend, I must object,” “your views on religion, while inconsequential, are still horrendous” and “I cannot abide your sense of morals, and will go to great lengths to tell you why so.”