This study analyzes the Dialogues of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in terms of their representation of the global process of individuation as presented in analytical psychology. It argues that Rousseau's Dialogues portrays an advanced stage - that is to say, levels four and five - in the individuation process, corresponding on one hand to the withdrawal of ideological projections followed by the possibility of ego inflation, and on the other to the recognition of boundaries between the ego and the self through the internalization of psychic matters. Because the phenomenon of individuation is not always chronologically definable, the paper presents a practical definition of individuation, then marks its evolution through stages of Rousseau's life and its corresponding representation in Rousseau's literary productions as illustrated in the Dialogues, since this text recapitulates his life, and more particularly the confusion he felt once he chose to become an author. The work then focuses on the Dialogues themselves to analyze in detail the process of individuation via morphological and thematic criteria that relate to the text.
|