ABSTRACT
The death of Claude Anet upset the household arrangements of Madame de Warens at a time when that impractical woman, who always had numbers of irons in the fire, was planning to establish at Chambery a royal botanical garden. The Confessions leave no room for doubt in our minds that Jean-Jacques Rousseau felt disappointed and hungry for an affinity, and they tell in detail of the extent of his disappointment and of its effects. Jean-Jacques was perfectly aware that “Mamma,” however indifferent or even antagonistic she might be to his arguments, must weaken when he wept, and that she lost her head completely if he went into convulsions. Jean-Jacques was afraid of letting it be known that he was a convert, which might work to his disadvantage, and he did not care to be questioned. Madame de Larnage, undeterred by her friend’s presence, had continued the pursuit of Jean-Jacques or Mr. Dudding.
