Where It All Goes Down
One thing's for sure, Rousseau had some seriously itchy feet. For that reason, it doesn't make sense to talk about a singular setting in The Confessions. Instead, we need to talk settings plural, and take a look at the many and varied places where Rousseau checks in during his travels.
Joyful Days in Geneva
Setting in The Confessions is totally tied to Rousseau's mood. "The simplicity of this rural existence brought me one invaluable benefit; it opened my heart to friendship," Rousseau tells us (1.1.13). As a kid in Geneva, Rousseau frolicks around with his cousin Bernard and has an awesome time tricking his guardians.
That Willow Tree
Some of Rousseau's fondest childhood memories, in fact, have to do with altering his setting. The kid would love Legos, that's for sure. Along with his cousin, Rousseau "cut a slip from a young willow, and planted it on the terrace some eight or ten feet from the sacred walnut tree" (1.1.34). Sacred, you say? Planting trees and building aqueducts help Rousseau feel like he has some control over his childhood setting, although he's often "uprooted" (pardon the pun ). Maybe that's why Rousseau wistfully remembers the willow tree years later and speculates on its importance in his adulthood.
Turin, Italy
As a young adult, Rousseau tries to make it big in Turin. Although he can't hold down a job and he's feeling adrift, Turin is a gorgeous city to get lost in: "My regret at reaching Turin so quickly was tempered by the pleasure of seeing a large town and the hope of soon cutting a figure worthy of myself" (2.1.30). Once again, the setting is a reflection of who Roseau wants to be: a city-dweller and a businessman who can find his way around a big city.
Keeping it Cool in the City of Lights
Ah yes, Paris—Rousseau has a love-hate relationship with the city, even though he seems to feel more at home here than in his childhood dwelling in Geneva. Like Woody Allen, Rousseau just can't help but wax eloquent about the glamorous side of Paris: "How greatly did the first sight of Paris belie the idea I had formed of it!" (4.1.60). Rousseau writes his greatest works in Paris, so he's obviously pretty pumped about living there.
When Rousseau is chased out of the city for blasphemy, he's never quite the same. Although he kisses the ground in Geneva, he seems more adrift than ever when the City of Lights rejects him.