«Le plus libre et le plus doux de tous les actes n’admet point de violence réelle»: consentement et viol dans Émile, ou De L’Éducation

Abstract

This article addresses Rousseau’s views on rape and sexual consent in Émile. The analysis is focused on a section of the book that underwent several changes before publication, as shown by comparing different drafts of Émile. By discussing anthropological and legal notions together, Rousseau seems to overlap different meanings of rape (rapt) in contemporary law, ultimately denying its actual possibility. The article points out the problems of the interpretation offered by Rousseau, in light of some contemporary responses, and with regard to its presumable principal source, Mme Dupin’s Des Femmes.