About Emile, by Rousseau, and the status of children’s literature

Abstract

This paper comments on Emile, or On Education, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, arguing that this book, contemporary with the appearance of children’s literature, is one of the responsible factors for inscribing certain characteristics in the books dedicated to children and young people. Those aspects permeated children’s literature in an underground way, subtle, but effective and rebellious, and today they constitute its main expression or, at least, they represent what is more interesting in terms of book conception meant for children and youth. The observations of this paper, starting from Emile, also trigger a reflection on the status of children’s literature, considering it a field of experimentation, innovation, and creative freedom – both for authors and their audience.