Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Rosseau was banned from France and Switzerland for his controversial writings, often criticizing the government; though he had some "modern" ideas, he still subscribes to the idea that men and women have specific gender roles. https://pittsburghquarterly.com/articles/the-trouble-with-rousseau/
It is said that no woman has made anyimportant discovery in science, or has given any proofs of thepossession of genius in arts, literature, etc
Women didn't have the same access to higher education that men did; many of the discoveries made by female scientists throughout history have been taken credit for by men (ex: Rosalind Franklin and the DNA double helix).
But the rights of men result simply from the fact that theyare rational, sentient beings, susceptible of acquiring ideas ofmorality, and of reasoning concerning those ideas
Placing Eurocentric standards upon those that are not from Europe; culture and language differences do not insinuate lesser intelligence.
There scarcely ever was a civilized nation of thatcomplexion, nor even any individual eminent either inaction or speculation
Is it really that there wasn't a civilized nation or is it that he had not traveled to see it and therefore it must not exist?
A man must never tell his wife if he risks a part of hisfortune on behalf of a friend.
Men are the only people in the family allowed to be aware or in control of finances. He is expected not to tell his wife when he has been irresponsible with their money; this takes away much of the accountability that he would face in the modern world.
one [should notwant] to disguise the charming distinction that nature haschosen to make between the two sorts of human being
What is meant specifically meant by "disguise" of this distinction? Clothing, education, or maybe career?
my carrier bag full of wimps andklutzes, and tiny grains of things smaller than a mustard seed,
The "wimps and klutzes" are the real people rather than the heroes that are common in many stories, unrealistic and not relatable. The little pebbles are interesting to include; what could be meant by the tiny grains? Small actions or maybe personality traits?
Words hold things. They bear me anings.
Novels are metaphorical containers. They carry emotions, conflict, relationships, etc and serve as a very powerful tool to demonstrate a journey.
A holder. A recipient.
Interesting choice of word to describe the container. A "recipient" could have double meaning in the context of the essay.