Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex

The Bengali novelist Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay (1876-1938) of colonial India and the French philosophe of Enlightenment Europe Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) stand poles apart from each other—temporally, territorially, and culturally. Although Sharatchandra is reputed to have been familiar with...

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Main Author: Narasingha P. Sil
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2014-02-01
Series:SAGE Open
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013520611
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author Narasingha P. Sil
author_facet Narasingha P. Sil
author_sort Narasingha P. Sil
collection DOAJ
description The Bengali novelist Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay (1876-1938) of colonial India and the French philosophe of Enlightenment Europe Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) stand poles apart from each other—temporally, territorially, and culturally. Although Sharatchandra is reputed to have been familiar with a number of romantic writers of England, he does not seem to be acquainted with any literati of Europe, especially of Enlightenment France. Nevertheless, as this article contends, the Bengali writer’s attitude to human sensuality and sentiment or, more precisely, to love, sex, and marriage, betrays an interesting similarity to that of the French author. An upshot of this comparatist exercise is that we gain a fresh outlook on both men’s views on human condition that blurs, as it were, the distinction between modern European and modernizing and Westernizing colonial Indian mentalité.
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spelling doaj.art-910e7f148f3c4622ae54cd619444ee762022-12-21T20:22:10ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402014-02-01410.1177/215824401352061110.1177_2158244013520611Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and SexNarasingha P. Sil0Western Oregon University, Monmouth, USAThe Bengali novelist Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay (1876-1938) of colonial India and the French philosophe of Enlightenment Europe Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) stand poles apart from each other—temporally, territorially, and culturally. Although Sharatchandra is reputed to have been familiar with a number of romantic writers of England, he does not seem to be acquainted with any literati of Europe, especially of Enlightenment France. Nevertheless, as this article contends, the Bengali writer’s attitude to human sensuality and sentiment or, more precisely, to love, sex, and marriage, betrays an interesting similarity to that of the French author. An upshot of this comparatist exercise is that we gain a fresh outlook on both men’s views on human condition that blurs, as it were, the distinction between modern European and modernizing and Westernizing colonial Indian mentalité.https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013520611
spellingShingle Narasingha P. Sil
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex
SAGE Open
title Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex
title_full Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex
title_fullStr Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex
title_full_unstemmed Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex
title_short Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Sharatchandra Chattopadhyay on Love and Sex
title_sort jean jacques rousseau and sharatchandra chattopadhyay on love and sex
url https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244013520611
work_keys_str_mv AT narasinghapsil jeanjacquesrousseauandsharatchandrachattopadhyayonloveandsex