Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher during the Enlightenment period of the eighteenth century. Rousseau had distinct views that were, at times, unlike other philosophers. Examples of Rousseau's criticisms of society and its citizens are demonstrated in the movie Ridicule.
             Ridicule is defined as "to make fun of," implying a "deliberate often malicious belittling" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary). Rousseau's critique was not merely an attempt to make society and its individuals objects of laughter, but to encourage, like other thinkers, progress of civilization through the "improvement and ultimate transformation of society" (Levack et al. 565).
             Rousseau was an atypical thinker who tries to grasp an emotional and passionate side of man. Contrary to Rousseau's emotionalism, the character of Mathilde is a single-minded individual and unaware of her emotions. Mathilde's primary concern is her study of science. Her interest in science and nature overshadows and, eventually, removes any of her feelings of love. She agrees to marry a rich, old noble, Monsieur Montalieri, so she can use the income from the marriage to finance her scientific experiments.
             In Rousseau's The Social Contract, emphasis is placed on citizens recognizing a general will, which represents the common good or public interest. All of society should participate and commit to the general good, even if that means putting personal and private interests aside (Levack et al. 571). The character of the aristocrat Ponceludon demonstrates Rousseau's idea of the general will. Ponceludon travels to the court at Versailles hoping that King Louis XVI will provide financial aid for his drainage project of the swamps near his home. He wants to get rid of mosquitoes, reduce disease and death, and help the peasants who work for him have a better life. He goes to the court to see th...