Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Pantheon
Pl. du Pantheon, 75005 Paris, France
Sept. 26, 2023
Ms. Keylla Victor and Mr. Gilberto Victor
Edificio Supreme
Rua Afonso serafim 21
Taubate, SP, 12041-018
Dear Mr. and Ms. Victor,
From my brief observations of Lara’s ill education, I have noticed various mistakes of great importance. Among them are its similarity to a male-appropriate education, myopic pursuit of the arts and sciences instead of more feminine roles and duties and constant defiance of her feminine responsibilities. As one must know, three of my most famous works discussed the topics of education, religion, society and the arts and sciences. Given that the causes of this case of your daughter’s poor education are founded in these topics, I hope that, from this letter and the advice given here, the harm will be undone and she shall become a well-educated young woman who fulfills her role in society.
To understand what an adequate feminine education is, we must first understand the difference between men and women, and what a woman’s purpose in life is. Both men and women have the same needs, organs and faculties. However, they differ on the matter of sex. In this lies the difficulty in comparing them, given our inability to decide in either case, that of man and that of woman, what is a matter of sex, and what is not. Because of that, some fail to understand that this core difference leads to one in their moral relations, and we must recognize its importance. As I say in the fifth chapter ofthe “Emile,” “The man should be strong and active; the woman should be weak and passive.” With that principle in mind, one can understand that a woman is specially made for man’s delight and that her education should be planned in relation to men from a very young age.
Now that I have addressed those differences, I shall define the ideal education for a woman. From the beginning, her tutoring should foment her instincts of caregiving, pleasing, seduction and motherhood. Your obligation as parents is to follow these instincts and train them. Unfortunately, both of you went against this, clearly marked bent throughout her life. Instead of stimulating her feminine inclinations through dolls, playthings and dressing-up mirrors, you have prompted her to engage in manly matters such as taekwondo, which she has now mastered. Moreover, you have continuously stimulated her to pursue traditional 21st-century schooling to the detriment of improving her abilities in the areas of motherhood and caregiving to the point that she is ultimately incapable of sewing and cooking, and, therefore, incapable of fulfilling her future responsibilities as a wife and mother.
Sadly, the causes of Lara’s poor education are not only based on matters of sex but also on matters of general education, such as attending Notre Dame and being a part of the Glynn Family Honors program. Furthermore, being a student and residing at the most prominent Catholic university in America constantly exposes her to institutionalized religion and the Catholic Church, which has only taken away virtue from our society. With that principle in mind, how can one adequately learn religion? In the fourth chapter of the “Emile,” the priest advocates for learning faith through natural methods, given that all inquiries about nature and its perfection will inevitably lead to the existence of God, His unknowable force and benevolence.
When I was prompted by a competition at the Academy at Dijon to answer if the arts and letters contribute to the progress or downfall of society, I argued that it had moved us from ethics of necessity to ethics of vanity, reinforced the hierarchy where arts and sciences are superior, and wrapped our chains in garlands so that humans forget their true condition as slaves. Hence, Lara’s participation in the Glynn Honors program is a cause of significant harm to her education, given that the program actively endorses the pursuit of the arts and sciences, not only through the required classes but also through substantial research grants.
Finally, educating a woman on the frames of a man, as both of you have done with Lara, ultimately leads to a woman who does not understand and is incapable of fulfilling her natural roles of making herself pleasing in the man’s eyes, not provoking him to anger and taking care of her family. Therefore, to correct the grotesque mistakes made in her education, she must quit university and focus on making up for the time lost by completely dedicating herself to stimulating her feminine inclinations. She must learn skills that will aid her in adequately fulfilling her role of being a mother and wife such as sewing and cooking. Furthermore, it is of extreme importance that she adopts a more passive personality, given that she is currently characterized by many as “feisty” and “too opinionated.” Along with that, she must let her hair grow, so that she can become more pleasing in the eyes of men. I hope that, with the information and advice disclosed here, the harm is undone and she can successfully perform her role in society.
Warm regards,
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Lara is a member of the class of 2026 from Taubaté, Brazil with majors in economics and Chinese. When she is not complaining about the weather, you can find her studying in a random room of O'Shaughnessy with her friends or spending all her flex points in Garbanzo. You can contact Lara by email at lvictor@nd.edu.
