“I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother, neighbor, friend, or society other than myself. The most sociable and the most loving of humans has been proscribed from society by a unanimous agreement.” (CW8.3, OC1.995) In the Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, Rousseau read the history of humankind, beginning in solitude with society gradually emerging. Our history is that of a solitary creature becoming social. Now, in the first words of the Reveries of the Solitary Walker, Rousseau reads his own history as that of a social creature becoming once more solitary, writing “my reveries only for myself.” (CW8.8, OC1.1001) “But I, detached from them [everyone] and from everything, what am I myself? That is what remains for me to seek.” (CW8.3, OC1.995) From reading the history of humankind in nature to applying the barometer to his soul – this is Rousseau's journey, and this is the man he is – the man whose final question is “what am I myself?” And so in this final chapter we shall accompany him on the ten promenades that compose the Reveries, seeking, with him, the answer to his question.

Rousseau is writing only for himself. The reading that reflexively concluded the Confessions contrasts with the writing that reflexively opens the Reveries. The reading concluded in silence. Rousseau now accepts that silence; he no longer tries to speak across the gap that he believes divides him from his fellows.