https://uwo.scholaris.ca/items/8ab6e0a0-0b82-40b6-88b6-05fe4d90d1c7

“Perhaps the most problematic popular conception of melancholy is that it is synonymous with depression. While melancholy can include negative sentiments, it is a much more complex, multifaceted state, with a wider range of possible feelings than merely pessimistic depression. As Emily Brady classifies it, melancholy has a “dual nature” different from the rawer pain of depression and other simple emotions. Melancholy is not simply “a debilitating mood”; “its reflective or thoughtful aspect” make melancholy “somehow productive … for it provides an opportunity for indulgent self-reflection. We enjoy this time out for reflection, but the pleasure is also connected to recollecting that which we long for, where this reflective element can be even exhilarating or uplifting.” The apparent productivity of melancholy’s self-reflective indulgences is what creates its potential to be pleasurable. As an emotion, its sentimental nature calls for a turn away from the external world and toward the self, where one can revel in pleasurable memories and overcome the limitations of other “raw” emotions through a reflective and detached perspective. As Rousseau suggests, this type of emotion “becomes so captivating that we eventually come to regard it as the height of happiness”

“. Because everything is in constant flux on this earth”, one should not depend on anything external to provide long-term happiness, for it is bound to change from the form that brought the most pleasure, be it another person or a positive sentiment to a specific object (Rousseau 88). Accordingly, melancholy is not a pleasure that associates itself with any physical object; rather, it is a feeling of the divine and sublime within. By simply existing with it, a flow of tranquil happiness and uplifting peace can be felt coursing through the soul. With simple emotions, such as joy or sadness, one feels a certain way about an external source that is attached to the outside world; the pleasure of melancholy, however, has no external association; it simply results from a state of mind brought about by solitary reflection.”

“Melancholy possesses the mind with such a powerful tranquility that Rousseau likens it to the profound quiet of death, in a state that is detached from external existence and inspires the imagination to provide pleasurable reveries. While experiencing this comatose sense of peace, the imagination can abandon the objects and perceptions of the exterior world in favor of an inner, death-like quiet through which one can retreat from worldly pain”

“key framework of the human individual, whose memories, aspirations, and emotional responses, are essential to consider in order to fully explore the effects of melancholic solitude”

“reverie”: a sort of daydreaming that, existing outside the realm of thought, is an emotional indulgence of the imagination with the ultimate purpose of providing pleasure for the self

“reverie amuses and distracts me, thought wearies and depresses me; thinking has always been for me a disagreeable and thankless occupation. Sometimes my reveries end in meditation, but more often my meditations end in reverie, and during these wanderings my soul roams and soars through the universe on the wings of imagination, in ecstasies which surpass all other pleasures”

“The relationship between thought and reverie directly parallels the differences between depression and melancholy discussed earlier: while thought is focused around a specific topic – one thinks inevitably about something – reverie is unrestricted because of its very purposelessness beyond the self-interests of the individual”

“The sublime shares melancholy’s disregard for external, physical objects, as well as “a commitment to self and self preservation” and an interest in the profound”

“Rousseau believes one can achieve a state of being so free from the chains of society that we become profoundly God-like beings ourselves, having nothing and desiring nothing outside of the pleasure of simply existing”

“Where the force of the sublime experience violently shatters the individual ego, the force of melancholy comes from a liberating disassociation from that which is individual. In this sense, the prolonged simplicity of melancholic solitude achieves a result that is similar to the shocking sublimity of perceiving something greater, even though the two provide fundamentally unique epiphanic experiences.”

“Ultimately, Rousseau’s reflective journey is more tranquilly melancholic than explosively sublime, and at one point he indirectly addresses his preference for the former when considering his problem with the more intense experience that the sublime is associated with: “These brief moments of madness and passion, however powerfully they may affect us, can because of this very power only be infrequent points along the line of our life … and the happiness for which my soul longs is not made up of fleeting moments, but of a single and lasting state”

While the sublime often leads to an appreciation of a higher power in a more traditional theistic sense, melancholy aligns more with a deistic view, where the divine presence is felt within and among all creation. This presence brings a sense of peace and unity with the world

“the experience of melancholy itself becomes a sort of tranquil Romantic heaven that exists entirely within the mind, and in which everything is joined in oneness. Rousseau sums up the feeling of this heavenly space in the “Fifth Walk”: a state where the soul can establish itself and concentrate its entire being … where time is nothing to it … and no other feelings of deprivation or enjoyment, pleasure or pain, desire or fear than the simple feeling of existence, a feeling that fills our soul entirely, as long as this state lasts we can call ourselves happy, not with a poor, incomplete and relative happiness such as we find in the pleasures of life, but with a sufficient, complete and perfect happiness which leaves no emptiness to be filled in the soul”

“Despite owing itself to an external environment that triggers the complex emotion, the realm of melancholy is a place that, paradoxically, has no presence in the physical world. Melancholy’s detachment from all things physical – which are in turn temporary – ensures that it can sustain itself as a constant source of pleasure.”

“Focusing on the personal importance that nature holds for Rousseau, Prabhu Venkataraman argues: “Throughout his life nature has served as his mirror for self-examination; it acts as a trigger for various memoires, it provides a harmonious setting for delving into the more painful of these memoires, and allows him to extract insights that enable him to face his mortality”“

Simplified Insights

1. Melancholy vs. Depression:
   • Melancholy is not the same as depression. It includes a mix of feelings and allows for self-reflection. At times it can even be uplifting as it helps us reflect on things we miss.
2. External Dependence:
   • Relying on external things for happiness is risky because everything changes. True happiness comes from within, through a divine feeling that is constant and peaceful, not tied to any outside object.
3. Tranquil Imagination:
   • Melancholy creates a peaceful state similar to the quiet of death, freeing the mind from worldly concerns and allowing the imagination to create pleasurable daydreams.
4. Human Framework:
   • To understand melancholic solitude, we need to consider human memories, hopes, and emotions.
5. Reverie:
   • Reverie is like daydreaming, a way to indulge the imagination and find pleasure without focused thought.
6. Reverie vs. Thought:
   • Rousseau prefers reverie because it amuses and uplifts him, while thinking is tiring. Reverie lets his soul explore and feel ecstatic pleasure.
7. Thought vs. Reverie:
   • Thought focuses on specific topics and can be depressing, while reverie is unrestricted and purely for personal enjoyment.
8. Sublime and Melancholy:
   • Both the sublime and melancholy disregard physical objects and focus on self-preservation and profound experiences.
9. God-like State:
   • Rousseau believes that by freeing ourselves from societal desires, we can achieve a god-like state, finding joy in simply existing.
10. Sublime vs. Melancholy Experiences:
    • The sublime shatters the ego with its intensity, while melancholy liberates us through calm detachment. Both offer profound experiences but in different ways.
11. Preference for Melancholy:
    • Rousseau prefers the steady happiness of melancholy over the brief intensity of sublime moments because he longs for lasting contentment, not fleeting pleasures.
12. Melancholy and Divinity:
    • While the sublime leads to a traditional sense of a higher power, melancholy reflects a deistic view where the divine is felt within, bringing peace and unity.
13. Romantic Heaven:
    • Melancholy creates a tranquil mental state that feels like a romantic heaven, where the soul is entirely content and happy in its existence.
14. Internal Pleasure:
    • Despite being triggered by external factors, melancholy is a mental state detached from the physical world, making it a constant source of pleasure.
15. Nature’s Role:
    • Nature helps Rousseau reflect on his life, triggering memories and insights that help him face life’s challenges and his own mortality.