From Kant to Rousseau: Duty and Compassion in Isabelle de Charrière's Novel Trois Femmes

The article examines Isabelle de Charriere's philosophical exploration of the notion of duty in her novel Trois femmes (written in 1794-1795). The textual analysis shows that her discourse on the subject, while stemming from an acquaintance with Kant's moral doctrine, leads to a critique of its rigorism. This reflection seems to be the result of the acceptance and adoption in fiction of pedagogical and anthropological categories taken from Book IV of Rousseau's Emile ou de l'education. In fact, it is based on Rousseau's analysis of the role of compassion in the genesis of human morality that Charriere outlines an original idea of duty based on the aptitude for identify with the feelings of others.