entist and Rousseau biographer, A. M. Melzer (McCrae, 1996). At a
glance, one can see that Rousseau was a man of extremes, notable inparticular for off-the-chart Neuroticism and Openness. One could cer -
tainly interpret many of the events in Rousseau’s Objective Biography in
terms of this profile. Is it surprising that one so high in Openness toFeelings should be one of the founders of the Romantic Movement inliterature or that one so low in Trust but so high in Tender-mindednesswould reject the political philosophy of the day and offer his own Uto -
pian alternative in The Social Contract (Rousseau, 1762/1968)?
But Rousseau’s personality traits affected not only his outward
behavior but also his self-conception, his life narrative. In the openingline of The Confessions he tells readers that he has “resolved on an enter -
prise which has no precedent,” namely , to give “a portrait in every way
true to nature” (1781/1953, p. 17). And indeed, when it appeared, hisautobiography was a shockingly frank self-portrait, revealing intimatedetails of his health and sexuality , and interpreting his life not as a seriesof public career moves but as a succession of personal struggles. Onlyan individual extraordinarily high in Openness could have conceivedsuch a project or had such an intricately detailed life narrative on whichto base it.
Unfortunately , Rousseau was characterized not only by high Open-
ness but also by high Neuroticism and low Agreeableness. Historiansconfirm that his personal life was a disaster, but here life narrative andObjective Biography part company . From Rousseau’s telling, he was thevictim of pettiness and narrow-mindedness, a man who had been be -
trayed by friends and denied the credit he deserved. History tells us that
he was paranoid and mistrustful, a man who alienated most of those(like the Scottish philosopher David Hume) who tried to help him.Rousseau’s interpretation of his life, the way in which he sought to givepurpose and meaning to his existence, was deeply colored by his endur -
ing dispositions. Fortunately for us, his genius and his experiential
Openness turned what might have been a whiny and self-serving tractinto a great work of literature.
***
The last few years have been extraordinarily productive ones for the
field of personality and aging. Longitudinal studies begun years ago byfarsighted researchers have offered clear and consistent evidence ofInfluences of Personality on the Life Course 233