Identity and Self in 16th–18th Century European Literature
This essay traces the transformation of ideas about personal identity and selfhood across three centuries of European literature, drawing on Michel de Montaigne's Essays, Richard Steele's The Spectator, and Joseph Addison's contributions to that publication. Beginning with Montaigne's radical celebration of individual self-expression in sixteenth-century France—itself a challenge to the oppressive hierarchies of the Inquisition—the paper moves through Steele's more methodical and socially embedded conception of identity in the eighteenth century. It concludes by examining Addison's explicit criticism of Montaigne's "egoism" and his advocacy for a self tempered by social duty and concern for others. Together, these three authors illustrate a broad cultural shift from internally driven selfhood toward an externally regulated social identity.
- Introduction: Changing Ideas of Identity and Self: Overview of shifting identity concepts across three centuries
- Montaigne and 16th-Century Identity: Montaigne's Essays as radical individual self-expression
- Identity and Self in the 18th Century: Steele and Addison reframe selfhood through social order
- Developing a More Refined Self: Shift from internal to externally regulated identity
- Conclusion: From Self-Expression to Social Conformity: Three authors trace arc from freedom to conformity
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What makes this paper effective
- It uses a clear chronological framework, moving from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, which gives the argument a logical and easy-to-follow trajectory.
- It grounds abstract ideas about selfhood in specific primary texts, citing Montaigne's own phrasing ("Each man bears the entire form of man's estate") and Addison's direct criticism of Montaigne as the "most eminent Egotist."
- It draws explicit contrasts between authors—positioning Montaigne, Steele, and Addison as three distinct points on a spectrum—which makes the comparative argument concrete and accessible.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates comparative textual analysis across a historical arc. Rather than treating each author in isolation, the student consistently returns to earlier authors when introducing new ones, explicitly measuring how attitudes have shifted. This technique of using one text as a foil or measuring stick for another is a hallmark of effective comparative literary essays.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens with a brief framing introduction, then dedicates one focused section to Montaigne and sixteenth-century selfhood. A second major section addresses Steele and Addison together under the banner of eighteenth-century identity. A synthesis section then draws the three authors into direct comparison, tracking the trajectory from uninhibited self-expression to socially regulated conformity. A short concluding section reinforces the overarching argument. This structure is clean and well-proportioned for an undergraduate comparative essay.
Introduction: Changing Ideas of Identity and Self
The sixteenth through eighteenth centuries marked a period of dramatically changing attitudes and ideas. Ideas about one's identity and sense of self were perhaps the most visible ideals to find new meaning during this period. By examining several works from these centuries, it is possible to track these shifting attitudes. This essay examines three works of the time and uses comparison and contrast to trace how conceptions of identity and selfhood evolved.
Montaigne and 16th-Century Identity
The first work to be examined is Essays by Michel de Montaigne, published for the first time in 1580 under the French title Les Essais. In these essays, Montaigne discusses virtually every aspect of human life imaginable. The works contain personal observations as well as cultural and historical references drawn from Montaigne's own perspective. Montaigne writes in first person, providing readers a glimpse into his personal feelings and attitudes and, in doing so, offering a rare view of the prevailing attitudes of his time.
Montaigne refers to himself as the subject of the book. Essays is fundamentally about Montaigne's self-identity. He holds that every man is representative of the entire human race, stating, "Each man bears the entire form of man's estate." In this sense, Montaigne's representation of self simultaneously represents the attitudes of society at large. He speaks about continual change in society and the human capacity to evolve.
What Montaigne reveals about definitions of identity and self in sixteenth-century France is that the act of writing itself reflects his freedom to express himself. The focus of the work is on self-exploration and the need to experience some form of personal fulfillment from life. This unbounded sense of self-exploration breaks the chains of an earlier era in which freedom of expression could be punishable by death or imprisonment. Not far in the past from Montaigne's own day, the type of frank expression found in Essays could have brought severe punishment.
Such unbounded expression of self and preoccupation with one's identity can be viewed as a kind of rebellious casting aside of the ideals that shaped the latter Middle Ages. Montaigne makes it clear that he has the freedom to explore who he is inwardly, without fear of what others might think. This contrasts sharply with the ideals of previous centuries, when such thinkers had to be careful not to threaten the powers that be.
The Inquisition had imposed a hierarchical sense of order onto society. Many may have wished to indulge in self-expression but could not for fear of their lives. The Inquisition mandated that one's sense of identity and self began with one's duties to the state and to those in power. Montaigne's Essays is a direct challenge to the idea that one's image of self had to encompass one's duty to the ruling class and one's proper place in society. It was the beginning of an era marked by exploration and the breaking free from oppression.
Works Cited
Addison, Joseph. "The Spectator No. 476." 1712. Quotidiana. Ed. Patrick Madden. 12 Mar. 2007. http://essays.quotidiana.org/addison/spectator_no_476/. Accessed June 2, 2008.
Addison, Joseph. "The Spectator No. 562." Google Books. http://books.google.com/books?id=loE0AAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=+the+Spectator+no.+562&source=gbs_similarbooks_r&cad=2_1#PPA214,M1.
Montaigne. Saggi ii. Milano: Adelphi, 2005, pp. 1543–1544.
Montaigne. The Complete Essays of Montaigne. Trans. Donald M. Frame. Stanford University Press, 1958.
The Complete Essays of Montaigne, pp. 610–611.
The Spectator, no. 476.
The Spectator, no. 562.
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