Born in Jenouillé, France, on 7 April 1658, Jacques Fontaine did not let the mild lameness he suffered from being dropped by a nurse in his infancy stop him from gaining experience in a number of fields over the course of his life. His memoirs feature a detailed genealogy of his forefathers’ destinies dating back to the sixteenth century, and, as Bernard Cottret (2003) notes, he is quick to mention that his family name was originally “de la Fontaine”, which suggests a link to nobility. His memoirs are all the more useful as they provide us with a pre-Rousseauian example of a prolonged reflection on the author’s childhood. Fontaine attributes to his young self a number of complex ideas about the world and the nature of God. He recalls that he supposedly used to muse on matters…
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Citation: Baker, Nora. "Jacques Fontaine". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 January 2023 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=15015, accessed 23 November 2024.]
