THE DEFICIENT SUBJECT: THE PROBLEMATICS OF IDLENESS AND SOLITUDE IN MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE’S ESSAIS

by Priestaf, Starra Marie

In Michel de Montaigne’s Essais the subject often retires from society in order to address questions of selfhood. The problems of autonomy and self-knowledge permeate the subject’s quest. In particular, the marginalized subject is central to Montaigne’s project and how he/she acquires autonomy during moments marked by deficiency and fragmentation. At the center of his discussion of idleness and solitude is a rhetoric of deficiency, negation and loss. This thesis explores the paradoxical construct of idleness and solitude and the deficiencies inherent in being. This project will also consider the ways in which Montaigne identifies marginalized figures as carriers of truth, pleasure and plenitude.