Book 5, Book 5 : Chapter 3, Emile Grows More Mature Summary and Analysis

Emile has become impassioned and ardent regarding Sophy. They have known one another for five months and now he wants to marry her. At this time his mentor informs him that Emile needs to go apart from her and make himself worthy of her as a husband. This is not so much meant to just cruelly dislodge them from each other but is because she needs a suitable established man upon whom she can depend, with whom it is safe to have children and so on. Emile is not pleased when the older recommends that he just go away from her until he has better prepared himself.

Emile cries when the time comes to actually separate so that he can become worthy, then return to marry Sophy. This does...