- Rousseau's still having problems makin' that money.
- He ends up ditching Paris for good in search of greener pastures (and some green dollars).
- New scene: a rural part of France where Rousseau can just chill and write. He calls it the Hermitage.
- Rousseau turns his attention to a book he's been itching to write for years: Political Institutions.
- He wants to answer that age-old question: "What is law?" What can we say? He's an ambitious guy.
- Mme d'Epinay owns the place where Rousseau is holing up. We all know where this is leading.
- Or do we? Rousseau swears he only loves Mme d'Epinay as a friend.
- Rousseau values that friendship, but he also wants the intimacy of a romantic relationship.
- Luckily, Therese is still around. They have great conversations about everything under the sun.
- Unfortunately, Rousseau is having some mother-in-law problems. Mme le Vasseur, Therese's mom, is either being sneaky behind Rousseau's back or trying to ingratiate herself with him.
- Rousseau can't stop thinking of all his lady loves from the past.
- Meanwhile, Rousseau receives a copy of Voltaire's poem on the Lisbon Earthquake.
- Rousseau is most indignant about Voltaire's approach to Providence. He writes to Voltaire that he's portraying God as a malicious being.
- Voltaire puts off responding to Rousseau for a long time, but he finally responds in the form of a novel: Candide. Now, that's a response.
- Mme d'Houdetot, the sister-in-law of Mme d'Epinay, pays Rousseau and Therese a visit. It's not the last visit she pays, either, Rousseau tells us (foreshadowing alert).