I ... father

By contract and by sentiment, the tutor has become the true father of Emile, and it is he who will take it upon himself to arrange Emile's marriage. In Book I, Chapter 2 of On Social Contract Rousseau states that children remain bound to their natural fathers "only as long as they need him to survive"; as soon as that need ceases to exist, "they return to a state of independence," and are free to form other voluntary associations.