Simone de Beauvoir

Lore & Background

Beauvoir was born in Montparnasse in a quality but poorly furnished apartment. Her family was historically bourgeois, though her aristocratic ancestor was killed during the revolution. Her father was a lawyer who aspired to be an actor, and her mother was a wealthy banker's daughter and devout Catholic. The expected dowry was not available after her maternal grandfather was jailed. Beauvoir was intellectually precocious, fueled by her father's encouragement; he reportedly boasted, 'Simone has a man's brain; she thinks like a man; she is a man.' She was raised primarily by her nanny Louise, as her parents were often absent. During World War I and inflation, the family's finances shrank, and her father became physically abusive to her mother. In 1919, the family moved to a small fifth floor apartment with no central heating, running water, or bathroom.

Beauvoir was raised Catholic and educated in convent schools. At age 7, she began taking communion three times a week and intended to become a nun. At age 14, she began to question her faith and became an atheist in her teens, remaining so for life. She studied mathematics and literature, then philosophy at the Sorbonne. In 1929, she met Jean-Paul Sartre while studying for the agrégation in philosophy. The jury narrowly awarded Sartre first place and gave second to Beauvoir; she was 21, the youngest person to ever pass the exam and the eighth woman to do so. In October 1929, she and Sartre became a couple for the next 51 years, until his death in 1980. Sartre asked her to marry him on a provisional basis, but she wrote, 'Marriage was impossible. I had no dowry.'

Reader's Guide

Beauvoir's significance lies in her foundational role in feminist existentialism and feminist theory, primarily through The Second Sex (1949), which remains a key text in contemporary feminism. She also wrote novels, essays, short stories, biographies, autobiographies, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and social issues. Her most enduring contribution to literature is her memoirs, notably the first volume, Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée (1958). She received the 1954 Prix Goncourt, the 1975 Jerusalem Prize, and the 1978 Austrian State Prize for European Literature, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961, 1969, and 1973. In contemporary times, Beauvoir has been criticized for having hurtful romantic and sexual relationships with three of her former students, two of whom also had relationships with Sartre. Her legacy is complex: celebrated for her intellectual contributions to feminism and existentialism, yet subject to scrutiny over her personal conduct.

Did You Know?

• Beauvoir was the youngest person ever to pass the agrégation in philosophy, at age 21, and the eighth woman to do so.
• She was raised Catholic and intended to become a nun, but abandoned religion in her teens and remained an atheist for life.
• Her father reportedly boasted, 'Simone has a man's brain; she thinks like a man; she is a man.'
• She was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961, 1969, and 1973.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom." — Simone de Beauvoir "On Mao Zedong, in The Long March. World Publishing Company. 1958. p. 427." — Simone de Beauvoir "The Communists, following Hegel, speak of humanity and its future as of some monolithic individuality. I was attacking this illusion." — Simone de Beauvoir "It's frightening to think that you mark your children merely by being yourself... It seems unfair. You can't assume the responsibility for everything you do — or don't do." — Simone de Beauvoir