Voyeur: A Biography of Simone de Beauvoir

Author: Qian Xiuzhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: French President Mitterrand called de Beauvoir the "most outstanding woman writer in France and the world," and The New Yorker praised her as the "most beautiful existentialist." Sartre described her as having both male wisdom and female sensitivity. She was the only woman in the world who tried to turn culture upside down. The Second Sex is widely recognized as "the most sound, rational, and wise book in history" discussing women, and is hailed as the Bible of Western women. Her novel The Mandarins won the French Goncourt Prize in 1954. Simone de Beauvoir was a renowned French writer and scholar with multiple identities as a philosopher, essayist, and playwright, as well as a pioneer of the feminist movement. De Beauvoir's influence on the world came from two aspects: as a pioneer of the feminist movement, she contributed the groundbreaking The Second Sex; and by refusing marriage, choosing not to have children, and staying with the existentialist master Sartre for life. These two aspects were so overwhelming that they overshadowed another important gift—her highly captivating writing ability. With a great philosophical mind and a fresh, hungry, and curiosity unique to women, she continuously analyzed herself with the confessional and straightforward style of Rousseau's Confessions, offering humanity countless outstanding works. She won the Goncourt Prize in 1954 and is a world-class best-selling author. Sartre called her both wise like a man and sensitive like a woman. She visited China with Sartre in 1955 and, as a friendly envoy of the French people, climbed the Tiananmen reviewing stand on National Day. After returning, she published a 400,000-character titled The Long March—China Sketches, and her comprehensive work on women's issues, The Second Sex, is hailed as a classic of feminism. She once compared herself to a ghost, wanting to pass through walls and observe the human world without participating. In 1986, she entered Sartre's grave wearing the ring of a lover from the other side of the ocean, and this is the unique woman—Simone de Beauvoir. Paris named the 37th bridge over the Seine "de Beauvoir Bridge" in her honor to commemorate this outstanding woman.
Reasons to Read This Book
Simone de Beauvoir is a world-class best-selling author and writer who has won global recognition with her works. Her unique lifestyle has attracted strong controversy. Her "love contract" with the existentialist master Sartre is seen by some as proof that love conquers conventional marriage, while others hold the opposite view. Reading this book not only allows you to understand the author's life story and the background of the writing of the acclaimed The Second Sex, but also prompts readers to rethink various social issues such as family, marriage, and homosexuality.