Sartre (a woman pursuing freedom)

Author: Li Yafan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Simone de Beauvoir is a prominent writer in France and all over the world. —French former President Mitterrand
Her engagement in literature represents a certain intellectual movement, marking a period that characterized our society. Her undeniable talent made her a writer of great significance in French literary history. —French President Chirac
Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) was a world-renowned French writer and social activist. Her representative works include The Second Sex, hailed as the "Bible of Western Women"; The Mandarins, an autobiographical novel awarded the French Goncourt Prize in 1954; and Simone de Beauvoir: Memoirs, a four-volume work. Beauvoir was the lifelong confidante of the existentialist philosopher and writer Sartre. They were not only a free couple but also an inseparable spiritual entity. Their half-century-long "contractual love," free from marital bonds, was both sensational and moving. Their respective sexual lives with other men and women drew both criticism and attention. Regardless of how people judged them, Beauvoir lived a fulfilling and authentic life. Her undeniable talent, her free spirit that pursued excellence, and her legendary love all possess eternal charm. On the French literary scene of the 20th century, Beauvoir remains a dazzling figure, worthy of academic study and exploration.