The Free Spirit Pursuing Excellence: A Biography of Simone de Beauvoir

Author: Wu Kangru
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2009-06-01
Features: Simone de Beauvoir was a prominent woman in Western society in the 20th century. She gained fame during the existentialist movement and shocked patriarchal society with The Second Sex. She was also an enlightener for women. After her death, she was given various titles such as philosopher, politician, writer, essayist, journalist, novelist, playwright, atheist, existentialist, feminist, and pioneer of feminist theory.
She possessed the iron will often found in men, and resolutely chose a thorny path as a scholar. She firmly believed that life was not about enjoying it but about creating it. She thought that developing and enriching oneself, becoming someone irreplaceable to others, was the greatest pride and joy in life.
She pursued a new contractual relationship between the sexes and was Sartre's lover. Together, she and Sartre founded existentialism, emphasizing an optimistic philosophy of life that achieves goals through action. She won France's highest literary award—the Goncourt Prize—for her book The Mandarins.
Her motivation for writing The Second Sex was to awaken humanity and guide men. She was the famous feminist Simone de Beauvoir.