Beauty and Rebellion: A Biography of Simone de Beauvoir

Author: Qian Xiuzhong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-07-01
Features: French President Mitterrand called de Beauvoir the "most outstanding woman writer in France and the world," The New Yorker praised her as the "most beautiful existentialist," and Sartre described her as possessing both male wisdom and female sensitivity. She was the only woman in the world who sought to turn culture upside down. The Second Sex is widely recognized as "the most sound, rational, and wise book in history" on 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 world-renowned best-selling author and writer who gained global recognition through her works. Her unique lifestyle drew strong controversy, and her "love contract" with the existentialist master Sartre was seen by some as proof that love could triumph over conventional marriage, while others held the opposite view. Reading this book not only allows readers to understand the author of the celebrated The Second Sex—Simone de Beauvoir—through her life experiences and the background of its creation, but also prompts readers to re-examine various social issues such as family, marriage, and homosexuality.
Simone de Beauvoir was a famous French woman writer and scholar, with multiple identities as a philosopher, essayist, and playwright, as well as a pioneer of the feminist movement. Her 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 powerful that they overshadowed another important gift she possessed—her highly captivating writing ability. With a great philosophical mind and a fresh, hungry, and curiosity unique to women, de Beauvoir continuously analyzed herself with a Rousseau-esque style of confession, offering humanity countless outstanding works. She won the Goncourt Prize in 1954 and was a world-renowned best-selling author, described by Sartre as possessing both male wisdom and female sensitivity. She visited China with Sartre in 1955 and, as a friendly envoy of the French people, climbed the Tiananmen reviewing stand on National Day. Upon 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 across the ocean—this was Simone de Beauvoir, the unique woman in the world. 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 was a world-renowned best-selling author and writer who gained global recognition through her works. Her unique lifestyle drew strong controversy, and her "love contract" with the existentialist master Sartre was seen by some as proof that love could triumph over conventional marriage, while others held the opposite view. Reading this book not only allows readers to understand the author of the celebrated The Second Sex—Simone de Beauvoir—through her life experiences and the background of its creation, but also prompts readers to re-examine various social issues such as family, marriage, and homosexuality.