Simone de Beauvoir: Feminism and Existentialism

This literary study will define the historical construction of submissive female gender roles in the domestic sphere in Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Existential Paralysis of Women” and in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Beauvoir’s article defines the suffering that women endure as servants in the home due to the overarching construction of submissive gender roles in the “masculine world.” This construction of gender role relies on male-based institutions that have educated women to believe that are inferior as an innate biological fact, yet these

In Simone De Beauvoir’s book, she has trouble with determining what defines a female human as a woman. She claims that no female human is born as a woman, and because of this, many critics of women believe that women are becoming endangered since womanhood is often something that is looked down upon in the social structure. In consequence of female humans not being born as women, Beauvoir claims that it is only through performing femininity that one becomes a woman (De Beauvoir 23). This view is not one

The female population is being denied their right to participate and to be taken seriously within society. Women are not being taken seriously by their fellow man. Specifically women should have the right to express themselves with the belief that they would be taken seriously. A man is more likely to believe another male than a female even if they are married. Women are being denied their equal rights. They are not able to express their thoughts. they are unable to move forward not only in the life, but in their careers. Women are being held back and not able to advance in the work field because they are female.

Throughout history women have not been given proper recognition for their insight in the field of psychology. They were simply labeled as “Other.” Simone de Beauvoir, philosopher examines the concepts of woman and in relation to the larger concepts of humanity. She concludes that women’s status is not simply a matter of definition, but a fundamental way of thinking that has political consequences. What is a Woman? This question may seem to be rudimentary, but when thought about women are the foundation for life. Women are more than their uterus, or an imperfect man. It was believed that women were made from man’s image, Adam and Eve.

Through out history many would say that women have finally been liberated from the cruel injustice of the patriarchal society. Through Women’s suffrage to what seems to be an equal paying jobs now in society. Yet time and time again, society had fail to comply with the freedom that females deserve. Women’s population as a whole in a global aspect still to this modernized society are being looked down upon for their gender, believing that women are weak beings and are incapable of making logical decisions without the waiver of emotions. (Even after hundreds of years for society to become equal, on a global ideal, misogyny is still extremely alive integrated with our everyday lives.

The philosophy of existentialism is based primarily on a single question. One that asks the meaning of life or if there was some set path that individuals must follow. In the past, the answer to this would lie within religion, but as the human race continued to learn about the world, it became apparent that religion held little truth in terms of explanation. Since then, to philosopher’s dismay, there has been no definite answer to replace religion, nor will there ever be one. Instead, the concept of existentialism dawned on philosophers and scholars alike.

By American standards, women do not hold any real power. Women currently make less money than men for the same jobs, the United States has never seen a woman president and until the year 1920, American women had not even won the right to vote. Women are notoriously seen as less than: men are doctors, women are nurses, men are football players, women are cheerleaders or men are pilots and women are flight attendants. We live in a culture of gender inequality, always favoring males. However, all cultures are different and in innumerable societies all around the world, women are the ones who, so to speak, hold all the cards. They make the decisions for their families, they are entrusted with greater responsibilities and they wear the pants in their relationships. By enabling the women in these societies to have more responsibility, respect and equality, it strengthens the cultures and traditions expressed by these groups all while

Beauvior’s piece is one of the most influential pieces of work during the contemporary time as it encourages all women to join together in unity to fight for equality among men. Before this piece, women had no real place in society and no true identity. Beauvior’s main goal was to change that impression by creating a movement where women would find a goal that would eventually be equality with men and strive to achieve it. Beauvior’s piece was seen as the initial spark that began the overwhelming movement towards women’s rights and equality amongst men during the contemporary

De Beauvoir’s Argument In Simone de Beauvoir’s The Making of a Woman (an excerpt from her more famous work, The Second Sex), she argues that the classically “feminine” woman develops not as a consequence of choice or biology, but as a result of societal conditioning starting from a very young age. Furthermore, de Beauvoir explores the various sources of this sociological conditioning (e.g. mothers, female relatives, literature, historical texts, etc.) and explains how the concept of femininity, when compared to masculinity, paints women as the inferior gender and consequently justifies patriarchal behavior. Existentialist Component to Womanhood As Simone de Beauvoir was an existentialist, it would be inappropriate to discuss her ideas concerning femininity without examining them from an existentialist perspective.

De Beauvoir starts to describe the serious world in chapter two “Personal Freedom and Others”. The serious world is where the environment is already established, where one did not contribute, and the man’s only choice is to submit. De Beauvoir starts to describe what adolescence is like where one starts to ask questions like “Why must I act this way?”; “what happens if I act another way?” to De Beauvoir this is when one discovers their subjectivity and the subjectivity of others. When one is in their adolescent years they start to notice contradictions and weakness amongst adults. “Men no longer appear as Gods.”(De Beauvoir Ethics). Adults

In the first chapter Simone de Beauvoir discusses her beliefs on feminism. De Beauvoir emerged during the first wave of feminism and she believed that women were one hundred percent equal to men. She states, “He is the Subject, he is the Absolute she is the other” (Schneir 8). De Beauvoir implies that what makes a man masculine is all the qualities he possesses that a female is supposed to lack. Thus, she did not want to do anything that would make her fit into the category of “other”.

Simone de Beauvoir was an existential theorist; she recognized and discussed the role of women in society today. Beauvoir believed that women react and behave through the examination of male opinion; she believed that women are somewhat confused and unable to separate their true character from that character which, is expected of them. In this inability, women are unable to create their own identity; they are too focused on meeting the expectation men have created. However, while pursuing this expectation, women fall further behind in the pursuit of equality. “And why don't you write? Write! Writing is for you, you are for you; your body is yours, take it. I know why you haven’t

Existentialism is somewhat of an open topic. For some, it is a way of life, and everything they do goes along by the rules of existentialism. Other people know what it is, yet don’t follow by it. And then there are the people who have no idea what it is. Nevertheless, existentialism is by definition “a philosophical theory or approach that emphasizes the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will.” One of the most prominent people who dabbled in extistentialism would have to be Simone de Beauvoir. With the personality that she has, it is not hard to see why she went on to do what she did for society.

De Beauvoir’s “Woman as Other” lays out an elaborate argument on gender inequality; using the term “other” to establish woman’s alternate, lesser important role throughout her work, the author dissects and examines from its origin the female’s secondary position in society in contrast to man. Indeed, from the beginning of recorded history, the duality of man, by definition, positions woman at the opposing end of the spectrum in relation to her male counterpart. Even by today’s modern and accepting standards, the female suffers under the brand of being the sub-standard half of the duality equation; compared to her male opponent, women are paid lower wages, have fewer and limited expression of rights, achieve lower

Lastly, “femininity” refers to behavioural activities or interests that are assigned to the female sex, such as cleaning and cooking (Beauvoir, 617). Although many critics have read her text and become confused due to her stylistic choice to fuse her voice with the voices of famous men, it can be said that the text ultimately leads the reader to begin to question what society sees as a woman (Zerilli, 1-2). Despite Beauvoir’s The Second Sex appearing to recognize the oppression of women throughout the world without giving an actual solution, I will argue that Beauvoir’s evaluation of each “natural” aspect of female oppression allows readers to recognize that the only thing holding themselves back as a woman is society’s unnatural definition of their body, relation to men, and personal freedoms. Of course, when it comes to one's freedom, it is difficult to obtain when your body feels like a