Simone de Beauvoir Biography

Her family lost most of their fortune after the First World War. Even though she was highly religious and God loving since childhood and intended to be a nun, she faced crisis of faith at the age of 14, and from then on remained an atheist throughout her life.

In 1925, she cleared baccalauréat exams in philosophy and mathematics.

In 1926, she obtained Certificates of Higher Studies in Latin and French literature.

She went to live with her grandmother to study Philosophy in Sorbonne. In 1927, she received Certificates in General Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Logic and Greek.

In 1928, she received Certificates in Psychology, Sociology and Ethics. She was the ninth woman to obtain degree from Sorbonne at that time.

Simone de Beauvoir started her career as a teacher in 1931, in a lycée at Marseilles.

In 1932, she moved to Rouen to teach advanced literature and philosophy in the ‘Lycée Jeanne d'Arc’. As she advocated pacifism and was outspoken about the condition of women, she was officially admonished. Later in 1941, the Nazi Government discharged her from her post of teacher.

She wrote the novel ‘She Came to Stay’ during 1935-1937, and got it published in 1943. It was a success and she was acknowledged as a writer. Her other notable writings that followed during this period include ‘The Blood of Others’, ‘Who Shall Die?’ and ‘Men are Mortal’.

In 1943, she was again dismissed from teaching following complaints of moral corruption by parents of one of her female students. That brought an end to her teaching career.

Her remarkable essays on existentialist ethics include ‘Pyrrhus et Cinéas’ published in 1944, and ‘The Ethics of Ambiguity’ in 1947.

In 1945, her political commitments and leftist orientation led her to associate with Jean Paul Sartre, Raymond Aron, Maurice Merleau-Ponty among other intellectuals who founded a leftist journal, ‘Les Temps Modernes’. She continued to be an editor of the journal till her death. ‘Moral Idealism and Political Realism’, ‘Eye for an Eye’ and ‘Existentialism and Popular Wisdom’ are some of the remarkable articles worth mentioning.

In 1949, she published her revolutionary masterpiece ‘The Second Sex’ that deals with oppression of women - an apt work on feminist existentialism.

Her travel diaries include ‘America Day by Day’ published in 1948, following her lecture in the US in 1947, and ‘The Long March’ in 1957, after she visited China with Sartre in 1955. During 1950s and 1960s she wrote numerous essays, fictions and short stories.

Her book ‘Mandarins’ was published in 1954. It is about personal lives of friends and philosophers belonging to and Sartre and her circle. She had dedicated the book to American writer Nelson Algren. The book also contained experiences of her relationship with Algren including sexual encounters. This book won her France's highest literary prize, the Prix Goncourt.

The 1970s, saw her in an active role in Women’s Liberation Movement in France and in 1971, she signed the ‘Manifesto of the 343’. It contained names of renowned ladies who professed to have gone through abortion, which was illegal in France then but later legalised in 1974.

Simone de Beauvoir was an avid traveler and loved exploring new cultures and societies, often incorporating her experiences into her writing.

She had a passionate love affair with American writer Nelson Algren, which inspired her novel "The Mandarins."

Beauvoir was a dedicated advocate for women's rights and played a significant role in the feminist movement, challenging traditional gender roles and societal expectations.

She was a talented painter and enjoyed expressing herself through art in addition to her writing.

Beauvoir had a close friendship with fellow existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom she engaged in deep intellectual discussions and collaborations throughout their lives.