Simone de Beauvoir

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GMIT CASTLEBAR Simone De Beauvoir Laura Moran Table of Contents Introduction Page 3 The life of Simone De Beauvoir Page 3 Beauvoir and Sartre Page 4 Pyrrhus et Cinéas Page 5 Ethics and Ambiguity Page 6 The Second Sex Page 8 Conclusion Page 11 Introduction: “When Simone de Beauvoir died in Paris in 1986, the wreath of obituaries almost universally spoke of her as the 'mother' of contemporary feminism, philosophy and a twentieth century theoretician. De Beauvoir, it was implied as much as stated, was the mother-figure to generations of women, a symbol of all that they could be, and a powerful demonstration of a life of freedom and autonomy” (Evans, 1996). This essay will examine the life of Simone De Beauvoir, from her childhood in Paris through adolescent hood, adulthood, her relationship with Jean Paul Sartre and finally explore her philosophical views on life through three of her most prominent pieces of work, “Pyrrhus et Cinéas”, “Ethics and Ambiguity” and finally her most famous literary work, “The Second Sex”. The Life of Simone De Beauvoir Simone de Beauvoir was born on January 9th, 1908 in Paris. As a child she was intellectual and curious and she could read and write from an early age. Her father had ties with nobility and during his life gave up working in theatre to work in law. As a child she wanted to be a writer and a teacher, and began her education in a private catholic school for girls. Beauvoir had been a religious child; her mother, according to Appignanesi (2005) was a “zealous believer” and her children attended mass with her and took part in morning and evening devotions. Beauvoir was quoted as saying “I learnt from Mama to efface myself, to censor my desires, to say and ought exactly what to be said and done”

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