Simone de Beauvoir facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Simone de Beauvoir
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Beauvoir in 1967
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Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir
9 January 1908 Paris, France
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| Died | 14 April 1986 (aged 78) Paris, France
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| Education | University of Paris (BA, MA) |
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Notable work
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The Second Sex (1949) |
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Philosophy career |
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| Era | 20th-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
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Main interests
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Notable ideas
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Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (born January 9, 1908 – died April 14, 1986) was a French thinker, writer, and activist. She was also a social theorist, which means she studied how societies work. She is well-known for her work as a feminist, someone who believes in equal rights for women.
Beauvoir wrote many books, including novels, essays, and her own life story. She explored ideas about philosophy, politics, and social issues. Her most famous book is The Second Sex (1949). This book looked closely at the challenges women faced and became a very important text for modern feminism. She also wrote popular novels like She Came to Stay (1943) and The Mandarins (1954).
Contents
Early Life and Family
Beauvoir was born in Paris, France, on January 9, 1908. Her family was from the middle class, sometimes called "bourgeois." Her father, Georges Bertrand de Beauvoir, was a lawyer who dreamed of being an actor. Her mother, Françoise Beauvoir, came from a wealthy family and was a strong Catholic. Simone had a younger sister named Hélène.
After World War I, her family lost a lot of their money. This made it hard for them to keep their middle-class lifestyle. Her mother made sure both daughters went to a good convent school.
Simone was a very smart child. Her father encouraged her to think deeply. He even used to say, "Simone thinks like a man!" Because her family lost money, Simone knew she could not rely on a dowry (money or property given to a husband by his wife's family). This meant she needed to find a way to earn her own living.
Education and Beliefs
Beauvoir went to college after finishing high school. She studied math and philosophy. In 1925, at age 17, she passed her final high school exams. She then studied math at the Institut Catholique de Paris. She also studied literature and languages at the Institut Sainte-Marie.
Later, she studied philosophy at the Sorbonne. In 1928, she wrote her master's thesis about the philosopher Leibniz. Her studies in political philosophy made her think a lot about how society works.
Beauvoir grew up in a Catholic home and was very religious as a child. She even thought about becoming a nun. However, at age 14, she started to question her faith. She saw many difficult things in the world. Because of this, she stopped believing in God in her early teens. She remained an atheist for the rest of her life. She believed that faith allowed people to avoid life's hard questions.
While studying for a difficult national exam called the agrégation, she met Jean-Paul Sartre. This exam ranks students nationally. Beauvoir placed second, and Sartre placed first. At 21, she was the youngest person ever to pass the exam. This success helped her become financially independent. It also strengthened her belief in women's rights.
Teaching Career
From 1929 to 1943, Beauvoir worked as a teacher. She taught at high schools in Marseille, Rouen, and Paris. She continued teaching until her writings earned enough money for her to live on.
Life with Jean-Paul Sartre
Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre met during their college years. In October 1929, they became a couple. They remained partners for 51 years, until Sartre's death in 1980.
Later Years and Passing
Simone de Beauvoir passed away from pneumonia on April 14, 1986, in Paris. She was 78 years old. She is buried next to Jean-Paul Sartre in the Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris. After her death, she was honored as a leader in the fight for women's rights.
Legacy and Impact
Simone de Beauvoir's book The Second Sex is seen as a very important book in the history of feminism. At first, Beauvoir said she was not a feminist. But after The Second Sex became so important for the women's movement, she agreed that she was one.
In Paris, there is a square named Place Jean-Paul-Sartre-et-Simone-de-Beauvoir. It is one of the few places in Paris officially named after a couple. This shows how important Beauvoir's legacy is. She and Sartre lived near this square for many years.
Awards and Recognition
- Prix Goncourt, 1954
- Jerusalem Prize, 1975
- Austrian State Prize for European Literature, 1978
Major Works
Here is a list of some of Simone de Beauvoir's important books:
- L'Invitée (1943) (English – She Came to Stay) [novel]
- Pyrrhus et Cinéas (1944) [nonfiction]
- Le Sang des autres (1945) (English – The Blood of Others) [novel]
- Les Bouches inutiles (1945) (English - Who Shall Die?) [drama]
- Tous les hommes sont mortels (1946) (English: All Men Are Mortal) [novel]
- Pour une morale de l'ambiguïté (1947) (English: The Ethics of Ambiguity) [nonfiction]
- America Day by Day (1948) (English, 1999) [nonfiction]
- Le Deuxième Sexe (1949) (English: The Second Sex) [nonfiction]
- L'Amérique au jour le jour (1954) (English: America Day by Day)
- Les Mandarins (1954) (English: The Mandarins) [novel]
- Must We Burn Sade? (1955)
- The Long March (1957) [nonfiction]
- Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter (1958)
- The Prime of Life (1960)
- Force of Circumstance (1963)
- A Very Easy Death (1964) (French: Une Mort Tres Douce)
- Les Belles Images (1966) [novel]
- The Woman Destroyed (1967) [short stories] (French: La Femme Rompue)
- The Coming of Age (1970) [nonfiction]
- All Said and Done (1972)
- Old Age (1972) [nonfiction]
- When Things of the Spirit Come First (1979) [novel]
- Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre (1981)
- Letters to Sartre (1990)
- A Transatlantic Love Affair: Letters to Nelson Algren (1998)
- Philosophical Writings (2004)
- Journal de guerre, Sept 1939 – Jan 1941 (1990); English – Wartime Diary (2009)
- Diary of a Philosophy Student, 1926–27 (2006)
- Cahiers de jeunesse, 1926–1930 (2008)
- Inseparable (2020)
Images for kids
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Algren in 1956
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Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre in Beijing, 1955
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Dunes cottage where Algren and Beauvoir spent summers in Miller Beach, Indiana
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Antonio Núñez Jiménez, Beauvoir, Sartre and Che Guevara in Cuba, 1960.
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Beauvoir's and Sartre's grave at the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
See also
In Spanish: Simone de Beauvoir para niños
