Beauvoir, Simone de

Childhood and Education

Simone de Beauvoir (full name of Simone-Lucy-Ernestine-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir) was born on January 9, 1908 in Paris in a comfortable apartment on Raspay Boulevard ( French ). The family belonged to an old aristocratic family, descended from Guillaume de Champot - a medieval French theologian , rhetorician and logician , teacher Abelard . Simone was the eldest daughter in the family of Georges Bertrand de Beauvoir, who worked as a legal secretary, and Francoise de Beauvoir, nee Brasso, a devout Catholic who was the daughter of a wealthy banker from Verdun . Two years after the birth of Simone, a second daughter appeared in the family - Helene ( English Hélène de Beauvoir ).

At five and a half years old, her parents sent Simon to the Cours Desir school ( Fr. ), in which, under the guidance of nuns, they prepared girls from noble families for a virtuous life. Parents, primarily the mother, wanted to see Simone in the future as a respectable wife of some bourgeois , and possibly a prince . Her dreams were not allowed to come true, which was even more disappointing given the family ruin due to the fault of the head of the family: Bertrand de Beauvoir invested in a loan from the government of the Russian Empire under the high income promised by Nicholas II , but the 1917 revolution buried dreams of income, just like the investments themselves. The strict bourgeois upbringing received from the mother is described in Simone’s book “Memoirs of a well-bred maiden” (Mémoires d'une jeune fille rangée, 1958).

The ruin of the family, sad in fact, at the same time was for Simone a very real confirmation of the special fate that she imagined in childhood. Zealously indulging in prayers, the girl “played” the great martyr, believing that her life was forever given to God. However, diligent education at the school where she attended the best students could not correct the plight of the family, which was forced to change their prestigious housing over the Rotonda bohemian restaurant to a cramped apartment in a dark house without an elevator on Ren Street, and prayers did not bring peace to relations of mother and father who have lost confidence in the future.

Parents explained to their daughter that only education would help her out of the plight of the family. Religiosity gave way to doubt, and then disappointment. By adolescence, the girl showed another characteristic feature: along with intelligence, she showed the ability to make uncompromising decisions. The step from the great martyress to a militant atheist by the standards of Simone was justified and reasonable.

Her father instilled interest in literature. By the age of fifteen, Simone had already decided to become a famous writer. She was fascinated by Maurice Barres , Paul Claudel , Andre Gide , Paul Valerie , and keeping a detailed diary replaced confession .

Graduated from school in 1925; studied mathematics at the Catholic Institute of Paris, philology at the Institute of Saint-Marie-de-Neuilly ( fr. ). A year later, she received a diploma from the University of Paris in literature and the Latin language . In 1927 she received a diploma in philosophy (her graduate qualification work was devoted to Leibniz philosophy) and became the ninth woman to graduate from the Sorbonne . In teaching, she met Maurice Merlot-Ponti and Claude Levy-Strauss ; worked with them at the same school. In the spring of 1928, she received a bachelor of arts degree . At the Faculty of Arts, she met with Jean-Paul Sartre , Paul Nisan , Rene Mayo (the latter, beating the consonance of her last name with the English word beaver (beaver), gave her the nickname "Beaver", who was attached to Simone in a friendly circle for the rest of her life ). I began to prepare for the competition ( English Agrégation ) in philosophy - an exam, which results in the compilation of a national French student rating - for which, in particular, I attended classes at the prestigious Higher Normal School . The first place on the exam was given to Jean-Paul Sartre, the second - to Simone, and at the age of twenty-one she became the youngest of those who passed this exam.

Acquaintance with Sartre grew into a relationship that lasted a lifetime.

After graduating from high school

After graduation, de Beauvoir and Sartre had to decide whether they stayed together. However, they never became husband and wife. Instead, they entered into an agreement between themselves, according to which they became partners, keeping each other's intellectual fidelity, while not considering betrayal of love affairs on the side.

In 1929-1931, Sartre served in the army. After the service, he was sent to work in Le Havre , Simone in 1931 went to teach philosophy in Marseille . They decided to extend their contract and still did not want to bind each other with obligations, while continuing close communication. In 1932-1937, Simone worked in Rouen - she taught at the Lyceum of Cornell ( French ), and then at the Paris Lyceum of Moliere ( French ). She constantly saw Sartre, and both led a serene life at this time, full of intellectual games, flirting and love affairs.

So, the pair met the nineteen-year-old Olga Kazakevich, who was a student of Simone in Rouen. Olga flirted with both Sartre and Simone. The couple, captured by the idea of ​​freedom, decided to create a “trio”. One of the holidays, breaking the tradition, Sartre spent with Olga, leaving de Beauvoir in Paris. Olga never became the lover of Sartre, who managed to seduce only her sister, Wanda ^[6] . Simone also did not limit herself too much in adventures. Bianca Lamblaine, her student at that time, later admitted to having sex with a teacher as a minor ^[6] . Another hobby was a student of Natalie Sorokina, whom Simone then introduced to Sartre. The ball of connections was supplemented by Jacques-Laurent Bost, a student already Sartre. Having married Olga Kazakevich, at the same time he became Simone’s lover ^[6] and for many years maintained intensive correspondence with her.

Immersed in the world of literature and philosophy, Simon and Sartre adhered to extreme revolutionary views, while being at the other extreme from real participation in political life.

During the war

In 1939, she made an attempt to print her first book, a short story collection, “The Leadership of the Spirit” (published in 1979 under the title “When the Spirit Dominates” by Quand prime le spirituel ). However, the manuscript was rejected by the publisher, which found Beauvoir's depicted moral image unconvincing. In the same year, with the beginning of the Strange War , Sartre was drafted into the army, and in June 1940 he was captured, where he spent nine months and was released due to poor health.

After Sartre returned to Paris, Simone took part with him in the organization of the underground group Socialism and Freedom, which also included Maurice Merlot-Ponti , Jean-Toussin Desanti, Jean Canapa and others. However, the group soon disbands, and Sartre decides to fight the occupation through writing.

In 1943, Beauvoir was removed from teaching, the reason for this was the statement of mother Natalie Sorokina, accusing Simon of molesting her daughter. Suspension was lifted after the war. In 1943, Beauvoir published his first novel, The Guest ( French: L'Invitée ), which embodies the ideas of existentialism. This topic (freedom, responsibility, interpersonal relationships) is present in her subsequent works ^[7] . Beauvoir began work on the “Guest” back in 1938, the book was completed in the summer of 1941. However, the turbulent events of the political life of that period were not reflected in the novel. Simone is immersed in her “schizophrenic dreams,” and the theme of the book is the story of an intricate love relationship, the prototype of which was the relationship of Simone, Jean-Paul and the Kazakevich sisters. Creating a novel, Beauvoir is trying to overcome his own jealousy for Olga, who tormented her, trying to realize what love and communication are. The writer makes an attempt to get away from traditional female submissiveness and create a character that is able to freely express her feelings, despite social restrictions. However, this plan cannot be fully realized, freedom is possible only through self-deception, and a woman is unable to maintain possessive instincts in relation to her beloved man.

In 1944, Jean Grenier introduced Simon to the concept of existentialism . She agrees to write an essay for an upcoming collection reflecting modern ideological trends, and by 1944 she writes Pyrrhus and Cineas ( French Pyrrhus et Cinéas ). In it Beauvoir “concludes that any action is fraught with risk and threat of defeat. The person’s duty to himself is to agree to risk, but to reject even the thought of impending defeat. ”

During the war years, Simone wrote a novel about the Resistance “Blood of others” ( fr. Le Sang des autres ” ). Recognized in America as a "textbook of existentialism," the book represents Beauvoir's position on human responsibility for his actions.

In 1945, Sartre, together with Michel Leiris , Boris Vian and others, founded the literary and political magazine "New Times" . Together with Simona, the editorial board includes Maurice Merlot-Ponti , Raymond Aron , Jean Polan . Subsequently, Simone took an active part in the life of the magazine. Sartre's frequent absence in the United States forced her to write essays and notes for the magazine not only on her own, but also on his behalf. She also remained his most important editor and critic: she read everything he wrote to the line.

Post-war years

After the war, Simon worked fruitfully. In 1945, in New Times, her work Literature and Metaphysics ( Fr. Littérature et métaphysique ) was published, later included in the book For the Moral of Ambiguity ( Fr. Pour une morale de l'ambiguïté , 1947), she publishes a fantastic the novel "All people are mortal" ( French Tous les hommes sont mortels , 1946). But professional success is overshadowed by new problems in his personal life, connected, of course, with Sartre. In the USA, Jean-Paul is madly addicted to Dolores Vanetti and almost forgets about Simon. Unable to influence him, she is forced to transform her tormenting feelings into words on paper (“All people are mortal” was the result of her suffering).

In 1947, Simone also went to the United States with a course of lectures on literature. There she meets Nelson Algren . Between them begins a novel that lasted fourteen years.

In 1958 she published the first book of her autobiographical trilogy - “Memoirs of a well-bred girl” ( French Memoires d'une jeune fille rangée , 1958). In this book, the author talks about his life until adulthood ^[7] . In two subsequent parts of the autobiographical trilogy, “ The Power of Maturity ” ( French La Force de l'âge , 1960) and “ The Power of Things ” ( French La Force des choses , 1963), her life is described as an associate and student of Sartre. In the novels of Simone de Beauvoir, existentialist ideas are developed. The novel "Mandarins" ( Les Mandarins , 1954), which received the most prestigious literary prize in France - Goncourt , reflects the life events of writers from Sartre's entourage, and shows the ideological and political life of post-war France.

Beauvoir's essays include, among others, the work The Second Sex ( French Le deuxième sexe , 1949), Old Age ( French La Vieillesse , 1970). The journalistic essay book “The Second Sex” is dedicated to women's issues and has had a great influence on the feminist movement.

In 1966, Beauvoir became part of the "International Tribunal for the Investigation of War Crimes," which heard evidence of crimes during the Vietnam War ^[8] .

On April 5, 1971, Le Nouvel Observateur magazine published a text compiled by de Beauvoir, known as the “ manifesto of three hundred and forty-three ” - by the number of signatures under it. French women who signed the manifesto, including national celebrities, demanded the abolition of the criminal punishment for abortion in France and admitted that they themselves had ever had an abortion. Over the next few years, France launched a powerful campaign to decriminalize abortion, which was successful in 1975.

On April 14, 1986, Simone de Beauvoir died in Paris and was buried next to Sartre in the Montparnasse cemetery .

• Simone de Beauvoir. Second floor. In 2 T. / Per. with fr. ed. and entry. Art. S. G. Aivazova, comment. M.V. Aristova. - M .: Progress; St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 1997 .-- 832 p. - (Feminism Library). ISBN 5-01-003638-X .
• Simone de Beauvoir. Mandarins = Les Mandarins / Per. with fr. N. A. Svetovidova, article, note. N.I. Poltoratskaya. - M .: Ladomir, 2005 .-- 618 p. - (Literary monuments). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 5-86218-452-X .
• Simone de Beauvoir. Memoirs of a well-bred girl = Memoires d'une jeune fille rangee / Transl. with fr. M. Anninsky, E. Leonova. - M .: Consent, 2004 .-- 496 p. - 5,000 copies. - ISBN 5-86884-123-9 .
• Simone de Beauvoir. Strength of circumstances = Le force des choses / Per. with fr. N. Svetovidova. - M .: Fluid, 2008 .-- 496 p. - (A romance with life). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-98358-110-4 .
• Simone de Beauvoir. Misunderstanding in Moscow / Transl. with fr. N. Khotinsky. - Moscow: E, 2015 .-- 208 p. - ISBN 978-5-699-83202-6 .
• Simone de Beauvoir A very easy death / Preface. L. Tokareva. M .: Republic, 1992.
  • Lovely pictures / Per. with fr. L. Zonina
  • Very easy death / Per. with fr. N. Stolyarova
  • Broken / Per. with fr. B. Arzumanyan
  • Is it necessary to burn the Marquise de Sade? Essays / Transl. from English N. Krotovskaya and I. Moskvina-Tarkhanova
• Simone de Beauvoir Transatlantic novel. Letters to Nelson Olgren 1947-1964. / Per. with fr. I. Myagkova with the participation of A. Zverev, foreword. S. Le Bon de Beauvoir. M .: Art, 2003.

• Poltoratskaya N. I. Simone de Beauvoir and Russia (based on the writer’s memoirs) // Obsessions: on the history of the “Russian idea” in French literature of the 20th century: materials of the Russian-French colloquium (St. Petersburg, July 2-3, 2001 g.) / holes ed. S. L. Fokin. M .: Nauka, 2005.S. 114-127.
• Dolgov K. M. On a meeting with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir // Problems of Philosophy. 2007. No. 2. S. 151-160.
• Appignanesi, Lisa, 2005, Simone de Beauvoir, London: Haus, ISBN 1-904950-09-4
• Bair, Deirdre, 1990. Simone de Beauvoir: A Biography. New York: Summit Books, ISBN 0-671-60681-6
• Rowley and Hazel 2005. Tête-a-Tête: Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. New York: HarperCollins.
• Suzanne Lilar, 1969. Le Malentendu du Deuxième Sexe (with collaboration of Prof. Dreyfus). Paris, University Presses of France (Presses Universitaires de France).
• Fraser, M., 1999. Identity Without Selfhood: Simone de Beauvoir and Bisexuality, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Fullbrook E., Fullbrook K. Simone de Beavouir: A critical Introduction. Polity 1 edition (February 4, 1998), ISBN 0745612032
• Fullbrook E., Fullbrook K. Sex and Philosophy: Rethinking de Beauvoir and Sartre. Humanitarian Center, Kharkov, 2014.

• “ Lovers of the Cafe de Flor ” (France, 2006) - the story of the formation of the character of Simone de Beauvoir: from the moment she met Sartre to the novel with the American Nelson Algren, breaking off when Simone decides to sacrifice the opportunity to love for the sake of perpetuating the legend of “Sartre de Beauvoir” .

• Simone de Beauvoir in Chicago - scandalous photo of Art Shay, taken in 1950 in Chicago
• Henry and June

• Beauvoir Simone de // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 vol.] / Ch. ed. A.M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978.