Self-consciousness is not knowledge but a story one tells about oneself. Simone de Beauvoir More Quotes by Simone de Beauvoir More Quotes From Simone de Beauvoir To be oneself, simply oneself, is so amazing and utterly unique an experience that it's hard to convince oneself so singular a thing happens to everybody. Simone de Beauvoir convinceuniquehappens In 1949, I believed that social progress, the triumph of the proletariat, socialism would lead to the emancipation of women. But I saw that nothing came of it: first of all, that socialism was not achieved anywhere, and that in certain countries which called themselves socialist, the situation of women was no better than it was in so-called capitalist countries. Simone de Beauvoir progresssawscountry No woman should be authorized to stay at home and raise her children. Society should be totally different. Women should not have that choice, precisely because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one. Simone de Beauvoir choiceshomechildren What an odd thing a diary is: the things you omit are more important than those you put in. Simone de Beauvoir odd-thingsimportantdiaries To be feminist doesn't mean simply to do nothing, to reduce yourself to total impotence under the pretext of refusing masculine values. There is a problematic, a very difficult dialectic between accepting power and refusing it, accepting certain masculine values, and wanting to transform them. I think it's worth a try. Simone de Beauvoir feministmeanthinking A man attaches himself to woman -- not to enjoy her, but to enjoy himself. Simone de Beauvoir enjoymen Many things would be changed for Americans if they would only admit that there is ill-luck in this world and that misfortune is not a priori a crime. Simone de Beauvoir united-statesluckwould-be The characteristic feature of all ethics is to consider human life as a game that can be won or lost and to teach man the means of winning. Simone de Beauvoir winningmenmean Marriage is a career which brings about more benefits than many others. Simone de Beauvoir benefitsmarriagecareers Life is occupied in both perpetuating itself and in surpassing itself; if all it does is maintain itself, then living is only not dying. Simone de Beauvoir dyinginspirelife Most feminists in France came to feminism after '68 as a result of the hypocrisy they experienced in leftist movements. In these movements, where everyone believed there was going to be true equality, fraternity between men and women, and that together they were going to struggle against this rotten society, even there they noticed that the leftists, the militants, kept them "in their place." Women made the coffee while the others did the talking; they were the ones who typed the letters. Simone de Beauvoir coffeestrugglemen From the very beginning, existentialism defined itself as a philosophy of ambiguity. Simone de Beauvoir existentialismambiguityphilosophy The individual is defined only by his relationship to the world and to other individuals; he exists only by transcending himself, and his freedom can be achieved only through the freedom of others. He justifies his existence by a movement which, like freedom, springs from his heart but which leads outside of himself. Simone de Beauvoir movementheartspring What is an adult? A child blown up by age. Simone de Beauvoir timebirthdaychildren At the moment of their emancipation, women have a need to write their own histories. Simone de Beauvoir momentswritingneeds Society cares about the individual only in so far as he is profitable. The young know this. Their anxiety as they enter in upon social life matches the anguish of the old as they are excluded from it. Simone de Beauvoir anxietycareage Woman is shut up in a kitchen or in a boudoir, and astonishment is expressed that her horizon is limited. Her wings are clipped, and it is found deplorable that she cannot fly. Simone de Beauvoir diversityjusticewings Men create their own gods and thus have some slight understanding that they are self-fabricated. Women are much more susceptible, because they are completely oppressed by men; they take men at their word and believe in the gods that men have made up. The situation of women, their culture, makes them kneel more often before the gods that have been created by men than men themselves do, who know what they've done. To this extent, women will be more fanatical, whether it is for fascism or for totalitarianism. Simone de Beauvoir selfmenbelieve Oppression tries to defend itself by its utility. But we have seen that it is one of the lies of the serious mind to attempt to give the word "useful" an absolute meaning; nothing is useful if it is not useful to man; nothing is useful to man if the latter is not in a position to define his own ends and values, if he is not free. Simone de Beauvoir givingmenlying I had never believed in the sacred nature of literature. God had died when I was fourteen. Simone de Beauvoir sacredliteraturegod
