Simone De Beauvoir Quotes
1906 - 1986
Read Simone De Beauvoir biography
|
Time is beginning to flow again.
Raimon (Raymond) to Regina, p. 17 
|
More Simone De Beauvoir Quotes
There is a good case for showing that airplanes, Debray machines, thetelephoneand theradio donot make men of today happier than those of former times.
Simone De Beauvoir— 1948 Ethics of Ambiguity.
On ne na|"t pas femme: on le devient. One is not born a woman: one becomes a woman.
Simone De Beauvoir— 1949 Le Deuxie' m e Sexe (The Second Sex), bk.2, pt.1, ch.1.
Ce n'est gue' re que dans les asiles que les coquettes gardent avec ente" tement une foi entie' re en des regards absents; normalement, elles re clament des te moins. Women fond of dress are hardly ever entirely satisfied not to be seen, except among the insane; usually they want witnesses.
Simone De Beauvoir— 1949 Le Deuxie' m e Sexe (The Second Sex), bk.2, pt.5, ch.18 (translated by H M Parshley,1952).
It's frightening to think that you mark your children merely by being yourself... It seems unfair. You can't assume the responsibility for everything you do or don't do.
Simone De Beauvoir— Les Belles Images (1966), Ch. 3
What is an adult? A child blown up by age.
Simone De Beauvoir— A Woman Destroyed [Une femme rompue] (1967)
I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth and truth rewarded me.
Simone De Beauvoir— All Said and Done (1972), p. 16 ISBN 1569249814
One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship , indignation and compassion .
Simone De Beauvoir— As quoted in Successful Aging : A Conference Report (1974) by Eric Pfeiffer, p. 142
In itself, homosexuality is as limiting as heterosexuality: the ideal should be to be capable of loving a woman or a man; either, a human being, without feeling fear, restraint, or obligation.
Simone De Beauvoir— As quoted in Bisexual Characters in Film: From Anaïs to Zee (1997) by Wayne M. Bryant, p. 143
We were two of a kind, and our relationship would endure as long as we did: but it could not make up entirely for the fleeting riches to be had from encounters with different people.
Simone De Beauvoir— On her relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre, as quoted in "Did Simone de Beauvoir's open 'marriage' make her happy?" by Lisa Appignanesi, in The Guardian (9 June 2005)
If I had amnesia, I'd be almost like other men. Perhaps I'd even be able to love you.
Simone De Beauvoir— Raimon to Regina. p. 17
I'm never afraid. But in my case it's nothing to be proud of.
Simone De Beauvoir— Raimon to Regina. p. 23
He walks in the street, a picture of modesty in his felt hat and his gabardine suit, and all the while he's thinking, "I'm immortal." The world is his, time is his, and I'm nothing but an insect.
Simone De Beauvoir— Regina to herself, p. 28
One day I'll be old, dead, forgotten. And at this very moment, while I'm sitting here thinking these things, a man in a dingy hotel room is thinking, "I will always be here."
Simone De Beauvoir— Regina to herself, p. 28
He had not applauded, he had remained seated, but he had looked at her steadily. From the depths of eternity he had looked at her and Rosalind became immortal. If I could believe him, she thought, if only I could believe him!
Simone De Beauvoir— P. 30 (All Men are Mortal (1946))
For the first time in my life, I took part in a real battle between men. The dead did not come to life again, the vanquished fled in disorder; every thrust of my lance helped save Carmona. That day, I would have died with a smile on my lips, certain of having contributed to a triumphant future for my city.
Simone De Beauvoir— p. 73 (All Men are Mortal (1946))
It was as though some stubborn god spent their time in an immutable and absurd balancing act between life and death, prosperity and poverty.
Simone De Beauvoir— p. 81 (All Men are Mortal (1946))
There is only one good. And that is to act according to the dictates of one's conscience.
Simone De Beauvoir— p. 181 (All Men are Mortal (1946))
What has value in their eyes is never what is done for them; it's what they do for themselves.
Simone De Beauvoir— p. 315 (All Men are Mortal (1946))
It is impossible to do anything for anyone.
Simone De Beauvoir— p. 317 (All Men are Mortal (1946))
[C]'est la vraie générosité:;; vous donnez tout et rien ne semble jamais vous coûter.
Simone De Beauvoir— That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.
All agree in recognising the fact that females exist in the human species; today as always they make up about one half of humanity. And yet we are told that femininity is in danger; we are exhorted to be women, remain women, become women. It would appear, then, that every female human being is not necessarily a woman; to be so considered she must share in that mysterious and threatened reality known as femininity.
Simone De Beauvoir— Introduction : Woman as Other
The present enshrines the past and in the past all history has been made by men.
Simone De Beauvoir— Introduction : Woman as Other
It is doubtless impossible to approach any human problems with a mind free from bias.
Simone De Beauvoir— Introduction : Woman as Other
One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.
Simone De Beauvoir— Bk. I, Pt. 2, Ch. 8: Since the French Revolution: the Job and the Vote, p. 133
On ne naît pas femme: on le devient.
Simone De Beauvoir— One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.Bk. 2, Pt.. 4, Ch. 1: Childhood, p. 267
Sex pleasure in woman, as I have said, is a kind of magic spell; it demands complete abandon; if words or movements oppose the magic of caresses, the spell is broken.
Simone De Beauvoir— Bk. 2, Pt.. 4, Ch. 3: Sexual Initiation. p. 396
I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity. I want this adventure that is the context of my life to go on without end.
Simone De Beauvoir— Pt. 2, Ch. 2: Time, activity, history, p. 412
