Simone De Beauvoir Quotes
1906 - 1986
Read Simone De Beauvoir biography
|
I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth and truth rewarded me.
All Said and Done (1972), p. 16 ISBN 1569249814 
|
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).
La femme?sait que quand on la regarde on ne la distingue pas de son apparence: elle est juge e, respecte e, de sire e a' travers sa toilette. Woman?knows that when she is looked at she is not considered apart from her appearance: she is judged, respected, desired, by and through her toilette.
Simone De Beauvoir— 1949 Le Deuxie' m e Sexe (The Second Sex), bk.2, pt.7, ch.25 (translated by H M Parshley,1952).
Si l'on vit assez longtemps, on voit que toute victoire se change un jour en de faite. If you live long enough, you'll find that every victory turns into a defeat.
Simone De Beauvoir— 1955 Tous les hommes sont mortels (All Men Are Mortal).
I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom .
Simone De Beauvoir— The Blood of Others [Le sang des autres] (1946)
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)
Defending the truth is not something one does out of a sense of duty or to allay guilt complexes, but is a reward in itself.
Simone De Beauvoir— As quoted in The Book of Positive Quotations (2007) by John Cook, Steve Deger and Leslie Ann Gibson, p. 525
Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay.
Simone De Beauvoir— As quoted in The Book of Positive Quotations (2007) by John Cook, p. 548
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))
Dare to believe me. Dare!
Simone De Beauvoir— Raimon to Regina. p. 31
They were walking side by side, but each was alone.
Simone De Beauvoir— Raimon to Regina, p. 53
You're unique like all other women.
Simone De Beauvoir— Raimon to Regina, p. 55
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.
Try to stay a man amongst men ... There's no other hope for you.
Simone De Beauvoir— Marianne to Raimon
Men of today seem to feel more acutely than ever the paradox of their condition. They know themselves to be the supreme end to which all action should be subordinated, but the exigencies of action force them to treat one another as instruments or obstacles, as means. The more widespread their mastery of the world, the more they find themselves crushed by uncontrollable forces.
Simone De Beauvoir— Part I : Ambiguity and Freedom
To will freedom and to will to disclose being are one and the same choice; hence, freedom takes a positive and constructive step which causes being to pass to existence in a movement which is constantly surpassed.
Simone De Beauvoir— Pt. III : The Positive Aspect of Ambiguity, Ch. 3 : Freedom and Liberation]
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
To "catch" a husband is an art; to "hold" him is a job.
Simone De Beauvoir— Bk. 2, part 5, Ch. 1: The Married Woman, p. 468
The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength, each asking from the other instead of finding pleasure in giving. It is even more deceptive to dream of gaining through the child a plenitude, a warmth, a value, which one is unable to create for oneself; the child brings joy only to the woman who is capable of disinterestedly desiring the happiness of another, to one who without being wrapped up in self seeks to transcend her own existence.
Simone De Beauvoir— Bk. 2, Pt.. 5, Ch. 2: The Mother, p. 522
