Quotes & anectdotes from
the wise,
the foolish,
the courageous &
the drunk

Simone de Beauvoir Novelist

  • Gender: Female
  • Citizenship: France
  • Born: Jan 9, 1908
  • Died: Apr 14, 1986

Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, commonly known as Simone de Beauvoir, was a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political activist, feminist and social theorist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, she had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory. De Beauvoir wrote novels, essays, biographies, autobiography and monographs on philosophy, politics and social issues. She is known for her 1949 treatise The Second Sex, a detailed analysis of women's oppression and a foundational tract of contemporary feminism; her novels, including She Came to Stay and The Mandarins; and her lifelong relationship with Jean-Paul Sartre.

Society cares for the individual only so far as he is profitable.

One's life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.

I wish that every human life might be pure transparent freedom.

All oppression creates a state of war.

No one is more arrogant toward women, more aggressive or scornful, than the man who is anxious about his virility.

Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay.

To catch a husband is an art to hold him is a job.

I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth - and truth rewarded me.

What is an adult? A child blown up by age.

Art is an attempt to integrate evil.

The most mediocre of males feels himself a demigod as compared with women.

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.