Simone De Beauvoir

In 1908, Simone de Beauvoir was born on Boulavard Raspail in 1908. Her father had a great desire to work in theatre. However, because of his position in society he was expected to become a lawyer. He did so, but hated it. Incidentally, he had noble ties (although he was not considered a 'lord') which incidentally why Simone has the 'de' in her name. Her mother was a strict Catholic from a bourgeois family. People say that Simone was inspired to become an intellect because she was caught between her father's pagan morals and her mother's rigid religious standards.

When Simone was two and a half her sister, Poupette, was born. They became and stayed friends for life. Simone was content as a child and once wrote, "I thought it was a remarkable coincidence that heaven should have given me just these parents, this sister this life."

What had been an important and strong relationship with God slowly dwindled, as Simone became more and more interested in nature. She came to the realization that earthly joys are not to be given up (as her religion espoused) but instead, to be appreciated. This way of thinking changed Simone for life. She lived passionately and for the moment. In giving up religion she gave up the idea of living for eternity. She also developed a deep sense of aloneness, without a 'witness' or a god to talk to. This feeling lasted for quite some time as well.

When Simone was 21 she lived with her granny and studied philosophy at Sorbonne.

She joined a group of students, who, at that time, had a bad reputation. They were Paul Nizan, Andre Hermaid, and Jean-Paul Satre. Satre became her best friend and intellectual equal. "He would prove that he was the right one to spend time with, and he was." She said, "the double in whom I found all my burning aspiration raised to the pitch of incandescence." After meeting Satre, she was no longer alone.

Simone's mid-life was optimistic. She had gone through the death of her best friend, witnessed the beginning of World War II, had some realizations, and began her more serious writing. It is in her second memoir, The Prime of Life, that she truly analyzed the relationship between the 'I' and the 'we'. She also wrote about autonomy, being alone and her ever growing relationship with Satre.

She continued living with her Granny and taught at the Lycee. Because of this she became financially independent and really began to assert her abilities. She built a community of friends and went to cafes to write and give talks. Satre was one of her favorite companions and they seemed to always be interested in each other. Their relationship became famous for the two commitments that they made to each other and the public. The first, was a promise to remain free to love other people. The second was to preserve their unity by practicing perfect honesty and total openness about everything. Together, they decided that nothing would ever be covert between them.

Simone was constantly initiating herself as a strong, not submissive element in her very public relationship with Satre. He proposed at one time, and even though she was scared of separation at this time in her life, she declined. She felt strongly that her relationship not be institutionalized. Of course, this threw some of her closest friends and relatives into an uproar.

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