W.W.R.G.: The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

Prompted by a comment by Hila, I've translated my thoughts on both volumes of The Second Sex into English; my original posts in French can be found here and here. Please feel free to comment!

vol. I

In The Second Sex, a monument of francophone feminist literature, Simone de Beauvoir attempts to define the nature and identity of the woman.

This first tome, subtitled Facts and Myths, is divided into 3 sections: Destiny, History, and Myths.

In "Destiny", Simone explores the definitions of male and female, their distinctions and their relationships, from the most basic forms up to human beings. Not being very interested in sciences, I found this section a bit too long at times.

I definitely preferred the other two sections. In addition to destroying the historical image of a matriarchal society, the "History" section teaches us, for example, that a woman's position in society depends on its degree of technical evolution, and that in its early days, feminism was weakened by the fact that rather than showing solidarity with each other, women identified first and foremost with their social class. The "Myths" section genuinely fascinated me, especially when Simone explains the cult of the "heroic mother", which still prevails in the modern world.

This book enables the reader to realise the biological, historical, and socio-cultural baggage associated with the notion of femininity, and I can only agree with the opinions recommending that all women should read it.

One little note: before reading this tome of The Second Sex, it would be useful to have some notions of philosophy and to thoroughly understand the concept of "immanence", to which Simone refers constantly.

vol. II

This second tome opens with the well-known and controversial sentence: One is not born a woman, one becomes one. This declaration has been interpreted in numerous ways, many have been offended by it, and I admit that I hadn't grasped its nuances and meaning before I started to read this masterful essay; it seemed obvious to me that the biological factor holds decisive sway over every human being. But Simone further explains her statement in the book's conclusion: Woman is defined neither by her hormones nor by mysterious instincts, but by the manner in which she perceives her body and her relationship with the world anew through consciences other than her own [...].*

In her usual straightforward way, she explores every aspects of a woman's life, from birth to old age. It's all there: periods, marriage, deflowering, lesbianism, motherhood, prostitution, adultery, etc. She copiously illustrates her remarks with examples taken from specialised publications, novels, or situations that she encountered in her own life or was told. I found it interesting to come across, between the pages of The Second Sex, some of the elements that Simone expands on in her novels, in particular The Mandarins, which I strongly recommend. Of course, relationships between men and women are frequently mentioned, since it would be difficult, if not futile, to examine woman from all angles in a vacuum, without taking into account the hold that the masculine world has over her own existence.

I finished reading this book yesterday [June 20] and I still haven't caught my breath; I feel as though I've taken a long, sometimes painful inner journey. I have a clearer understanding of some of my own behaviours as well as my mother's and my sister's as women. To me, there are few things more precious than this.

It's easy to imagine that society has evolved spectacularly since The Second Sex was published (in 1949) when it comes to the space given to women. We often hear people say: "Everything has been achieved." But thinking this way would be burying your head in the sand. Women are indeed more visible in the public sphere, but fundamentally, society has changed very little. The vast majority of women will recognize the constraints that Simone describes here; and I challenge them, in thinking back to their adolescence, not to exclaim "YESSS!!!!!" when they read this passage:

[...] it is perfectly natural for the future woman to feel indignant at the limitations imposed upon her by her sex. The real question is not why she should reject them: the problem is rather to understand why she accepts them.

* Translation my own; I can't agree with this "official" translation, which is found all over the web: Woman is determined not by her hormones or by mysterious instincts, but by the manner in which her body and her relation to the world are modified through the action of others than herself. There's no notion of "action" or direct "modification" in the original text.