When it comes to women writers who have had a great influence on the feminist movement in the West, it is impossible to bypass the British writer Woolf and the French female writer Simone De Beauvoir, especially the latter, who is regarded as the "pride of France". Simone de Beauvoir's life is legendary, the experience is extremely wonderful and rich, she is the authoritative theorist of the feminist movement, one of the initiators of modern existentialism, and a shocking talent, the two-term French presidents Mitterrand and Chirac believe that her talent and achievements are the pride of France. Today, let's enjoy the ten maxims of this extraordinary and controversial French female writer and experience the spiritual connotation behind his words.
Simone de Beauvoir was born into a privileged French family to conservative parents who developed a rebellious character. It is said that she was a maverick at an early age, rejecting various arrangements imposed on her by her father, and when she grew up, she declared to the outside world that she would never let her life succumb to the will of others. During her college years, Simone de Beauvoir majored in philosophy and became friends with Sartre, and later they became "comrades-in-arms" and lovers, and the two also visited China hand in hand. Their friendship and love are sincere and deep, and after Sartre's death, Simone de Beauvoir described in her last book the harmonious life with Sartre, which is a "love letter" to remember the more than 50 years of time they have traveled together.
Admittedly, if the greatest women of the 20th century are chosen, Simone De Beauvoir is definitely among them. In her works, she embodies a firm, clear, and radical feminist stance, and she uses a large number of existential philosophical terms to think and explore, so her feminist theory is called "existential feminist theory". She devoted her life to exploring and practicing the path of women's liberation, leaving many works on various themes of women. As a result, she became a pioneer in women's liberation, a banner that attracted many people with independent female consciousness and led them on the road to practicing feminist emancipation.
First of all, Beauvoir first started from the concept and definition of gender, using language theory and rhetorical methods, etc., to analyze women's secondary social status and other identities, and to criticize patriarchal culture. For example, in the logic of language, the reference to the definition and distinction of women is male, while the definition and distinction of men is not female, which is obviously extremely unbalanced. She also conducts in-depth research on the formation of women's secondary sexual status through people's language habits in daily life, so that the prominent role of language in the formation of the culture of male and female sexual differences is emphasized and valued. For example, in Western and ancient Greek languages, male power was extremely strong, emphasizing the psychology of male social rulers, so Beauvoir was extremely disgusted with it. In addition to the above two points, Beauvoir also explored the use of taboo language or behavior by women.
However, because of many female views, Beauvoir has been criticized by many media and scholars. Conservatism argues that she is aimed at men, ignores the differences between men and women, undermines tradition, and proliferates social contradictions; while liberalism sees its views as egalitarian. In addition, she was criticized by some feminists, and at her peak, the insults and ridicule of her were incessant, and some angry people even took out the unmarried love between her and Sartre. But she withstood the surprise and controversy of others, slowly released her talent into the public eye, and finally won the appreciation of the world.
It has to be admitted that De Beauvoir was also influenced by the research results of Woolf and other predecessors, and through thinking, researching, summarizing, more systematic and all-round thinking about language issues, providing theoretical resources for feminist criticism, and providing important theories and methods for the development of feminist criticism, especially postmodernism, has the role of inheriting the past and enlightening the future. It is said that Beauvoir's reputation in the United States is high, far more than her lover Sartre, and her ideas and writings have opened a door for women around the world and changed the fate of hundreds of millions of women, no wonder she is regarded as "the pride of France".
On April 14, 1986, beauvoir completed her life at the age of 78, and today is her 36th anniversary. Today, we will enjoy the ten highly individual quotes written by this controversial French writer and thinker, experience the spiritual power behind her words, and believe that you will have some admiration for her.