Beauvoir’s argument about the character of women.

Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir

was a French writer, intellectual, existentialist philosopher, political

activist, feministand social theorist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher she
had a significant influence on both feminist existentialism and feminist theory.[3]
De Beauvoir wrote novels, essays, biographies, autobiography and monographs on
philosophy, politics, and social issues. She was known for her 1949 treatise The Second
Sex, a detailed analysis of women's oppression and a foundational tract of
contemporary feminism.

Introduction
Second Sex (French: Le Deuxième Sexe) is a 1949 book by the French existentialist Simone de
Beauvoir, in which the author discusses the treatment of women throughout history. Beauvoir
researched and wrote the book in about 14 months when she was 38 years old.[3][4] She published it
in two volumes, Facts and Myths and Lived Experience(Les faits et les mythes and L'expérience
vécue in French). Some chapters first appeared in Les Temps modernes.[5][6] One of Beauvoir's best-
known books, The Second Sex is often regarded as a major work of feminist philosophy and the
starting point of second-wave feminism.[3]

The Second Sex has its first victory in highlighting how begrudgingly
the world accepts the existence of womankind. Then Simone de
Beauvoir says that now, since it is inevitable that women will exist,
then we must face the question of ‘what is a woman?’ and goes on
with her almost thousand page, a two-volume account of women as
relational beings, the ‘other’, not sufficient unto themselves.

Arguments of de Beauvoir

Beauvoir asks "What is woman?"[7] She argues that man is considered the default, while
woman is considered the "Other". She describes women's subordination to the species in
terms of reproduction, compares the physiology of men and women, concluding that values
cannot be based on physiology and that the facts of biology must be viewed in light of the
ontological, economic, social, and physiological context. [8]
According to Beauvoir, two factors explain the evolution of women's condition: participation
in production and freedom from reproductive slavery. [11]Beauvoir writes that motherhood left
woman "riveted to her body" like an animal and made it possible for men to dominate her
and Nature.[12] Men succeed in the world by transcendence, but immanence is the lot of
women.[13] Beauvoir writes that men oppress women when they seek to perpetuate the
family and keep patrimony intact. She compares women's situation in ancient Greece with
Rome. In Greece, with exceptions like Sparta where there were no restraints on women's
freedom, women were treated almost like slaves. In Rome because men were still the
masters, women enjoyed more rights but, still discriminated against on the basis of their
sex, had only empty freedom.[14]
Discussing Christianity, Beauvoir argues that, with the exception of the German tradition, it
and its clergy have served to subordinate women.[15] She also describes prostitution and
the changes in dynamics brought about by courtly love that occurred about the twelfth
century.[16] Beauvoir describes from the early fifteenth century "great Italian ladies and
courtesans" and singles out the Spaniard Teresa of Ávila as successfully raising "herself as
high as a man."[17] Through the nineteenth century women's legal status remained
unchanged but individuals (like Marguerite de Navarre) excelled by writing and acting.
Some men helped women's status through their works. [18] The Industrial Revolution of the
nineteenth century gave women an escape from their homes but they were paid little for
their work.[21] Beauvoir traces the growth of trade unions and participation by women. She
examines the spread of birth control methods and the history of abortion.[22] Beauvoir
relates the history of women's suffrage,[23] and writes that women like Rosa
Luxemburg and Marie Curie "brilliantly demonstrate that it is not women's inferiority that
has determined their historical insignificance: it is their historical insignificance that has
doomed them to inferiority".[24]

She finds that woman is "the privileged Other", that Other is defined in the "way
the One chooses to posit himself",[30] and writes that, "But the only earthly destiny reserved
to the woman equal, child-woman, soul sister, woman-sex, and female animal is always
man."[31] Beauvoir writes that, "The absence or insignificance of the female element in a
body of work is symptomatic... it loses importance in a period like ours in which each
individual's particular problems are of secondary import." [32]
Beauvoir writes that "mystery" is prominent among men's myths about women. [33] She also
writes that mystery is not confined by sex to women but instead by situation, and that it
pertains to any slave.[34] She thinks it disappeared during the eighteenth century when men
however briefly considered women to be peers. [35] She quotes Arthur Rimbaud, who writes
that hopefully one day, women can become fully human beings when man gives her her
freedom.[36]
Presenting a child's life beginning with birth, [37]Beauvoir contrasts a girl's upbringing with a
boy's, who at age 3 or 4 is told he is a "little man". [38] A girl is taught to be a woman and her
"feminine" destiny is imposed on her by society.[39] She has no innate "maternal instinct".
[40]
A girl comes to believe in and to worship a male god and to create imaginary adult
lovers.
Beauvoir writes that "to ask two spouses bound by practical, social and moral ties to satisfy
each other sexually for their whole lives is pure absurdity". [49]She describes the work of
married women, including housecleaning, writing that it is "holding away death but also
refusing life".[50] She thinks, "what makes the lot of the wife-servant ungratifying is the
division of labor that dooms her wholly to the general and inessential". [51] Beauvoir writes
that a woman finds her dignity only in accepting her vassalage which is bed "service" and
housework "service".[52] A woman is weaned away from her family and finds only
"disappointment" on the day after her wedding. [53]Beauvoir points out various inequalities
between a wife and husband and finds they pass the time not in love but in "conjugal love".
[54]
She thinks that marriage "almost always destroys woman". [55] She quotes Sophia
Tolstoy who wrote in her diary: "you are stuck there forever and there you must sit".
[55]
Beauvoir thinks marriage is a perverted institution oppressing both men and women. [56]
In Beauvoir's view, abortions performed legally by doctors would have little risk to the
mother.[57] She writes that the issue of abortion is not an issue of morality but of "masculine
sadism" toward woman.[58] Beauvoir describes pregnancy,[59]which is viewed as both a gift
and a curse to woman. In this new creation of a new life the woman loses her self, seeing
herself as "no longer anything...[but] a passive instrument". [60] Beauvoir writes that,
"maternal sadomasochism creates guilt feelings for the daughter that will express
themselves in sadomasochistic behavior toward her own children, without end", [61] and
makes an appeal for socialistchild rearing practices.[62]
Beauvoir describes a woman's clothes, her girl friends and her relationships with men.
[63]
She writes that "marriage, by frustrating women's erotic satisfaction, denies them the
freedom and individuality of their feelings, drives them to adultery". [64] When she agrees to
grow old she becomes elderly with half of her adult life left to live. [67] Woman might choose
to live through her children (often her son) or her grandchildren but she faces "solitude,
regret, and ennui".[68] To pass her time she might engage in useless "women's handiwork",
watercolors, music or reading, or she might join charitable organizations. [69] While a few
rare women are committed to a cause and have an end in mind, Beauvoir concludes that
"the highest form of freedom a woman-parasite can have is stoic defiance or skeptical
irony".[70]
According to Beauvoir, while a woman knows how to be as active, effective and silent as a
man,[71] her situation keeps her being useful, preparing food, clothes, and lodging.[71] She
worries because she does not do anything, she complains, she cries, and she may
threaten suicide. She protests but doesn't escape her lot. [72] She may achieve happiness in
"Harmony" and the "Good" as illustrated by Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield.
[73]
Beauvoir thinks it is pointless to try to decide whether woman is superior or inferior, and
that it is obvious that the man's situation is "infinitely preferable". [74] She writes, "for woman
there is no other way out than to work for her liberation".[74]
Beauvoir describes narcissistic women, who might find themselves in a mirror and in
the theater,[75] and women in and outside marriage: "The day when it will be possible for the
woman to love in her strength and not in her weakness, not to escape from herself but to
find herself, not out of resignation but to affirm herself, love will become for her as for man
the source of life and not a mortal danger." [76] Beauvoir discusses the lives of several
women, some of whom developed stigmata.[77] Beauvoir writes that these women may
develop a relation "with an unreal"— with their double or a god, or they create an "unreal
relation with a real being".[78] She also mentions women with careers who are able to
escape sadism and masochism.[79] A few women have successfully reached a state of
equality, and Beauvoir, in a footnote, singles out the example
of Clara and Robert Schumann.[80] Beauvoir says that the goals of wives can be
overwhelming: as a wife tries to be elegant, a good housekeeper and a good mother. [81]
Beauvoir then says that women don't "challenge the human condition" and that in
comparison to the few "greats", woman comes out as "mediocre" and will continue at that
level for quite some time.[83] A woman could not have been Vincent van Gogh or Franz
Kafka. Beauvoir thinks that perhaps, of all women, only Saint Teresa lived her life for
herself.[84] She says it is "high time" woman "be left to take her own chances". [85]
In her conclusion, Beauvoir looks forward to a future when women and men are equals,
something the "Soviet revolution promised" but did not ever deliver.[86] She concludes that,
"to carry off this supreme victory, men and women must, among other things and beyond
their natural differentiations, unequivocally affirm their brotherhood." [87]

What’s the author’s mission?

De Beauvoir’s ideas symbolize the launch of feminism. Oppression as a weapon
used against female individuality represents the main incentive for putting up a
fight. Men are eligible to seize all power and perceive women’s role as
secondary. In other words, females are the object and have no right to pull the
strings. From today’s standpoint, these concepts seem brutal, but when this
book was published in 1949, there was no organized resistance against gender
injustice. Men, on the other hand, were perceived as citizens of the highest –
order. An undisputed master and leader, without room for debate or
discontent.Women have absorbed the role of an incomplete, inferior, and trivial
entity that is not capable of either drawing conclusions or being in charge.

What are the three main duties that any woman had to fulfill?

First things first, submit to the husband’s rule by being a devoted wife.

Second, having kids and being a mother. This role is not that big of deal, but
men tried to enforce a mentality that would be suitable for this responsibility
and thus keep the women locked in a mental cage.

Third, an entertainer who does all the “easy work” while the man is out on the
field to provide for his family.
Their primary job is to be good wives so thus destroying their native wit and
uniqueness. The old fairy-tale scenarios don’t work anymore! Men do all “the
hard work” such as innovating, earning money, while the women must remain
obedient.

De Beauvoir questions all the concepts that flow behind this disproportion.
Why would we behave as if we are enemies, instead of providing support to all
humans? Restricting the idea of help contributes to lower self-awareness and
ultimately unhappiness. Denying a woman’s uniqueness is practically an
approach that obscures the broader view of humanity. Don’t label it as “other”
because, at the end of the day, it’s all about being righteous. However, that’s
not a valid excuse for continuing the repression. This is not about choosing a
side, nor erasing male dominance over women so that that peace can prevail.

It’s merely a new mindset, that is not fixated on extinguishing a fire with a
bigger flame. De Beauvoir also puts in the spotlight a myriad of well-defined
types of behavior that are suitable for a woman.As she describes, women’s
mindset can shape in thousands of different directions, all depending on
external and internal factors.The exposition to certain processes can erase or
impose concepts, determined by a woman’s independence, self-confidence,
and role.Your place in the social circle of power doesn’t give you any privileges
to exploit others. Moral intelligence must be the core of decision-making and
the only rulebook of that kind. Respecting each and every one is an approach
from which you’ll gain a lot.

Conclusion
De BeauvoirÕs book tackles women’s social status from the beginning of civilization to the
modern day. Her central argument is that women have been forced to take a secondary
role to men since the earliest times, and that the whole human condition is viewed in male
terms and is described in language that excludes women.De Beauvoir makes her case
using three frames of reference. The first is historical materialism,* which addresses the
influence of social and economic conditions and class on shaping history. De Beauvoir also
employs existentialism*The philosophy that emphasizes personal freedom and choice in a
world where there is no God or other higher power. Then she brings psychoanalysis* to
bear in examining the underlying (knowns as subconscious) causes of human behavior. DE
BeauvoirÕs historical materialist investigation shows how women have been trapped into
dependence on men in every area of their lives, ensuring they have no real power in
culture or society. She highlights how society treated women as legal minors, very like
children. This frustrated their ability to take part in public life on an equal footing with men.
For these reasons, women are largely absent from the great stories of history. Men have
always been granted greater economic, political, and social power, so they have also had
more influence on cultural and historical events.
Viewing the female lot through an existentialist lens, de Beauvoir argues that femininity is
constructed. By this she means that a persons nature depends on outside forces. This is
the complete opposite of the traditional philosophical view that human nature is fixed at
birth. As an existentialist, de Beauvoir argues that human beings are not born with any
particular values and create an identity only as a result of their circumstances.
The Second Sex famously states that no one is born a woman, but rather becomes one
through how sheis raised and treated by society.Throughout history, de Beauvoir argues,
women have been cast as the”Other” because they are viewed only in relation to men.
They are treated as objectsof desire for men, as mothers to their future heirs, or as the
ones who lookafter everyone else. Denying women their own subjectivity (the right to
viewthemselves as individuals) with their own perspective is dehumanizing* andleaves
them powerless. De Beauvoir argues that cultural understandings of femininity have no
basis in fact. Instead they are rootedinmale fear and male desire. They express men’s
longing to possess, own, and achieve in the world. Women’s sole purpose in society is to
satisfy such male longings. The female role in these myths is passive. Without men
pursuing them, seducing them, or making them their wives, women have no reason to
exist. Her broad vision and use of critical tools from severaldisciplines were put to work
methodically in making her case across all areasof literature, culture, and scholarship.De
Beauvoir tackled head on the accepted, centuries-old beliefs aboutwomenÕs place in the
home and the function of marriage. The Second Sex is still consulted for its contribution
to coreareas of academic and social concern. These include de BeauvoirÕs emphasison
how male power is built on cultural myths. And the messages society feedsgirls about
femininity is still a matter for concern more than half a century aftershe first identified the
problem.The work is still a highly original approach to how we define gender andsexual
orientation. It also stands alone for its historical importance. This is thetext that paved the
way for the feminist movement and helped to launch thefight for womenÕs rights* in
France, the United States, and around the world.
As a woman, it helps answer a lot of questions of equality and liberation in a deepened
manner. With every reading, The Second Sex is bound to take you on a different personal
journey and while it may not be the end to your complex quest, it will definitely complexify it
further.

De Beauvoir’s book – should you like to call it a study, encourages women to

become more empowered and take the lead.After all, it doesn’t promote
vengeance of any type nor anger toward men. It solely undermines the circle of
slavery and bondage and converts it into a window of endless
opportunities.Whether you like feminists or not, you cannot neglect the fact
that this classic changed the course of history. And what did men lose as a
result? – Nothing actually, the liberation of all women is a mission that is not
yet fully accomplished, but the route is paved with sincerity and noble
intentions. Hopefully, we will all rejoice together in the near future, with equal
possibilities for everyone.