Simone De Beauvior: The Making of an Intellectual Woman

by Toril Moi, Simone de Beauvoir

Moving from the impact of educational institutions on Beauvoir to a representation of love, desire, and sexuality, Moi analyzes the conflicts and contradictions that shape intellectual women's lives, offering a new interpretation of Beauvoir's relationship to Sartre and to other women, and forging a new alliance between socio-historical and psychoanalytical perspectives.

Genres: Feminism, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Womens, Gender

324 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Toril Moi is James B. Duke Professor of Literature and Romance Studies and Professor of English, Philosophy and Theatre Studies at Duke University. Moi is also the Director of the Center for Philosophy, Arts, and Literature at Duke. She attended University of Bergen. Previously she held positions as a lecturer in French at the University of Oxford and as Director of the Center for Feminist Research at the University of Bergen, Norway. She lived in Oxford, United Kingdom from 1979 to 1989. Currently she lives in North Carolina. She works on feminist theory and women's writing; on the intersections of literature, philosophy and aesthetics; on "finding ways of reading literature with philosophy and philosophy with literature without reducing the one to the other."

In 2002 she was awarded an honorary degree, doctor philos. honoris causa, at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.[1] In 1998 she won Duke's University Teacher of the Year Award and in 2008 she won the Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring of Graduate Students.

She is a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow. i had no idea about the relationship between Sartre and de Beauvoir. in a way, i wish i didn't know how obsessed with him she was. this brilliant, seemingly independent woman, was so smitten with Sartre that she lost her "self," her soul, her ability to find joy for herself. very tragic.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really admire what Moi has done here, producing a great critical biography. My favourite paragraphs were those on The Second Sex, but there is much of merit to be found throughout.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, like a gym session for the brain. I especially enjoyed reading out sections critiquing The Second Sex to my bemused partner.

[Rebecca Garrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

"To say that [existence] is ambiguous is to assert that its meaning is never fixed, that it must be constantly won,"