Woman of Genius

by Simone de Beauvoir, Lauren Elkin, Unknown Author

Two sisters must find their way in a world designed to confine them.

Marcelle is the elder sister, a woman whose ambitions focus on becoming the companion of a 'man of genius'. Marguerite is the younger sister, a girl whose sanity depends on breaking free of the oppressive expectations of society. Both end up focusing their attentions on the same disappointing man.

BRIEF classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days

Genres: Classics

Paperback

About the author

Simone de Beauvoir was a French existentialist philosopher, novelist, essayist, memoirist, and feminist whose writings profoundly shaped twentieth-century philosophy, literature, and modern feminist thought. Born in Paris into a bourgeois Catholic family, she displayed exceptional intellectual ability from an early age. After studying philosophy at the Sorbonne, she passed the prestigious agrégation examination in 1929, becoming one of its youngest successful candidates. During her studies she met Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom she formed a lifelong intellectual and personal partnership that became central to the development of French existentialism. Although Beauvoir often rejected the title of philosopher during her lifetime, her work established her as one of the discipline's most influential modern thinkers. She explored themes of freedom, responsibility, ethics, oppression, and human existence through both philosophical and literary writing. Her groundbreaking book The Second Sex (1949) transformed feminist theory by arguing that femininity is shaped primarily by social and historical conditions rather than biology, introducing the celebrated idea that "one is not born, but rather becomes, woman." The work challenged traditional assumptions about gender and became one of the foundational texts of contemporary feminism. Beauvoir also authored influential philosophical studies, including The Ethics of Ambiguity, alongside acclaimed novels such as She Came to Stay, The Blood of Others, The Mandarins, which received the Prix Goncourt in 1954, and The Woman Destroyed. Her four-volume autobiography, beginning with Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, remains an important account of twentieth-century intellectual and cultural life. Throughout her career she served as co-founder and editor of the influential journal Les Temps Modernes, contributing essays on politics, literature, philosophy, and contemporary social issues. Beyond her writing, Beauvoir was deeply engaged in public life. She campaigned for women's rights, reproductive freedom, and social equality, signing the Manifesto of the 343 that called for the legalization of abortion in France. She also opposed colonialism, criticized social injustice, and supported progressive political causes throughout her life. Her travels inspired widely read travel books and essays examining cultures in the United States and China. Beauvoir's legacy extends far beyond feminism, influencing existential philosophy, literary criticism, political theory, ethics, sociology, and gender studies. Despite continuing debate over aspects of her personal life and controversial relationships, her intellectual contributions remain central to modern scholarship. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and continue to be studied worldwide for their philosophical depth and literary achievement. Honored with distinctions including the Prix Goncourt, the Jerusalem Prize, and the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, Simone de Beauvoir is widely regarded as one of the defining intellectual figures of the twentieth century, whose writings permanently transformed discussions of gender, freedom, morality, and the human condition while continuing to inspire scholars, writers, and activists across generations.

Reviews

[Wafa Alobaidat]

I honestly wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did. I thought it would be a nice, quiet literary novella and then suddenly I realised I couldn’t put it down. I finished it in almost one sitting.

It’s made up of two stories—Marcela’s and her younger sister Marguerite’s—but for me Marcela completely stole the show. I don’t know why exactly, but there was something about her that really stayed with me. She was level-headed, rational and strong. She wasn’t dramatic, she just slowly started seeing her marriage for what it actually was. Dennis wasn’t just cheating on her—he was living off the women around him, emotionally and practically, while convincing each of them they were somehow special.

What I kept thinking about while reading this book was: how much of someone is enough if you’re in love with them? If you only get pieces of them, do some people genuinely convince themselves that’s enough? And why?

Maybe it hit me because I’d just rewatched Wuthering Heights. They’re completely different stories, but both are obsessed with this idea of love that completely consumes you. We always romanticise that kind of love in literature, but this book almost asks the opposite question. At what point are you no longer in love and just abandoning yourself?

Then the story moves to Marguerite, and I actually found her frustrating—but intentionally so. She felt like every young person who’s trying to figure out who they are and mistakes intensity for love. She falls for Dennis too, even though every red flag is standing right in front of her, and you just want to tell her to run. Thankfully she eventually does, but that doesn’t stop her loving him. I actually thought that was one of the most honest parts of the book. Just because you know someone is wrong for you doesn’t mean your feelings disappear overnight.

Dennis fascinated me because I never actually hated him. He isn’t this evil mastermind. He’s just… weak. Completely undisciplined. He floats through life chasing whatever makes him feel good in the moment, and the women around him end up paying the price for it. In a strange way he’s as lost as everyone else.

What I loved most was that nobody really wins. There isn’t this big dramatic ending where justice is served. Instead everyone is left trying to make sense of what happened, and Marguerite ends up feeling sorry for everyone—including Dennis. I actually found that ending far more powerful than if she’d hated him forever.

This book really made me think about companionship and what people are willing to accept just to stay close to someone they love. It’s about longing, loneliness and the stories we tell ourselves when we don’t want to let go. I was going to give it 4.5 stars, but by the end I realised I hadn’t wanted to put it down once. That’s usually my sign that it’s a five-star read.

[Max Sabbe]

4.5/5

[sofia!]

This was honestly unreadable at some points
It felt very pretentious and i know this is de Beauvoir's early work but it was also extremely immature
i tried so hard to get ahold of a little tiny bit of good feminist commentary it was impossible

Marcelle was boring but Marguerite was insufferable
every character was unlikable just not at all believable and their struggles were trivial and their thoughts arrogant and lacking any kind of insight or anything that would interest me at all in whether they lived or died

There are some decent sentences here and there

but i was very happy when it was over

[Marianna]

Refreshing to read an existentialist novel that feels relatable and introduces glimpses of absurdism in an otherwise conventional narrative.

The optimistic ending for Marguerite almost feels like a plot twist, after seeing both sisters centering a parisian bohemian fuckboy in their lives, and being heterodetermined by him throughout the novel. It is also remarkable how relevant the book's themes today, looking at Marcelle's tragic efforts to cure her loneliness, to the point that she completely loses herself in her relationships, even after she has her moment of empowerment.

[W Sun]

“She was not to look beyond herself for the meaning of her life.”

My first Simone de Beauvoir read. Thoroughly enjoyed the writing and good introduction to her philosophy. Perhaps Denis was a nihilist and Marguerite had been dragged along in his despair due to naivety. She took on a more existentialistic view after her revelation. I thought her clarity was quite similar to the removal of Klishta.

[Ana Evora]

Amazing how existentialism is woven through the novela. You can see a bit of Simone in Marguerite, her character leaves you with a bitter taste, like you want more for her but you also realize this is the price of freedom.

[Rachel]

a brief parable/vignette. will always love de beauvoir's writing.

[Hedda Gundersen]

Ah the drama! Denne var veldig fin og jeg gleder meg til å lese mange fler av hennes verk fremover!

[cherie laroche]

There are things in this book that men could never conceive of or understand and I love that. I adored Marcelle. The sister, not so much.