Simone de Beauvoir - A meld of philosophy and feminism

Simone de Beauvoir, the French existentialist philosopher and feminist, was born on 9th January in Paris. She was one of the prolific feminist writers who played a vital role in the emergence of second-wave feminism.

She helped renew feminist discussions in 1949 with her magnum opus "The Second Sex". The book played a vital role in the emergence of second-wave feminism.

De Beauvoir has produced a number of works across a variety of topics such as feminism, sex, fiction and Marxist politics. Her popular novels include She Came To Stay (1943), The Blood of Others (1945), The Mandarins (1954) and The Woman Destroyed (1967).

Her autobiography, "Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter", gives an insight into her early years, growing into a bourgeois French family.

Here are a few videos that provide an insight into the person that was Simone de Beauvior: why I am a feminist and her biography.

On the 110th birth anniversary of Simone de Beauvoir, DH curates some of her quotes:

“Man is defined as a human being and a woman as a female -- whenever she behaves as a human being she is said to imitate the male.”

"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman."

"I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth -- and truth rewarded me."

“Two separate beings, in different circumstances, face to face in freedom and seeking justification of their existence through one another, will always live an adventure full of risk and promise."

“I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. No one knows me or loves me completely. I have only myself”

"To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job."