ticularly enormous impact for women. The Second Sex, written in 1949, was 20 years ahead of the rise of the modern women's ROBYN MARSHALL looks at what effect Simone de Beauvoir's work has had for women.
SIMONE de Beauvoir died on Monday April 14 in a Paris hospital. She old. De vcals Beauvoir was leading theoretician, philosopher, distinguished and inspired novelist who passiunlalery terested in politics all her But she will be remembered by millions of women all over the world for her brilliant insights on the feminine condition in her second book. The se cond Sex. It was a pioneering work without parallel offering understanding and hope.
It was the first feminist book I read, some time in une eav us. bulll was su fresh, real and relevant to experiences never suspected it had been writHer book movement.
ten in 1949.
The German journalist Alice Schwarzer interviewed De Beauvoir about the reacon or rice society when the book first came lesson VUL courage, determination perseverance the tellectuals radicals alike.
Francois Mauriac, later Io win lase Prize for literature, mealately wroic to a Joulnalist colleague just learned a about your employer's vagina.' Albert Camus, existentialist novelist told her, have made laughing-stockR of the French male!' French prothrew the TeSSOrS across the room as they couldn't bear to read it, restaul alll alculll people would stare as she es generatione ple as to say that Jean Paul tore me to shreds. They acdoesn't mean a ining to which is completely and beauvoir cucut sel she didn't want. She built liberation movement, she was legai. c DcauvUll an weeks or pregnancy. transtorm peopic ..
their LIO0 HOCu against the social system their relation Lee dents tialities weren't swamped. "Women don't want to b the same thing at all.' mccallulls tual honesty, integrity and
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SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR, who died in Paris in April, was one of this century's greatest French writers and philosophers. But her writing had a par-
the pr be auton seeing the had 1d altering the means of pro-