When was Simone de Beauvoir born and where did she live during her early years?
Simone de Beauvoir entered the world on the 9th of January 1908 in a wealthy Parisian family. The family lived in the 6th arrondissement of Paris during her early years.
Questions about Simone de Beauvoir
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What year did Simone de Beauvoir pass the agrégation exam and how old was she at that time?
Beauvoir finished her degree in 1928 and became the youngest person ever to pass this difficult test at age twenty-one. She sat in on courses at the École Normale Supérieure without official enrollment status before passing the highly competitive postgraduate examination for philosophy teachers.
Why did Simone de Beauvoir publish The Second Sex in 1949 and what is its famous phrase about gender?
Beauvoir published The Second Sex in 1949 with the French title Le Deuxième Sexe to turn existentialist philosophy into a feminist argument about gender construction. One famous phrase stated that one is not born but becomes a woman.
How long were Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir together and when did their relationship end?
In October 1929 they became a couple for fifty-one years until his death in 1980. They entered into a lifelong soul partnership that was sexual but not exclusive and did not involve living together or having children.
When did Simone de Beauvoir sign the Manifesto of the 343 and which women signed it alongside her sister Hélène?
She signed the Manifesto of the 343 in 1971 listing famous women who admitted having illegal abortions. Signatories included Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Seyrig, and her sister Hélène.
On what date did Simone de Beauvoir die and where does her body rest today?
Beauvoir died of pneumonia on the 14th of April 1986 in Paris at age seventy-eight. Her body rests next to Sartre at Montparnasse Cemetery where a square now bears both names.