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Title
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LE FEMINISME DE SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR: HIER ET AUJOURD'HUI. (FRENCH TEXT).
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Identifier
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AAI8119752
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identifier
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8119752
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Creator
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BEAUDET-ZEPHIR, LOUISE.
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Contributor
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Prof. Rosette E. Lamont
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Date
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1981
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Romance
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Abstract
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Although Simone de Beauvoir's Le Deuxieme sexe, published in 1949, is her last theoretical and philosophical essay on the condition of women, it would be wrong to suppose that she has since lost interest in the problems of women and in their emancipation. On the contrary, she has devoted all her efforts and energy, especially since 1970, to the Women's Liberation Movement in France, producing in its support a constant stream of articles in magazines and newspapers, not to mention prefaces, interviews, lectures, statements and position papers. These writings, which complement and mutually illuminate one another, offer a wealth of new ideas about women.;If the feminists of France, thanks to the mass media, have been more or less able to follow the evolution of her thought, this is not true outside of France, especially in the United States, where feminists are acquainted only with the early stages of her thought presented in Le Deuxieme sexe, and are ill informed as to the new positions of the famous feminist, if not totally ignorant of them.;The purpose of this dissertation is to examine these new ideas, showing just how and why Simone de Beauvoir's feminism evolved since 1949. A comparison with Le Deuxieme sexe makes it possible to identify the points at which the author's positions have either hardened or become more radical, in other words, to clarify the course of her feminism.;More specifically, this dissertation attempts to bring into focus the following points: (1)The evolution of de Beauvoir's thought on women from 1949 to the present. (2)The new orientation of her feminism, especially since 1970, the year of the birth of the Women's Liberation Movement in France. (3)The role which she has played in the development of the Women's Liberation Movement through her commitment, militancy and influence. (4)The author's new positions on problems of current controversy, such as marriage, motherhood, contraception, abortion, socialism, work, love, sexuality and eroticism.;In the final analysis, one might say that her later writings on feminism, especially since 1970, do not reveal an unchanged Simone de Beauvoir. Their tone has hardened and become more violent. There are fewer theoretical and philosophical considerations, more concrete ideas, practical solutions to the real problems of women, and, especially a formerly unknown militancy in her positions. This is, in short, the last stage of the great feminist's thought (she is, now more than 73 years old), which can be found in her writings after Le Deuxieme sexe and which may be a revelation for those who have not closely followed her evolution and her total commitment, during the last twelve years, to the battle of women in France and throughout the world.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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French
