It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our reasons for living.

—Simone de Beauvoir

About Simone de Beauvoir

Portrait of Simone de Beauvoir

Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she considered one at the time of her death, she had a significant influence on...

More quotations from Simone de Beauvoir

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

—Simone de Beauvoir

truth love certainty comfort

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

—Simone de Beauvoir

The ideal of happiness has always taken material form in the house, whether cottage or castle; it stands for permanence and separation from the world.

—Simone de Beauvoir

happiness permanence home separation houses

The fact that we are human beings is infinitely more important than all the peculiarities that distinguish human beings from one another.

—Simone de Beauvoir

Old age was growing inside me. It kept catching my eye from the depths of the mirror. I was paralyzed sometimes as I saw it making its way toward me so steadily when nothing inside me was ready for it.

—Simone de Beauvoir

perception old age self-perception

History

7 Jul 2023 Added