Existentialism is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the issue of human existence. Existentialist philosophers explore questions related to the meaning, purpose, and value of human existence. Common concepts in existentialist thought include existential crisis, dread, and anxiety in the face of an absurd world, as well as authenticity, courage, and virtue.
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French philosophy and Marxism. Sartre was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism. His work has influenced sociology, critical theory, post-colonial theory, and literary studies, and continues to do so. He was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Literature despite attempting to refuse it, saying that he always declined official honors and that "a writer should not allow himself to be turned into an institution."
Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir 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 both feminist existentialism and feminist theory.
Delphine Claire Beltiane Seyrig was a Lebanese-born French actress and film director. She came to prominence in Alain Resnais's 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad, and later acted in films by Francois Truffaut, Luis Buñuel, Marguerite Duras, Fred Zinneman, and Chantal Akerman. She directed three films, including Sois belle et tais-toi (1981).
The Second Sex is a 1949 book by the French existentialist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir, in which the author discusses the treatment of women in the present society as well as throughout all of history. Beauvoir researched and wrote the book in about 14 months between 1946 and 1949. She published the work in two volumes: Facts and Myths, and Lived Experience. Some chapters first appeared in the journal Les Temps modernes.
Olga Kosakiewicz was a French theater actress.
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women. Existentialism is a philosophical and cultural movement which holds that the starting point of philosophical thinking must be the individual and the experiences of the individual, that moral thinking and scientific thinking together are not sufficient for understanding all of human existence, and, therefore, that a further set of categories, governed by the norm of authenticity, is necessary to understand human existence. This philosophy analyzes relationships between the individual and things, or other human beings, and how they limit or condition choice.
The Mandarins is a 1954 roman à clef by Simone de Beauvoir, for which she won the Prix Goncourt, awarded to the best and most imaginative prose work of the year, in 1954. The Mandarins was first published in English in 1956.
Anaïs Nin: A Biography is Deirdre Bair's award-winning biography of writer Anaïs Nin. It is considered arguably by many to be the most comprehensive, well-researched, and scholarly biography available of Nin. Though the biography has received praise, it has also angered some fans of Anaïs Nin as well as some of her former associates, some of whom claim that Bair's critical and rigorous investigation of Anaïs Nin's life is unsympathetic.
Deirdre Bair was an American literary scholar and biographer. She won a National Book Award for her biography of Samuel Beckett in 1981.
Bianca Lamblin was a French writer who had affairs with philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir for a number of years. In her book Mémoires d'une jeune fille dérangée, she wrote that, while a student at Lycée Molière, she was sexually exploited by her teacher Beauvoir, who was in her 30s. In correspondence between Sartre and Beauvoir, the pseudonym Louise Védrine was used when referring to Bianca in Lettres au Castor and Lettres à Sartre.
Jacques-Laurent Bost was a French journalist and close friend of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.
Baroness Suzanne Lilar was a Flemish Belgian essayist, novelist, and playwright writing in French. She was the wife of the Belgian Minister of Justice Albert Lilar and mother of the writer Françoise Mallet-Joris and the art historian Marie Fredericq-Lilar.
When Things of the Spirit Come First is Simone de Beauvoir's first work of fiction. It consists of five short stories woven together in a way that is structurally similar to a more traditional novel.
Henriette-Hélène de Beauvoir was a French painter. She was the younger sister of philosopher Simone de Beauvoir. Her art was exhibited in Europe, Japan, and the US. She married Lionel de Roulet.
Claudine Monteil is a French writer, women's rights specialist, historian, and a former French diplomat.
The Blood of Others is a 1984 drama film directed by Claude Chabrol. It is based on the 1945 novel The Blood of Others by Simone de Beauvoir. The film was originally made as a three-hour English-language television film which debuted on August 25, 1984 on HBO. The film was then edited down by 40 minutes and dubbed into French for a European theatrical release.
Margaret McQueen Crosland was an English literary biographer and translator. She also used the pen name Leonard de Saint-Yves.
Natalie Sorokin was a French woman who had relations with Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre. Beauvoir was suspended from her teaching job after seducing her 17-year-old lycée pupil in 1939. Sorokin, along with Bianca Lamblin and Olga Kosakiewicz, later stated that their relationships with Sartre and de Beauvoir damaged them psychologically.
Who Shall Die or Les Bouches inutiles is the only Drama written by Simone de Beauvoir.
