Simone de Beauvoir, an incorruptible observer of women

On the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Simone de Beauvoir, literary scholar Barbara Vinken rereads her book, 'The Second Sex': "De Beauvoir remains a great analyst of passion, often read against the grain of her own philosophy. And she was an incorruptible observer of women, of the fears that a woman's success makes her less feminine while a man's success only confirms his masculinity; of the hypocrisies resulting when women are held to a marriage, and the often childish attempts at compensation and legitimization that result from it; of the inner conflict between career and femininity. Especially given that today's young women often feel emancipated – the question arises as to the source of their optimism – one must say the same about 'The Second Sex' as Diderot said about Richardson's bestseller 'Clarissa': Read de Beauvoir, don't put it down."

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