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The Second Sex

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The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir is a groundbreaking treatise on gender and society. It explores the historical, social, and psychological foundations that have shaped women's experiences and identities. Originally published in French, this unabridged edition restores vital sections cut from earlier English translations, offering a comprehensive and vital examination of female oppression and self-liberation.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$5800

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This essential masterwork is intended for readers interested in gender studies, feminism, philosophy, and social theory. It is particularly valuable for those seeking a deep understanding of the roots of gender inequality and the quest for female autonomy.

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Originally published: Paris: Editions Gallimard, 1949.

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The essential masterwork that has provoked and inspired generations of men and women.

“From Eve’s apple to Virginia Woolf’s room of her own, Beauvoir’s treatise remains an essential rallying point, urging self-sufficiency and offering the fruit of knowledge.” ​—Vogue

This unabridged edition reinstates significant portions of the original French text that were cut in the first English translation. Vital and groundbreaking, Beauvoir’s pioneering and impressive text remains as pertinent today as when it was first published and will continue to provoke and inspire generations of men and women to come.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780307277787

Publisher: Random House USA Inc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 May 2011

Country: United States

Imprint: Random House Inc

Contributors:

  • Translated by Constance Borde
  • Translated by Sheila Malovany-Chevallier

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 36.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 539g

Pages: 832

About the Author

SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR was born in Paris in 1908. In 1929 she became the youngest person ever to obtain the agrégation in philosophy at the Sorbonne, placing second to Jean-Paul Sartre. She taught at lycées at Marseille and Rouen from 1931 to 1937, and in Paris from 1938 to 1943. After the war, she emerged as one of the leaders of the existentialist movement, working with Sartre on Les Temps Modernes. The author of several books, including The Mandarins (1957), which was awarded the Prix Goncourt, Beauvoir was one of the most influential thinkers of her generation. She died in 1986.

CONSTANCE BORDE and SHEILA MALOVANY-CHEVALLIER, both American, are longtime residents of France and former teachers at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques in Paris.

JUDITH THURMAN, author of Isak Dinesen and Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette, is a staff writer at The New Yorker.

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