The Second Sex, translated by H. M. Parshley (Knopf, 1971 printing)

Simone de Beauvoir · c. 1949

Simone de Beauvoir did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this book, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The book prints chapter headings its extracted text does not preserve, so the claims below are in the book's order but not grouped. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

Our reading
No biological, psychological or economic fate makes women feminine; civilization does

Their wordsNo biological, psychological, or economic fate determines the figure that the human female presents in society; it is civilization as a whole that produces this creature, intermediate between male and eunuch, which is described as feminine.
Our reading
Man is cast as the Subject and the Absolute; woman as the Other

Their wordsHe is the Subject, he is the Absolute—she is the Other.
Our reading
Humanity is defined as male, and woman only relative to man

Their wordsThus humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him; she is not regarded as an autonomous being.
Our reading
Men describe the world from their own point of view and mistake it for absolute truth

Their wordsRepresentation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with absolute truth.
Our reading
All oppression creates a state of war

Their wordsAll oppression creates a state of war.

Related books

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Yuval Noah Harari · c. 2015–2017 2 claims worded alike
Civilization and Its Discontents Sigmund Freud · c. 1930 2 claims worded alike
21 Lessons for the 21st Century Yuval Noah Harari · c. 2018–2019 1 claim worded alike
Women and Economics Charlotte Perkins Gilman · c. 1898 1 claim worded alike
Meditations Marcus Aurelius · c. 171–175 CE 1 claim worded alike
The Analects, as recorded by his disciples Confucius · c. 551–479 BCE 1 claim worded alike

Found from what the books talk about: claims worded alike in the archive's hourly pass, and subjects both are filed under. It is not a judgement that they agree — related books often argue the opposite. All books

Keep reading

The other pieces are the ones whose claims are worded most like this one's. That measures language, not agreement: they may argue the opposite.