Analysis Of Simone De Beauvoir’s Claims On The Condition Of Women In Society
Simone De Beauvoir is a French existentialist philosopher and writer, and she is best known for her work with feminism and sex as her opinions on these topics were quite different from other existentialists at that time. De Beauvoir’s most notable and powerful philosophical book, The Second Sex (1949), triggered a feminist revolt and continues to this day “Yes, women on the whole are today inferior to men; that is, their situation affords them fewer possibilities. The question is: should that state of affairs continue?”, inquiring into women's oppression and freedom. Simone starts by asking “What is a woman?”. This question is fresh, as nobody had tackled feminism from this angle, and also no writer appeals to men on this matter. The French philosopher is attempting to argue that the reality of being a woman affects our lives and that we need to alter our social ontology to diminish oppression. In this essay, I will briefly discuss Simone de Beauvoir’s claims on the condition of women suggested in the Second Sex and the achievable resolutions for females to break free from the chains that the male society wrapped her in. Additionally, I will be showing how De Beauvoir’s ideas can be viewed in Sofia Coppola’s movie The Virgin Suicide.
We are aware of what man is because man has been explored in nearly every text; the concept of being ideal human is equal to the fact of being man. On the other hand, a woman is ought to define herself as a woman, as if that belittlement. Simone wrote (p.2) “A man would never set out to write a book on the peculiar situation of the human male. But if I wish to define myself, I must first of all say: ‘I am a woman’”. When someone presents job titles such as a lawyer, doctor or even manager, what we as a society imagine is an account of a male occupying such jobs. But, to claim that a female is the agent, we must mark them as a female (i.e. female doctor, female lawyer and female manager). This shows how the human race defines women as relative to men. De Beauvoir stated that “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman”. This calls attention to the difference between the words gender and sex. Sex is seen to be biologically derived, however gender is the social construct shaping “a proper woman”. Simone wrote ‘Tota mulier in utero’, says one, ‘woman is a womb’ thus women are purely identified as “sexy biological food and baby making machines”. For example, when person A recognizes themselves as “self” and person B as “other”, but person B doesn’t recognize person A as “self”, then person A will regularly persuade themselves into believing that they are “other”. “But women do not say WE, except at some congress of feminists or similar formal demonstration; men say “women”, and women use the same word in referring to themselves. They do not authentically assume a subjective attitude”. Women must change their social ontology by searching deep down for their identity and embrace their subjectivity. This requires a serious pact of awareness and attention to those social and cultural relationships that oppress women. According to De Beauvoir “It is an easy road; on it one avoids the strain involved in undertaking an authentic existence… Woman may fail to lay claim to the status of subject because… she is oden very well pleased with her role as the Other”. So many women are comfortable in their role as other, but they will never become autonomous subjects as long as they accept the role of otherness. Do women really want to be liberated, subjects, autonomous and free? “But the women’s effort has never been anything more than a symbolic agitation. They have gained only what men have been willing to grant; they have taken nothing, they have only received”. If they do, then saying they cannot get an activity done because they are women, just as black and Jewish can be used as such, is not an option.
Similarly to Sartre, De Beauvoir believed that people are nothing but their actions. In the scene where the male children read Cecilia Lisbon’s diary after her death “what we have here is a dreamer, when she jumped she probably thought she was flying”, these children contoured Cecilia as her writings and suicide. We can then see how women are conditioned to dress up and talk in specific ways in the many scenes where the Lisbon girls’ oppressive and religious mother asks the girls to sit and behave well, such as “Lux, please put your shirt on this instant” and “Lux, please put your feet down honey”. Also, in the scene where the female characters were choosing the dresses for the party, the narrator states that “Mrs. Lisbon added an inch to the bust line and two inches to the waist and hems, and the dresses came out as four identical sacks”. This suggests how the society believes that all females are uniform objects. Throughout the film, the Lisbon sisters are set up to be seen as holy figures (i.e. the atmosphere of Cecilia’s room is full of religious ornaments), and because of this there is a loss of kinship and empathy to the pain that they have felt. For example, Trip Fontaine puts Lux on a pedestal for being untouchable, and that was the love he thought he felt. Following the lustful scene after the ball, Trip leaves Lux alone on grass but mostly abandoned to a traumatic experience without explanation. He then confesses years later, not knowing why he left.
Confined together in a house built on conservative Catholic foundations, the Lisbon sisters are kept out of the outside world. In The Second Sex, De Beauvoir explains how religion devalues female “Legislators, priests, philosophers, writers, and scientists have striven to show that the subordinate position of woman is willed in heaven and advantageous on earth. The religions invented by men reflect this wish for domination.” Also, De Beauvoir grew in a conservative Catholic house herself, giving her more reason to tackle this issue. She claimed that, traditionally, men regulated most associations, thus had a strong control and upper hand on religion. They use God to defend their control of the population. “Throughout history they have always been subordinated to men, and hence their dependency is not the result of a historical event or social change - it was not something that occurred.” For example, being a mother is a godlike status in most religions, and so this boosts women to recognize and accept the role of ‘mother’ in the community. Religion also psychologically rewards women for being “good mothers”, because being “good” will get you into heaven. No dating, no makeup, no parties; such are the rules that govern the Lisbon household, restricting any form of experimentation, socialization, and above all sexual expression. As they moved Cecilia from the bathtub to the ambulance, an image of the Virgin Mary falls from her hands. This religious imagery, used later as the girls’ cards, presents the ultimate contradiction. The Virgin Mary symbolizes innocence and maturity combined, a metaphor for the paradoxical expectations the female’s face.
To conclude, we have explored De Beauvoir’s view of women’s condition and how women should understand themselves from an existential point of view. I have showed how De Beauvoir’s ideas can be viewed in Sofia Coppola’s movie The Virgin Suicide. This movie is narrated by the neighbors; young boys fascinated by this sorority of five evanescent and inaccessible blondes. An object of fantasy, the story of the sisters Lisbon subtly exposes the problem of benevolent sexism.
