Simone de Beauvoir · Philosophy

Myths, Marriage, and Lived Experience

Having shown that woman is the Other, Beauvoir turns to <em>how</em> the Othering is accomplished and lived: through the myths men weave about Woman, and through the concrete institutions - above all marriage and the role of the housewife - that confine woman to immanence. Her method is to combine philosophy with the patient description of women&rsquo;s actual lived experience.

What you'll be able to recall

You learned how Beauvoir analyses the myths of Woman and the lived institutions (marriage, housework) that confine woman to immanence. Explain how myth and institution work together to make woman the Other, and what Beauvoir means by the &lsquo;independent woman&rsquo; as a path beyond it.

Leads to John Stuart Mill.

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