Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986), French novelist and advocate of existentialism. Until 1943 she taught philosophy. After meeting Jean-Paul Sartre at the Sorbonne in 1929, she became closely associated with him and his circle. In her first novel, L'Invitée, (1943; She Came to Stay, 1949), she explored the existentialist dilemmas of individual freedom, action, and responsibility. Later novels dealt with the same themes; among these are Le Sang des Autres (1944; The Blood of Others, 1948) and Les Mandarins (1954; The Mandarins, 1956), for which de Beauvoir received the Prix Goncourt. The existentialist thesis that one is responsible for oneself is also advanced in her series of autobiographical works, notably Memoires d'une Jeune Fille Rangée (1958; Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, 1959) and Tout Compte Fait (1972; All Said and Done, 1974). Her works give a revealing picture of her own life against the background of the times in which she lived.

Among de Beauvoir's non-fiction works are Le Deuxième Sexe (1949; The Second Sex, 1953), a profound analysis of women's role in society; La Vieillesse (1970; Old Age, 1973), her study of the ageing process and a passionate indictment of society's attitude towards the old; and La Cérémonie des Adieux (1981; Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre, 1984), a memoir about her long-time colleague and partner.