Since it is the Other within us who is old, it is natural that the revelation of our age should come to us from outside- from others. We do not accept it willingly. --Simone de Beauvoir

Sex pleasure in woman . . . is a kind of magic spell; it demands complete abandon; if words or movements oppose the magic of caresses, the spell is broken. --Simone de Beauvoir

My life was hurrying, racing tragically toward its end. And yet at the same time it was dripping so slowly, so very slowly now, hour by hour, minute by minute. --Simone de Beauvoir

In order for the artist to have a world to express he must first be situated in this world, oppressed or oppressing, resigned or rebellious, a man among men. --Simone de Beauvoir

One always has to wait until the sugar melts, the memory dies, the wound scars over, the sun sets, the unhappiness lifts and fades away. --Simone de Beauvoir

One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. --Simone de Beauvoir

...the truth is that outside of existence there is nobody. Man exists. For him it is not a question of wondering whether his presence in the world is useful, whether life is worth the trouble of being lived. These questions make no sense. It is a matter of knowing whether he wants to live and under what conditions. --Simone de Beauvoir

It's frightening to think that you mark your children merely by being yourself. . . . It seems unfair. You can't assume the responsibility for everything you do- or don't do. --Simone de Beauvoir

As you read so you remember; or at least you have the illusion of remembering. --Simone de Beauvoir