The Bluestocking 2022-23

Their control over themselves is handicapped for a period of time, during which they discover the world out there and their own selves. Sartre is rather an intelligent speak er, referring to decision-making animals as “men,” as only adults have the ability to determine who they want to be. But the usage of the word “men” also creates another problem. What about all the women out there? Did Sartre suggest that the capability to be free can only be the province of men? At this moment in time, the author is very likely to be labeled as ‘sexist’ by the audience. Nonetheless, one possible justification for the word is that the ideal characteristics of a person, such as capability, rationality, morality, and self-awareness, are quite apparent in masculine beings. Particularly since males have been dominating history for thousands of years, everyone was focusing more on men compared to women. Although Sartre’s expression of “men” seems to exclude half of the human population, the traits associated with the term can apply to all human beings. An example of which can be found in Simone de Beauvoir’s memoir A Very Easy Death (Une mort très douce), which keeps record of her mother’s monthly progress of fighting cancer and eventual death. The author was also an existentialist, in particular Sartre’s lifelong companion, who consulted Sartre multiple times during this exhausting period of her life. This book exhibits numerous factors limiting or encour aging one’s extent of freedom, particularly one’s family and mindset. Simone de Beauvoir’s “Maman,” Françoise Brasseur de Beauvoir, is someone with a strong passion for life, adventure, as well as control. When the mother first saw herself in a mirror after a few weeks under medical treatment, she could not believe how pale and grey her face was. In the afternoon of the same day, “... she was not smiling any more. Several times she repeated, in a surprised and blaming voice, ‘When I saw myself in the mirror, I thought I was so ugly!’” (Beauvoir 56). Having grown up in a bourgeois family and having married a middle-class husband, Mrs. Beauvoir has craved attention and emotional support throughout her life. Over the years she developed into a lovelust personality, which shaped her into a prohibitive mother for Simone and her sister, Poupette. Moreover, the author’s father was the sole breadwinner in the fam ily and had a dominant say on how to spend his money. As a result, Simone de Beauvoir most likely was unable to purchase dresses she loved, or books she indulged in. Under the influence of her parents, the writer’s freedom has definitely been restricted, but to what extent do familial relationships influence one’s views about free dom? For Simone de Beauvoir to physically come out of her mother’s confinement, not much effort or wrangle was required. However, the lack of freedom from an early age had boosted the need for liberty inside Beauvoir’s mind. Though this effect does not apply the same way for everyone: some people may remain in a sickly manner, thinking back to the heartbreaking times they had while they were younger. Others become hardcore freedom seekers who are on their way to become authoritarians, influencing an abundance of other individuals and creating a cycle of negative impacts. Being a dic tator does not come easily, therefore most people reside in the stage of change-making. What are the changemakers’ names, one asks? Well, they must be considered “rebels.”