Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons^™

« Monologue » : Une Femme Rompue Impactée Par Les Atteintes Sociétales, Sloane Larsen

World Languages Student Scholarship

“Monologue,” an essay from Simone de Beauvoir’s THE WOMAN DESTROYED, is a rambling and disjointed account of motherhood, madness, and chagrin. The short story is told by a mother named Murielle, a woman who has lost everything, including her daughter Sylvie, by suicide. Simone de Beauvoir, the author of this story, is considered the “mother” (Kruks and Coryell) of second-wave feminism and is well-known for her fight for equality between the sexes. In “Monologue,” de Beauvoir sheds light on the difficulties mothers face and proposes a reflection on life, femininity, and descent into madness. De Beauvoir incorporates her feminist theories …