ABSTRACT
Though de Beauvoir’s study now reads differently both for her past and her new readers, the earlier reading cannot be easily jettisoned. The book is part of some women’s personal history and part of the history of feminism. This double reading, then and now, is the rationale for my selection of certain themes for a critical discussion. I have used the ink markings in my original 1961 copy as a guide to the earlier reading.
