ABSTRACT
So far we have looked at some of Beauvoir’s key philosophical ideas; the purpose of this chapter will be to acquaint ourselves with some of her key ideas about literature. Now, as indicated at the beginning of this book, literary and philosophical concerns are not easy to separate in her writing. Working in both disciplines, Beauvoir cites literary examples in her philosophical writing and draws on her philosophical knowledge in her literary writing. She explained in a 1985 interview that ‘I’m infused with philosophy and when I put philosophy into my books it’s because that’s a way for me to view the world’ (Beauvoir in Simons 1999: 93). In this way, philosophy infuses many of her literary and political concerns.
