ABSTRACT
New work on Beauvoir however, even in areas that resemble historical excavation more than criticism, begins to develop lines that are both feminist-friendly and contemporary. The contemporary feminist has another sort of problem, and that is mentioned in our commentary on The Mandarins that portions of the literary works that today might plausibly be interpreted in the light of third wave or multicultural feminism do not really lend themselves to these efforts, except perhaps in a negative sense. The emphasis on rationality and the denial of the bodily is indeed key to the difficulties that some have had with Beauvoir's feminism, and these particular areas are well delineated in both The Mandarins and She Came to Stay. Elaine Marks reads Beauvoir as feminist largely in terms of her influence. In writing about these issues, Beauvoir achieved a new sort of awareness of the body, and, in many ways, a sort of criture that at least is aware of the feminine.
