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A Reading of Simone De Beauvoir's When Things of the Spirit Come

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A Reading of Simone De Beauvoir's When Things of the Spirit Come Beyond the Independent Woman: A Reading of Simone de Beauvoir’s When Things of the Spirit Come First with The Second Sex Kelly Anne Beck Bachelor of Arts (Griffith), Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) (UQ), Graduate Diploma of Arts (Philosophy) (UQ) A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2018 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Abstract This thesis explores the implications of Simone de Beauvoir’s philosophical and literary representations of women through a close reading of selected chapters from The Second Sex alongside selected stories from When Things of the Spirit Come First. Just as Beauvoir argues that women cannot be represented through discourses of class, history, biology and psychoanalysis, this thesis will show how women cannot be fully represented or understood as complete individuals within the contexts of their social roles either. To this end, the focus of this thesis will be the independent woman, the mother and the daughter. In this thesis, I have paired the short stories ‘Marguerite’ and ‘Anne’ from When Things of the Spirit Come First with the chapters ‘The Independent Woman’, ‘The Mother’ and ‘The Mystic’ from The Second Sex. Linking the stories in When Things of the Spirit Come First with The Second Sex highlights the importance of literary writing to the understanding of Beauvoir’s philosophy. In this thesis I argue that Beauvoir’s literary work should not be seen as subordinate to, or as separate from, her philosophical work. Her representation of women in literary terms in both philosophical and literary texts has ensured that women are recognised and made visible to philosophy as philosophical, political and ethical subjects. I argue that Beauvoir’s philosophy has brought forth the voices of women in everyday situations into dialogue with canonical philosophies and that those voices have subverted the authority of such philosophies. Indeed, Beauvoir has opened the way for ordinary women to enter the language of philosophy, just as her work in The Second Sex opened the way for future feminists to enter and challenge the language of the patriarch. The texts I have chosen and the method of analysis I have used to understand these texts will extend our understanding of the importance of the literary to Beauvoir’s philosophical framework. The implication of this understanding is that Beauvoir’s literary representations of women can be used as a means to think through the multiple, ambiguous domains of oppression experienced by women in the everyday. 2 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, financial support and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my higher degree by research candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis and have sought permission from co-authors for any jointly authored works included in the thesis. 3 Publications during candidature Conference abstracts ‘Communicating the world of self and other: Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of literary action in “What Can Literature Do?”’ The Literary Interface: 2018 Literary Studies Convention: School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Australian National University, 4-7 July 2018. ‘Philosophy, literature and The Second Sex: the basis of Simone de Beauvoir’s dialogue with women’. Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy Annual Conference: University of Tasmania, 28 November – 1 December 2017. ‘Diversity, commonalities and the struggle against oppression: thinking about collective action through Simone de Beauvoir’s theory of freedom.’ Australasian Postgraduate Philosophy Conference 2017: University of Queensland, 24-26 November 2017. ‘Daughter Writing Mother Writing History Writing Woman: Speaking in the Excess of Birth through Death.’ Excess and Desire in Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Women’s Writing: School of Communication and Arts, University of Queensland, 8-10 February 2017. ‘Stymied independence in the fashion of cloaked oppression in Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex.’ Australasian Society for Continental Philosophy Annual Conference: Deakin University, 7-9 December 2016. ‘The possibility of uncovering a history of feminist philosophy through the use of the literary text in Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex.’ Women and Philosophy: History, Values, Knowledge: 16th Symposium of the International Association of Women Philosophers, Monash University, 7-10 July 2016. ‘Resisting philosophy: being metaphysical in Simone de Beauvoir’s literary text.’ Text, Creativity and Resistance: UQ School of Communication and Arts 2015 Work in Progress Conference, University of Queensland, 28-30 September 2015. Publications included in this thesis No publications included. 4 Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects No animal or human subjects were involved in this research. Submitted manuscripts included in this thesis No manuscripts submitted for publication. Other publications during candidature No other publications. 5 Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisory committee for their support and interest in my thesis topic over the course of my candidature. Thank you to my primary supervisor Associate Professor Marguerite La Caze for her close and careful reading and detailed feedback of the many drafts of this thesis. To associate supervisor Dr Michelle Boulous Walker, many thanks for her attendance at numerous seminar and conference presentations: she provided valuable feedback and encouragement for which I am grateful. I was also privileged to enjoy Michelle and Marguerite’s excellent and inspiring teaching during my coursework study in philosophy. Thank you to Dr Joe Hardwick who, even though he joined the committee late in the process, provided helpful and insightful feedback from his reading of several drafts from the perspective of French Studies for which I greatly appreciate. I acknowledge the active and vibrant community of the philosophy cohort at UQ and thank them for their moral support and willingness to engage in stimulating philosophical conversations that sustained my interest and motivation to continue working on my thesis topic. I also thank all those who attended various conference and seminar presentations and asked questions and offered comments of my work. Discussion, dialogue and questioning are at the heart of the philosophical experience and I feel privileged to have had such generous feedback from the many interested, curious and wonderful participants at these events. Special thanks to Judy King, the School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry administration officer responsible for looking after the graduate students during my candidature. Her ongoing support and dedication to ensuring my success in getting through the various thesis milestone requirements was crucial to my candidature. Thank you to Dr Laura Roberts for her commitment and enthusiasm in establishing and maintaining the Beauvoir Reading Group and the subsequent Feminist Reading Group at UQ. Thank you to the members of the aforementioned reading groups for raising my level of understanding of feminist philosophy through the insightful and generally amazing discussions that took place. I would also like to thank the examiners for lending their time and expertise to a careful and insightful reading of this thesis. I am very grateful for their esteemed scholarly analysis, critique and judgment as well as their invaluable suggestions for further development of aspects of the thesis. Finally, I would like to recognise the unwavering support of my three incredible daughters—Katrina, Sascha & Claire—who are in the process of becoming their own independent women. 6 Financial support School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry Conference Travel Grant 7 Keywords Feminist philosophy, phenomenology, existentialism, philosophy and literature, social philosophy, French literature Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 220306, Feminist Theory, 40% ANZSRC code: 220310, Phenomenology,
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