There is only one solution if old age is not to be an absurd parody of our former life, and that is to go on pursuing ends that give our existence a meaning.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRThere is only one solution if old age is not to be an absurd parody of our former life, and that is to go on pursuing ends that give our existence a meaning.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRMan must not attempt to dispel the ambiguity of his being but, on the contrary, accept the task of realizing it.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIROne always has to wait until the sugar melts, the memory dies, the wound scars over, the sun sets, the unhappiness lifts and fades away.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRWeakness’ is weakness only in light of the aims man sets for himself, the instruments at his disposal and the laws he imposes.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRTo be oneself, simply oneself, is so amazing and utterly unique an experience that it’s hard to convince oneself so singular a thing happens to everybody.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRTo lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRThere is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRShe was ready to deny the existence of space and time rather than admit that love might not be eternal.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRHistory took hold of me and never let me go thereafter.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRBut it is impossible for anyone to say ‘I am sacrificing myself’ without feeling bitterness.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRWhether you think of it as heavenly or as earthly, if you love life immortality is no consultation for death.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIREthics is the triumph of freedom over facticity.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRSome things I loved have vanished. A great many others have been given to me.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRSelf-knowledge is no guarantee of happiness, but it is on the side of happiness and can supply the courage to fight for it.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRTo catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIRIt is easier to put people in chains than to remove them if the chains bring prestige, said George Bernard Shaw.
SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR