274 - BEAUVOIR, Simone de [Paris, 1908 – id., 1986], French writer.

BEAUVOIR, Simone de [Paris, 1908 – id., 1986], French writer. 7-page autograph manuscript, in-4° A magnificent text on women, existence, figures of failure, and love. “Women are taking on a new face […] this metamorphosis continues to cause concern: a thousand prophets predict that it will bring about the demise of love, and […] of poetry, of dreams, of happiness.” ” She goes on to explain that some men may be frightened, and “the myth of Griselis is replaced by that of the praying mantis, which is its inverse: one gives of herself, the other exploits, but the gift with which the former overwhelms her beloved is a burden to him, and the latter can only benefit [at best?] by surrendering herself to him. ” For Simone de Beauvoir, love “it seems to me that the privileged role of love does not depend on this or that structure […] of truth: it is explained in a much more fundamental way by the ambiguity of the human condition. […] yet this harmonious understanding does not in itself constitute love. Love, while situating the other within the human community as an ally, a fellow human being, also [the only one] in their profoundly moving and significant singularity: together, lovers gaze upon the world and the future, but each is also enchanted by the way […] your beloved eyes reflect the existence of the beloved” Enclosed: A black-and-white postcard depicting Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre in 1969, with a signed dedication by Simone de Beauvoir on the back: “To Mr. Noël André, with warm regards.”