The Woman of Today - Complete AND Better
Earlier today I read a review by Carole Seymour-Jones of A Dangerous Liaison (about the "extraordinary 50-year partnership of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir"). Later, I read The Choices Women Make by Deepa Krishnan and it made up for the lingering bad taste. Here are excerpts from both for your Sunday reading:
***
De Beauvoir and Sartre lived their lives according to the existentialist belief of man's capacity to transcend the limitations of his being. They met in 1929, when they were both studying for the aggregation in philosophy. At 21, she was the youngest person ever to pass, although she had to content herself with coming second to Sartre, a feeling that persisted, says Seymour-Jones, for the rest of her life. For five decades, they pursued an open partnership that allowed them to engage in 'contingent' relationships with others. It was their radical answer to the outworn convention of marriage: in achieving total transparency with each other, they hoped to experience the true freedom of essential love. 'To have such freedom, we had to suppress or overcome any possessiveness, any tendency to be jealous,' said Sartre. 'In other words, passion. To be free, you cannot be passionate.'De Beauvoir became a glorified procuress, exploiting her profession as a teacher to seduce impressionable female pupils and then passing them on to Sartre, who had a taste for virgins. One of them, Olga Kosakiewicz, was so unbalanced by the experience that she started to self-harm. In 1938, the 30-year-old de Beauvoir seduced her student Bianca Bienenfeld. A few months later, Sartre slept with the 16-year-old Bianca in a hotel room, telling her that the chambermaid would be surprised as he had already taken another girl's virginity the same day. A Dangerous Liaison by Carole Seymour-Jones - The odd couple's special relationship
***
There were other examples. At school, the Teachers Room was filled with all-powerful women. Since my mother was a teacher, I was witness to their camaraderie. I saw women sharing jokes, laughing over school politics, and debating what the annual day program should showcase. How much more interesting than housewifely discussions of rasam and sambaar at the local temple!
Clearly, those who wanted to be anything at all, had to forsake the kitchen. They had to study. They had to go to college, and make a place for themselves in the world of career women. My mum dreamt this dream for us, and kept us out of the kitchen. While other girls my age were chopping vegetables and learning to tell tuar dal from lal moong, I grew up with my head buried in books. I drew and painted and played marbles and flew kites. I got my MBA. I travelled. I earned money. But somewhere along the way, I also learnt to cook. The Choices Women Make by Deepa Krishnan
***
De Beauvoir and Sartre lived their lives according to the existentialist belief of man's capacity to transcend the limitations of his being. They met in 1929, when they were both studying for the aggregation in philosophy. At 21, she was the youngest person ever to pass, although she had to content herself with coming second to Sartre, a feeling that persisted, says Seymour-Jones, for the rest of her life. For five decades, they pursued an open partnership that allowed them to engage in 'contingent' relationships with others. It was their radical answer to the outworn convention of marriage: in achieving total transparency with each other, they hoped to experience the true freedom of essential love. 'To have such freedom, we had to suppress or overcome any possessiveness, any tendency to be jealous,' said Sartre. 'In other words, passion. To be free, you cannot be passionate.'De Beauvoir became a glorified procuress, exploiting her profession as a teacher to seduce impressionable female pupils and then passing them on to Sartre, who had a taste for virgins. One of them, Olga Kosakiewicz, was so unbalanced by the experience that she started to self-harm. In 1938, the 30-year-old de Beauvoir seduced her student Bianca Bienenfeld. A few months later, Sartre slept with the 16-year-old Bianca in a hotel room, telling her that the chambermaid would be surprised as he had already taken another girl's virginity the same day. A Dangerous Liaison by Carole Seymour-Jones - The odd couple's special relationship
***
There were other examples. At school, the Teachers Room was filled with all-powerful women. Since my mother was a teacher, I was witness to their camaraderie. I saw women sharing jokes, laughing over school politics, and debating what the annual day program should showcase. How much more interesting than housewifely discussions of rasam and sambaar at the local temple!
Clearly, those who wanted to be anything at all, had to forsake the kitchen. They had to study. They had to go to college, and make a place for themselves in the world of career women. My mum dreamt this dream for us, and kept us out of the kitchen. While other girls my age were chopping vegetables and learning to tell tuar dal from lal moong, I grew up with my head buried in books. I drew and painted and played marbles and flew kites. I got my MBA. I travelled. I earned money. But somewhere along the way, I also learnt to cook. The Choices Women Make by Deepa Krishnan
posted by temporal at 4/13/2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home