The Beauvoir Sisters: An Intimate Look at How Simone and Helene Influenced Each Other and the World [Paperback]

Claudine Monteil (Author), Marjolijn de Jager (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 18, 2004

Helene de Beauvoir, a painter, grew up in the shadow of her extraordinary older sister, Simone. Until now, the remarkable extent to which their relationship shaped both their lives has been overlooked. In this intimate biography, the reader learns not only about their close relationship and artistic influence on one another, but also about the jealousy, condescension and rivalry that plagued them. This first book to focus on the relationship between the two sisters details how these women, despite their myriad political and aesthetic differences, came together to help launch the modern women’s movement. Sprinkled with fragments of conversations Monteil witnessed firsthand between Simone, Jean Paul Sartre, Pablo Picasso, and other luminaries, the sisters' story is told by a woman who had the distinct privilege to belong to their intimate circle of friends and who has been a leading figure in France’s women’s movement since the 1960s. Spanning the period between World War I and Helene’s death in 2001, The Beauvoir Sisters is also the story of an era, as Monteil immerses the reader in the artistic and intellectual life of twentieth-century Paris, the effects of the Cold War, and the feminist movement in France and the United States.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Not only essential for the literary history of Sartre and de Beauvoir, but also, simply, for history."

Product Details

• Paperback: 218 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (June 18, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580051103
• ISBN-13: 978-1580051101
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,628,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Simone and Helene close up, September 4, 2008

By 

Jennifer J. Timmons "womanwarrior007" (Princess Anne, MD, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Beauvoir Sisters: An Intimate Look at How Simone and Helene Influenced Each Other and the World (Paperback)

Claudine Monteil has done a marvelous job of bringing her friends Simone and Helene de Beauvoir back to life in The Beauvoir Sisters. It is the story of the sisters' relationship, their impact on the women's movement both in France and abroad, and their personal relationships with friends and lovers.

This is an excellent complement to Simone de Beauvoir's work, particularly her autobiographies. I have not yet read Madame de Roulet's (Helene's married name) autobiography, but would like to. Monteil was a 20 year old university student when she met 60ish Simone de Beauvoir, who requested to meet Monteil because of her activist work with female factory workers. They befriended one another and worked together for women's causes, through Mouvement de Liberation des Femmes (MLF)(Women's Liberation Movement).

Monteil eventually met Helene, and became her friend as well. The author offers a good overview of their early life, but I find the most interesting part of the book was her friendship with them--how she interweaves conversations between the two sisters during which she was present, her relations with each sister, and conversations she had with each. Because older sister Simone was so famous, she often overshadowed younger sister Helene's achievements as a painter, as well as an activist for women.

I think Claudine Monteil gives fair share of attention to both sisters. Their friendship lasted decades, from the time she met Simone in 1970, until Helene's death in 2001. She shows the good and not-so-good aspects of the Beauvoir sisters. She also reveals the hostile behaviour of outsiders resistant to the changes they helped to bring about for the fair treatment of women and women's rights, but ugliness comes especially from the unexpected and hurtful actions of the respective heirs (adopted daughters) of both Sarte and Simone, following their deaths. Monteil was with both sisters during their losses of their loved ones: Simone, when her life-long companion Jean-Paul Sarte died, and with Helene, when Simone passed--and then three years later, Helene's husband, Lionel.

The Beauvoir Sisters is a testament to the strength of the friendship the author shared with them, and the love they had for one another. I thoroughly enjoyed it!