Analysis Of Simone De Beauvoir's The Woman In Love

First published in French in 1949, and deemed provacative enough to be placed on the Vatican 's list of banned books, Simone de Beauvoir 's feminist novel, The Second Sex, is considered to be one of the foundational works of second wave feminist theory. The book is an adept exploration of female otherness and oppression, and puts forward many theories that are still discussed today, one of which is “the woman in love”; in which she details – as the title suggests – the way women seek out and behave in relationships, highlighting their complicity in their own oppression. Despite the fact that more than 65 years have passed since the original publication of The Second Sex, Beauvoir 's theory of “the woman in love” remains remarkably relevant …show more content…
Part of Lemonade 's power lies in its ability to succinctly – yet poignantly – portray the pain and hurt that Beyonce feels after having her relationship deteriorate, but also, the idea that “love cannot save us from pain”, and that it is not a form of weakness to love someone, or to desire being loved. Beauvoir says that “nothing but high admiration can compensate for the humiliation of an act that she considers a defeat”, the roundtable counters; “intamacy can be painful, but must be embraced”. This narrative subverts the idea that to give yourself to someone is to lose yourself, instead, it argues that you gain something, the strength to open yourself up, and to ignore the idea that women who desire love “are violating a code by wanting to be wanted”. Lemonade does, however, share an idea publicsed by de Beauvior; that it is the woman 's job to desire love, to change and fix her relationship, to excuse the downfalls of men, shifting the blame away from the man completely, as it is not Jay-Z who is made to change and push through his wrong-doings, but rather Beyonce, who must make the choice to move on from the pain he has