The point is not for women simply to take power out of menโs hands, since that wouldnโt change anything about the world. Itโs a question precisely of destroying that notion of power.
Simone de BeauvoirAll the idols made by man, however terrifying they may be, are in point of fact subordinate to him, and that is why he will always have it in his power to destroy them.
Simone de BeauvoirEating, sleeping, cleaning - the years no longer rise up toward heaven, they lie spread out ahead, gray and identical. The battle against dust and dirt is never won. Washing, ironing, sweeping, ferreting out rolls of lint from under wardrobes - all this halting of decay is also the denial of life; for time simultaneously creates and destroys, and only its negative aspect concerns the housekeeper.
Simone de BeauvoirChoice springs from the totality of the person. Thus, to study, to analyze what a person is, does not eliminate the idea of freedom.
Simone de Beauvoir