That's what I consider true generosity. You give your all, and yet you always feel as if it costs you nothing.

The writer of originality, unless dead, is always shocking, scandalous; novelty disturbs and repels.

There is a kind of universality in the human condition, masculine or feminine. That's one thing I continue to believe.

I think that The Second Sex will seem an old, dated book, after a while. But nonetheless, a book which will have made its contribution. At least, I hope so.

The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength - each asking from the other instead of finding pleasure in giving.

Regardless of the staggering dimensions of the world about us, the density of our ignorance, the risks of catastrophes to come, and our individual weakness within the immense collectivity, the fact remains that we are absolutely free today if we choose to will our existence in its finiteness, a finiteness which is open on the infinite. And in fact, any man who has known real loves, real revolts, real desires, and real will knows quite well that he has no need of any outside guarantee to be sure of his goals; their certitude comes from his own drive.

A foreign country can best be understood through its literature.