"The Prime of Life"

 From “The Prime of Life” by Simone De Beauvoir

I chose to write about 3 quotes from the excerpt which describes her relationship with both Satre and being an adult.

“I was free to come and go as I pleased. I could get home with the milk, read in bed all night, sleep till midday, shut myself up for forty-eight hours at a stretch, or go out on the spur of the moment.” (De Beauvoir, 54)

“A little private tutoring and a part-time teaching job… guaranteed me enough to live on. These duties did not even prove a burden to me, since I felt that by performing them I was involved in a new sort of game: I was playing at being a grownup.” (De Beauvoir, 55)

“I had suggested that we might bring some books along, and read. Sartre refused indignantly. He also swept aside all my suggestions that we might go for a walk.” (De Beauvoir, 55)

The first 2 quotes describe Simone experiencing the freedom of being an adult. She moved out of her parents house and got a job, which is something we all hope to do one day. She mentions how the little things such as reading in bed and sleeping all day were changes to her new-found adulthood. Simone describes how she does not mind working because she turned it into a game. Everyone has a different definition of freedom and it is clear that Simone’s is simple. She wants to be able to do whatever she wants, and if she has to do something she makes it fun.

The last quote contradicts her new freedom as an adult. Simone recommends small things to Sartre such as reading and walking, but he turns down every recommendation. It may seem like a small inconvenience, but they add up over time. This was common for women at the time, and still is today, because men are seen as superior within the walls of society. Simone is experiencing the freedom of being an adult, but not the freedom of being a woman in this time period.

Word Count: 340