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Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

theparisreview.org

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Re: Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

#11

Post by black_puppydog »

> Shelves are crammed with surprisingly uninteresting books. “The best ones,” she told me, “are in the hands of my friends and never come back.”

I love her attitude. I do the same. If I have a really good book, I try to pass it on as quickly as possible. That also increases the chances of finding someone to debate the contents, which is usually where the real fun starts.

Works much better with physical books actually. You'd think it'd be easier with epub or such, but nope. Somehow the physical artifact really makes people want to read it much more, being given a physical book seems to convey much more that you're receiving something of value, something worth investing some (or many!) hours into.

Re: Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

#12

Post by stabbles »

galaxyLogic wrote: post #10
galaxyLogic wrote: post #6

Another word for Beauvoir's "swindle" is simply "dis-illusionment", isn't it? Life as we experience it is based on "stories" we read and hear and expect that at some point we would live like in a story and thus feel some deep significance to our life. But it never is like that. For some the story might be Beauvoir and she is honest enough to tell us that. Nothing special here. My (her) situation is like yours. But is…

I'm not sure I understand the difference between "being" and "existence"

I'm not entirely sure either, but maybe it's meant to be interpreted in light of the 'existence precedes essence' concept of existentialism. 'Being' might then mean leading a life where one choses their destiny, in contrast to mere 'existence'. Maybe the translation from French is not perfect?

"The paradox of human life is precisely that one tries to be and, in the long run, merely exists." I think what she means is: if you have your life ahead of you, you can still choose your destiny (you can be something). However, having lived that life and looking back at it, history is fixed and there is nothing to choose when it comes to the past (it merely exists).

Re: Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

#13

Post by beautifulfreak »

galaxyLogic wrote: post #6

Another word for Beauvoir's "swindle" is simply "dis-illusionment", isn't it? Life as we experience it is based on "stories" we read and hear and expect that at some point we would live like in a story and thus feel some deep significance to our life. But it never is like that. For some the story might be Beauvoir and she is honest enough to tell us that. Nothing special here. My (her) situation is like yours. But is…

That passage made me think of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. The author can have anything his heart desires, but in the end finds it empty ("vanity"). It's an old problem. The French Existentialists didn't invent it.

Re: Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

#14

Post by high_5 »

bshepard wrote: post #3

“In Plato, art is mystification because there is the heaven of Ideas; but in the earthly domain all glorification of the earth is true as soon as it is realized. Let men attach value to words, forms, colors, mathematical theorems, physical laws, and athletic prowess; let them accord value to one another in love and friendship, and the objects, the events, and the men immediately have this value; they have it absolute…

This reads like feminine invitation to nihilism to me.

Re: Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

#15

Post by barryhoodlum »

stabbles wrote: post #12
galaxyLogic wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I understand the difference between "being" and "existence"

I'm not entirely sure either, but maybe it's meant to be interpreted in light of the 'existence precedes essence' concept of existentialism. 'Being' might then mean leading a life where one choses their destiny, in contrast to mere 'existence'. Maybe the translation from French is not perfect? "The paradox of human life is precisely that one tries to be and, in the long run, merely exists." I think what she means is:…

From the article: "A woman psychoanalyst wrote me a very intelligent letter in which she said that “in the last analysis, desires always go far beyond the object of desire.” The fact is that I’ve had everything I desired, but the “far beyond” which is included in the desire itself is not attained when the desire has been fulfilled."

I took "being" to include being somehow immersed in the "far beyond" once the desired lifestyle is met. Like realising you're in a dream without eventually waking up.

Re: Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

#16

Post by toyg »

high_5 wrote: post #14
bshepard wrote: post #3

“In Plato, art is mystification because there is the heaven of Ideas; but in the earthly domain all glorification of the earth is true as soon as it is realized. Let men attach value to words, forms, colors, mathematical theorems, physical laws, and athletic prowess; let them accord value to one another in love and friendship, and the objects, the events, and the men immediately have this value; they have it absolute…

This reads like feminine invitation to nihilism to me.

She wasn’t the cheeriest of characters.

Re: Simone de Beauvoir, The Art of Fiction No. 35 (1965)

#17

Post by toddh »

galaxyLogic wrote: post #6

Another word for Beauvoir's "swindle" is simply "dis-illusionment", isn't it? Life as we experience it is based on "stories" we read and hear and expect that at some point we would live like in a story and thus feel some deep significance to our life. But it never is like that. For some the story might be Beauvoir and she is honest enough to tell us that. Nothing special here. My (her) situation is like yours. But is…

I think it's the hedonic treadmill. We always adapt so even peaks become the new normal, this life is always just about normal.
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