This thesis examines the possibilities for feminism that arise from the work of Michel Foucault, which I explicate by comparison it with humanist existentialism. I begin with The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir's application of existentialism to women. I expose the problems that arise in Beauvoir's project. Woman's body is an obstacle to her transcendence, and further, she must abandon her feminine desires and values, and accommodate herself to masculine patterns if she is to overcome her immanence and subordination. To understand why such problems recur in The Second Sex, I turn to Sartre's Being and Nothingness. After examining the conceptions underlying his thought, I conclude that his philosophy is unable to encompass difference, and is therefore antithetical to the feminist project. ¶ Foucault's philosophy offers solutions to these problems by eliminating consciousness as universal subject of action, and by making subjectivity a product of time, through showing how subjects are formed though the changing effects of power upon bodies. His thought encompasses difference at a fundamental level, through understanding human beings as particular 'events' in time. I argue that Foucault's philosophy does not depend fundamentally, as does Sartre's, upon woman as Other. ¶ Foucault shows how our particular historical form of rationality, created within power relations, sets limits on what we can think, be and do. He shows how thought can overcome some of these limits, allowing us to become authors of our own actions. Misunderstandings are common, particularly of his conception of power and its relation to subjectivity. Many commentators demand changes that reinstate the concepts he fundamentally rejects. Others do not see the unity of his philosophy. I show its importance to women's emancipation and to a feminist ethics. ¶ Finally, I compare Foucault's thought with feminism of difference. With the help of Heidegger, I argue that Foucault offers a superior but complementary way to know who we are, through understanding the history of our making. I show how the masculine and the feminine can be reconciled through a reconceptualisation of the relation of sex to time. All told, Foucault is a philosopher of freedom and for him the practice of freedom is an ethics.

This study documents the problematic translator-publisher relationship in the case of the English translation of Simone de Beauvoir’s Le deuxième sexe. The socio-historical investigation of the case study demonstrates that the 1953 translation was complicated by several factors: the translator’s lack of philosophical knowledge, the editor’s demands to cut and simplify the text, the publisher’s intention to emphasize the book’s scientific cachet, and Beauvoir’s lack of cooperation. The investigation focuses on two aspects: the translator’s subservience and the involvement of multiple actors. Primarily concerned with the interaction between the translator and other actors, this study seeks answers that require investigation into historical documents and the work of other scholars critical of The Second Sex. In this enquiry, more than one hundred letters between the translator, H. M. Parshley, and the publisher, Knopf, are thoroughly analyzed. The study combines Bruno Latour’s and Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological concepts in order to provide a more detailed and encompassing examination within the context of Translation Studies. The letter correspondence is the primary evidence on which the study’s conclusions are based. / Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

This study documents the problematic translator-publisher relationship in the case of the English translation of Simone de Beauvoir’s Le deuxième sexe. The socio-historical investigation of the case study demonstrates that the 1953 translation was complicated by several factors: the translator’s lack of philosophical knowledge, the editor’s demands to cut and simplify the text, the publisher’s intention to emphasize the book’s scientific cachet, and Beauvoir’s lack of cooperation. The investigation focuses on two aspects: the translator’s subservience and the involvement of multiple actors. Primarily concerned with the interaction between the translator and other actors, this study seeks answers that require investigation into historical documents and the work of other scholars critical of The Second Sex. In this enquiry, more than one hundred letters between the translator, H. M. Parshley, and the publisher, Knopf, are thoroughly analyzed. The study combines Bruno Latour’s and Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological concepts in order to provide a more detailed and encompassing examination within the context of Translation Studies. The letter correspondence is the primary evidence on which the study’s conclusions are based. / Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Although two hundred years separate Jane Austen and Helen Fielding and, subsequently, also their portrayals of society, the similarities outweigh the differences. When juxtaposing Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones’s Diary in the light of feminism it is evident that both books provide clear examples of the prevailing situation of women in each time and place. The aspects of the study, which are especially important today, show both the development and some degree of stagnation of women’s rights and identities.

L’objet de ce mémoire est d’explorer le lien étroit qui existe entre la pratique de l’autobiographie et l’écriture comme forme d’engagement dans l’œuvre de Simone de Beauvoir, grâce à une analyse du genre ambigu de L’Amérique au jour le jour et des discours politiques qu’il renferme. Bien que L’Amérique au jour le jour constitue le corpus principal de ce mémoire, nous utiliserons aussi des textes contemporains à la rédaction du journal de voyage américain pour guider notre classification générique, dont les Lettres à Nelson Algren, les Lettres à Sartre et Les Mandarins, ainsi que les volumes de l’ensemble autobiographique beauvoirien qui portent sur l’après-guerre, même si ceux-ci sont postérieurs à la rédaction du journal. À l’aide de concepts issus de la poétique des genres, comme les questions de hiérarchie, de proportion, d’intention et de programme, et de l’éthique de l’engagement de l’écrivain telle que définie par la notion sartrienne de l’engagement, nous tenterons de démontrer que l’ambiguïté générique de L’Amérique au jour le jour relève d’une action délibérée de l’auteure visant à mettre en péril son capital symbolique pour assurer la crédibilité de son engagement intellectuel. Une fois les concepts précités définis, le deuxième chapitre de notre mémoire s’attardera à explorer toutes les facettes de l’ambiguïté générique du journal américain, alors que le troisième chapitre démontrera le lien entre les écritures intimes et l’engagement, tout en explorant les formes que prend l’engagement dans le livre. Pour ce faire, nous analyserons trois discours politiques tenus par Beauvoir dans son œuvre : la critique du consumérisme américain, la critique de la condition des Noirs et la critique de la femme américaine. Nous conclurons notre mémoire en démontrant que L’Amérique au jour le jour est devenu une sorte de matrice dans la pratique autobiographique et scripturaire de Simone de Beauvoir, ainsi que dans son engagement. / The main purpose of this master thesis is to explore the intimate connexion between the practice of autobiography and writing as a form of engagement in the work of Simone de Beauvoir, through an analysis of the ambiguous genre in America Day By Day and the political views that the book puts forward. Although America Day By Day is the basic corpus of this thesis, other texts contemporary to the American travel log will also be used to guide our generic classification, including Letters to Nelson Algren, Letters to Sartre and The Mandarins, and the volumes of Beauvoir’s autobiography that deal with the post-war period, even if they were written after the American travel log. Using concepts from genre theory, including issues such as hierarchy, proportion, intent and program, and the ethical commitment of the writer as defined in the Satrean concept of engagement, we will attempt to demonstrate that the generic ambiguity of America Day By Day is a deliberate action by the author aiming to jeopardize her symbolic capital, therefore ensuring the credibility of her intellectual engagement. Once the concepts above have been defined, the second chapter of our paper will focus on exploring all facets of genre ambiguity in the American travel log, while the third chapter will seek to illustrate the intimate connection between creative nonfiction and intellectual engagement, as well as exploring commitment’s forms in the book. To do this, we will analyze three political discourses found in Beauvoir’s work: criticism of the American consumerism, criticism of the Negro Problem and criticism of American women. We conclude our thesis by showing that America Day By Day has become a sort of matrix in Beauvoir’s autobiographical practice, as well as in her intellectual “engagement”.

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This study documents the problematic translator-publisher relationship in the case of the English translation of Simone de Beauvoir’s Le deuxième sexe. The socio-historical investigation of the case study demonstrates that the 1953 translation was complicated by several factors: the translator’s lack of philosophical knowledge, the editor’s demands to cut and simplify the text, the publisher’s intention to emphasize the book’s scientific cachet, and Beauvoir’s lack of cooperation. The investigation focuses on two aspects: the translator’s subservience and the involvement of multiple actors. Primarily concerned with the interaction between the translator and other actors, this study seeks answers that require investigation into historical documents and the work of other scholars critical of The Second Sex. In this enquiry, more than one hundred letters between the translator, H. M. Parshley, and the publisher, Knopf, are thoroughly analyzed. The study combines Bruno Latour’s and Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological concepts in order to provide a more detailed and encompassing examination within the context of Translation Studies. The letter correspondence is the primary evidence on which the study’s conclusions are based. / Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

Através da visão multidimensional que a Literatura proporciona, acredita-se que a voz de Simone de Beauvoir desperta o pensamento crítico dos leitores sobre a condição da mulher, na segunda metade do século XX. A análise se situa entre os odores que exalam do estudo de Walter Benjamin sobre o conceito de reflexão dos primeiros românticos alemães e os sabores dos desencobrimentos presentes em A Mulher Desiludida, narrativa ficcional de Simone de Beauvoir. O que é a literatura?, ingrediente adicionado por Jean-Paul Sartre, traz consistência ao texto que, em sua finalização, é apimentado pela Teoria Estética, de Theodor Adorno. O autor do Magnum opus a Dialética do esclarecimento demonstra ainda a necessidade de se acrescentar o gosto que incomoda para que saibamos apreciar o alimento que nos é oferecido. Todo o banquete é servido sobre a base fundadora do feminismo: O Segundo Sexo. Agucem todos os sentidos, a iguaria será servida / It is believed that through the multidimensional view provided by literature, Simone de Beauvoir leads the readers to think about womens conditions in the second half of the twentieth century. The analysis is based on Walter Benjamins concept of reflection of the first German romantic writers the smell it exhales and what is disclosed in A Mulher Desiludida, fiction written by Simone de Beavouir the flavor one experience when reading it. An ingredient added to the text and giving it consistency is Jean Paul Sartres What is literature. The final spice is given by Teoria Estética (Theodor Adorno). The writer of the Magnum Opus Dialetica do Esclarecimento further shows the need to add an unpleasant taste for us to be able to appreciate the food we are given. The whole feast is served on the founding basis of feminism: The Second Sex. Excite every way, the dish will be served

Hermione Granger is the most prominent female character in the Harry Potter series. She is also the only one in the trio of herself, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley who is muggle-born. She is, therefore, most likely to be discriminated against in two aspects – on the basis of her sex and race. This essay examines Hermione with the help of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex and Edward W. Said’s Orientalism to show how she is represented and portrayed as “the Other” in these two aspects. In which aspect is she more likely to suffer from discrimination, or is it the combination of the two that is essential? As discrimination on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, religion, and other aspects continues to grow in Western societies, it is important to look at how this widely popular literary series handles these issues.

Através da visão multidimensional que a Literatura proporciona, acredita-se que a voz de Simone de Beauvoir desperta o pensamento crítico dos leitores sobre a condição da mulher, na segunda metade do século XX. A análise se situa entre os odores que exalam do estudo de Walter Benjamin sobre o conceito de reflexão dos primeiros românticos alemães e os sabores dos desencobrimentos presentes em A Mulher Desiludida, narrativa ficcional de Simone de Beauvoir. O que é a literatura?, ingrediente adicionado por Jean-Paul Sartre, traz consistência ao texto que, em sua finalização, é apimentado pela Teoria Estética, de Theodor Adorno. O autor do Magnum opus a Dialética do esclarecimento demonstra ainda a necessidade de se acrescentar o gosto que incomoda para que saibamos apreciar o alimento que nos é oferecido. Todo o banquete é servido sobre a base fundadora do feminismo: O Segundo Sexo. Agucem todos os sentidos, a iguaria será servida / It is believed that through the multidimensional view provided by literature, Simone de Beauvoir leads the readers to think about womens conditions in the second half of the twentieth century. The analysis is based on Walter Benjamins concept of reflection of the first German romantic writers the smell it exhales and what is disclosed in A Mulher Desiludida, fiction written by Simone de Beavouir the flavor one experience when reading it. An ingredient added to the text and giving it consistency is Jean Paul Sartres What is literature. The final spice is given by Teoria Estética (Theodor Adorno). The writer of the Magnum Opus Dialetica do Esclarecimento further shows the need to add an unpleasant taste for us to be able to appreciate the food we are given. The whole feast is served on the founding basis of feminism: The Second Sex. Excite every way, the dish will be served