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A review by sineadw9
The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
All vibes, very little plot, in great ways.
While each protagonist’s inability to change her situation drove me nuts, it’s also the thing that makes this book so gripping. Beauvoir paints an unvarnished, emotionally vivid picture of the betrayal and loss when a woman, who has given up so much of her independent life for love or family, has that love or family disrupted. By telling her stories though journal entries, we’re forced to deeply empathize with, rather than critique, the experiences she writes about. Her characters have enough self-awareness to understand or at least have a suspicion of the patriarchal forces that are crushing them, but are stilll human and emotionally invested in a way you can’t fault them for.
I liked the first story, forgot the second, and was devastated by the third.
Rambling review for a book that I found quite emotionally touching and deeply frustrating.
While each protagonist’s inability to change her situation drove me nuts, it’s also the thing that makes this book so gripping. Beauvoir paints an unvarnished, emotionally vivid picture of the betrayal and loss when a woman, who has given up so much of her independent life for love or family, has that love or family disrupted. By telling her stories though journal entries, we’re forced to deeply empathize with, rather than critique, the experiences she writes about. Her characters have enough self-awareness to understand or at least have a suspicion of the patriarchal forces that are crushing them, but are stilll human and emotionally invested in a way you can’t fault them for.
I liked the first story, forgot the second, and was devastated by the third.
Rambling review for a book that I found quite emotionally touching and deeply frustrating.