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. It is even more
deceptive to dream of gaining through the child a plenitude, a warmth,
a value, which one is unable to create for oneself; the child brings
joy only to the woman who is capable of disinterestedly desiring the
happiness of another, to one who without being wrapped up in self seeks
to transcend her own existence.
- The Second Sex (1949), bk. 2, pt. 5, ch. 2: The Mother (p. 522)
On ne naît pas femme: on le devient.
- Translation: One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.
- The Second Sex (1953), bk. 2, pt. 4, ch. 1: Childhood (p. 267)
I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth — and truth rewarded me.