While The Second Sex of Simone de Beauvoir is primarily known as a feminist text, it is the existentialist philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre that influenced Beauvoir's writings. As existentialists, these philosophers argue that philosophical thought begins with the human subject and not with the thinking subject alone. Sartre argues that philosophical thought begins with the acting, feeling, and living human individual. For an existentialist, the starting point of a being is the moment when one feels disorientation or fear when looking at the world. For existentialists, it is the individual and not society who determines and is responsible for the meaning of his or her own life. Beauvoir takes existentialist philosophy and turns it into a discussion of feminism, racism, motherhood, and many other topics. In this essay, I will show how Jean-Paul Sartre's philosophy influenced Simone de Beauvoir's theories on feminism. It is through Sartre's use of the character Inez in "No Exit" that we show how the role of existentialist philosophy is played in the discussion of Hell. It is Sartre's thoughts that influence Beauvoir's thoughts on matters of this life rather than the afterlife. In Margaret A. Simons' book, Beauvoir and The Second Sex: Feminism, Race, and the Origins of Existentialism, the connections between Beauvoir and existentialism are exposed and provide a good understanding and interpretation of the Second Sex and its role in as a feminist. and existentialist text. When reading The Second Sex, we discern that the text is only an expression of Sartrean existentialism in the form of the women's question, presenting Beauvoir as a philosopher first, then as a feminist who transforms philosophy of Sartre and created his own. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay Although Beauvoir plays a major role in Sartrean existentialism, it is important to first look at Jean-Paul Sartre. In his play “No Exit”, Sartre’s philosophy is expressed well through the use of the character Inez. Sartre's philosophical views are ingrained in his characters as they play a vital role in portraying an existentialist view in the play. Sartre uses the personal attributes of the characters to demonstrate existentialist thinking. Each of the three characters exhibits characteristics of sexual perversion and interaction with consciousness. Sartre explores many existentialist themes, including "No Exit" which focuses on the ideas of consciousness and freedom. While the setting of the play is hell, the characters are taken to a room with no mirrors, no windows, with only three sofas, a letter opener, and a fireplace, leaving the characters exposed, raw, and naked to the reader. It is Inez who brings the notion of consciousness into the room. Inez's first thought about Garcin provides an excellent example of the distinction between knowing something and being aware of something. Sartre writes: “Garcin: I beg your pardon. Who do you think I am? Inès: And you? Well, the executioner, of course” (8). Without knowing that it is actually Garcin and later Estelle who are her torturers, Inez's misconception actually touches on the truth. Inez offers many existentialist reflections on consciousness. Sartre believes that consciousness is painful and argues that humans spend much of their time with unreflective consciousness. Inez expresses this when she says: “I am always aware of myself – in my mind. Painfully conscious” (19). For Sartre, aexistentialist must know that existence precedes essence, that is, an individual must act as an individual. Inez realizes this in Hell when she says, "So, I'm done with earth, it seems." No more alibis for me! I feel so empty, dried out – finally really dead. I am all here, in this room” (29). In this quote, we see that Inez realizes that she is the one who determines her own destiny. She is solely responsible for ending up in hell. This is what it means to be an existentialist. An existentialist has the freedom to determine their own destiny and also take responsibility for their decisions. Thus, we see in “No Exit” by Jean-Paul Sartre what it means to be an existentialist. It was this groundwork that gave Simone de Beauvoir the ability to expand and transform existentialist thought in The Second Sex. In Beauvoir's The Second Sex, she takes Sartre's existentialist philosophy and transforms it into her own. Like Sartre, Beauvoir thinks a lot about the human struggle for freedom. The Second Sex lays the foundations for the second wave of feminism. The second wave concerns, among other things, sexuality, family and reproductive rights. This relates to existentialism in that existentialists are concerned with freedom or the ability to choose for oneself in good faith. In Margaret A. Simons' Beauvoir and the Second Sex: Feminism, Race, and the Origins of Existentialism, the first line of the second chapter reads: The question of the influence that Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre had on each other during the fifty years of writers, the analysis of their relationship has rarely been posed in a rigorous manner... feminist philosophers who consider The Second Sex (1949) as a simple application of Sartre's perspective are also reminded of the philosophical differences of Beauvoir and Sartres when their analyzes confront the sexism and limitations of Sartre's understanding of the situation of women... (Simons 41) Simons says that people who read Beauvoir without a feminist lens see Beauvoir as a simple reiteration of Sartrean existentialism. For Simons, Beauvoir must be recognized as a philosopher in addition to being a feminist. A man who limits himself to the knowledge of being a man is more likely to view Beauvoir as an imitator of Sartre. Beauvoir writes: “Man is defined as a human being and woman as a woman – whenever she behaves like a human being, she is said to imitate the male” (Beauvoir). This again provides an existentialist reading of the text, as men take on the role of telling the woman how she should and should not be; it makes a woman feel like she has no control over who she is. This shows that if someone is taught their whole life that to be a woman they must act or look a specific way, be submissive, and only do certain jobs, it will affect their sense of freedom and authenticity. Beauvoir writes about the dominating role that men play towards women: “all female history was created by man. Just like in America, there is no Negro problem, but rather a white problem; just like anti-Semitism is not a Jewish problem, it is our problem; therefore the woman's problem has always been a man's problem” (Beauvoir). She says it's men who struggle with the problem when it comes to women's issues. For Beauvoir, men created the problems women face. This makes life difficult for a woman who identifies as an existentialist. So if that's the case, for Beauvoir it would be incredibly difficult to be known as the woman who followed her husband's thoughts. While many.