Diary of a Philosophy Student

Written between the age of eighteen and twenty-one, the entries in the third volume of Diary of a Philosophy Student take readers into Simone de Beauvoir's thoughts while illuminating the people and ideas swirling around her. The pages offer rare insights into Beauvoir's intellectual development; her early experiences with love, desire, and freedom; and relationships with friends like Elisabeth 'Zaza' Lacoin, and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. It also presents Beauvoir's shocking account of Jean-Paul Sartre's sexual assault of her during their first sexual encounter--a revelation certain to transform views of her life and philosophy. In addition, the editors include a wealth of important supplementary material. Barbara Klaw provides a detailed consideration of the Diary s role in the development of Beauvoir s writing style by exploring her use of metanarrative and other literary techniques, part of a process of literary creation that saw Beauvoir use the notebooks to cultivate her talent. Margaret A. Simons s essay places the assault by Sartre within an appraisal of Beauvoir s complicated legacy for #MeToo while suggesting readers engage with the diary through the lens of trauma.