The Existential Woman (American University Studies Series XXVII, Feminist Studies Vol. 3)

The purpose of this volume is to present an existential view of feminine myths and archetypes. It draws primarily on the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and attempts to familiarize the reader with existential tenets that describe and define woman in cultural prototypes, both in familiar patterns and in patterns outside the accepted rules. The question asked is how does the Eternal Feminine stand up under the scrutiny of existential assessors who tell us that each self is chosen by itself, that human beings of the «second sex» engaged in a search for their identity are «to freedom condemned». More simply this study will offer insights into the question of who we are and how women and men relate to each other.