French Literature Reviews - 2026

Writing against Death, the Autobiographies of Simone de Beauvoir
Writers: Biography, Letters and Memoirs

Susan Bainbrigge, Writing against Death: the Autobiographies of Simone de Beauvoir

Amsterdam/New York, NY 2005. 246 pp. (Faux Titre 262)
ISBN : 90-420-1845-3 50,-/US $ 70.-

Online info: http://www.rodopi.nl/senj.asp?BookId=FAUX+262

Much has been written on Simone de Beauvoir, one of France's leading intellectual figures of the 20th century. The sheer volume of her autobiographical writings testifies to her indefatigable questioning of the nature of existence and her personal and public engagement in the world over the best part of a century. This study aims to re-evaluate her extensive autobiographical oeuvre, exploring its place in relation to the French autobiographical canon and in the light of recent theorizations of autobiography. It presents readings that engage critically with existentialism, feminist theory, and autobiography studies generally, in particular focusing on the question of 'autothanatography', a term developed by theorists such as Jacques Derrida and Louis Marin. A new reading of the autobiographies through the lens of thanatos is presented with questions of gender in mind, and the nature of autobiography as a genre is also explored more fully with particular attention paid to narrative voice. Close readings of the autobiographical oeuvre combine with contextual details, critical overviews, and links to recent developments in critiques of Beauvoir's fiction and philosophy. The study will be of particular interest to scholars in the following areas: 20th-century French literature and culture; autobiography studies; literary theory; existentialism; women's studies.

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Autobiographical writing occupies a significant place within twentieth-century French literature, serving as a medium for writers to negotiate personal identity alongside broader philosophical and political commitments. Within this tradition, Simone de Beauvoir produced an extensive body of work documenting her engagement with her era. Scholarly approaches to such texts often draw on developments in autobiography studies, literary theory, and gender studies to examine how narrative voice and genre conventions shape the presentation of a life. Susan Bainbrigge explores these dimensions in her study of the Beauvoir canon, placing the texts within wider critical conversations.

This study aims to re-evaluate her extensive autobiographical oeuvre, exploring its place in relation to the French autobiographical canon and in the light of recent theorizations of autobiography. The analysis focuses particularly on the question of autothanatography, examining how thanatos and gender intersect within the narratives. Readers interested in twentieth-century French literature and culture, autobiography studies, literary theory, existentialism, and women's studies may find this volume relevant to their research.