Jealousy tortures a woman because certainty would force her to renounce love as religion

Evidence

Vague or definite, unfounded or justified, jealousy is frightening torture for the woman because it is a radical contestation of love: if the betrayal is certain, it is necessary to either renounce making a religion of love or renounce that love; it is such a radical upheaval that one can understand how the woman in love, both doubting and deceived, can be obsessed by the desire and fear of discovering the mortal truth. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1879

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the religious character of love for Beauvoir’s woman in love — the woman makes a religion of love, so betraying love destroys her worship.
• XREF: connects to: Woman’s love-religion seeks possession while paradoxically preserving the lover’s freedom. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1882; Married women’s jealousy often masks dissatisfaction by inventing a rival — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1297

Broader Connections

• Married women’s jealousy often masks dissatisfaction by inventing a rival #complicates (0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1297