Man needs woman’s confirming gaze to affirm his particular self.

Evidence

Thus the expression “to have a woman” conceals a double meaning: the object’s functions are not dissociated from those of the judge. The moment woman is viewed as a person, she can only be conquered with her consent; she must be won. Sleeping Beauty’s smile fulfills Prince Charming: the captive princesses’ tears of happiness and gratitude give meaning to the knights’ prowess. On the other hand, her gaze is not a masculine, abstract, severe one—it allows itself to be charmed. Thus heroism and poetry are modes of seduction: but in letting herself be seduced, the woman exalts heroism and poetry. She holds an even more essential privilege for the individualist: she appears to him not as the measure of universally recognized values but as the revelation of his particular merits and of his very being. A man is judged by his fellow men by what he does, objectively and according to general standards. But certain of his qualities, and among others his vital qualities, can only interest woman; his virility, charm, seduction, tenderness, and cruelty only pertain to her: if he sets a value on these most secret virtues, he has an absolute need of her; through her he will experience the miracle of appearing as an other, an other who is also his deepest self. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 399

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Sartrean regard/for-itself and the mutual recognition problem in existentialism; also echoes Hegel’s master-slave dependency structure already traced in the introduction. — connects to: Man projects his own unattainable interiority onto woman as mirror and Other — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 401; Man’s self-realization requires woman’s consent to serve as his crucible. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 622; Woman’s role is to be the mediating consciousness through which man discovers himself — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 614 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Man’s self-realization requires woman’s consent to serve as his crucible. #corroborates (0.82) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 622
• Woman’s role is to be the mediating consciousness through which man discovers himself #corroborates (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 614
• The lover’s self-presentation demands the Other’s free recognition to succeed #corroborates (0.72)
• Adornment simultaneously singles out its wearer and requires others’ gaze to have value #corroborates (0.70) — Georg Simmel, The Sociology of Georg Simmel, 8222