Marriage makes woman contingent while man mediates her to the universe

Evidence

This presupposes humble renunciation on her end; but she is rewarded because guided and protected by male force, she will escape original abandonment; she will become necessary. Queen of her hive, tranquilly resting on herself within her domain, but carried by man’s mediation through the universe and limitless time, wife, mother, and mistress of the house, woman finds in marriage both the force to live and life’s meaning. We must see how this ideal is expressed in reality. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1196

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the vital concept of ‘contingent facticity’ — woman’s existence is justified only through man’s mediation, a key analytical term.
• XREF: connects to: Patriarchal marriage domesticated feminine cosmic power into lawful order — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 367; Wife-as-property functions as display of the husband’s status — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 375; Divine plans are accomplished through man while woman remains a stationary auxiliary (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Marriage denies woman the particularity of desire that man retains as citizen #expands (0.90) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1135
• Marriage converts a girl’s open-ended future into a closed destiny of repetition #expands (0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1258