Married women resort to imaginary passion to avoid risking real affairs

Evidence

There are women, nonetheless, who are not content to prop up their existence with moral authority; they also need romantic exaltation in their lives. If they do not want to cheat on or leave their husbands, they will seek recourse in the same tactic as a girl who fears flesh-and-blood males: they give themselves over to imaginary passions. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1612

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the category of ‘imaginary passion’ as a distinct strategy of the married woman’s erotic life.
• XREF: connects to: Trapped wives channel unfulfilled life into symbolic escapes that can turn criminal — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1354; The married woman’s dual struggle produces chronic anxiety and nervousness — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1320; Marital love society demands drives wives into self-deception rather than honest feeling — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1288 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Marital love society demands drives wives into self-deception rather than honest feeling #corroborates (0.90) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1288
• Marriage’s frustrated eroticism causally drives wives into adultery #qualifies (0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1617
• Married women’s jealousy often masks dissatisfaction by inventing a rival #expands (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1297