Men split woman into opposed good and bad figures rather than a single essence
Evidence
But this enemy face is not woman’s definitive form either. Instead, Manichaeism is introduced within the feminine kind. Pythagoras linked the good principle to man and the bad principle to woman; men have tried to overcome the bad by annexing woman; they have been partially successful; but just as Christianity, by introducing the ideas of redemption and salvation, gave its full sense to the word “damnation,” the bad woman stands out in opposition to the sanctified woman. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 409
Categorization
- DEFINE: Introduces Manichaeism as Beauvoir’s framework for the feminine split into blessed and cursed woman. Central analytical apparatus.
- XREF: Connects to the Whore/Madonna dichotomy familiar from feminist theory and to Jungian anima dualism; also parallel to the dichotomy discussed in the immodesty essay. — connects to: Woman’s contradictory image stems from being man’s inessential Other — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 413; Woman’s subordinate situation makes her lovable but not genuinely equal in man’s eyes. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1930; Men transform woman from flesh into an ethereal ideal, denying her body — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 383 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Woman’s contradictory image stems from being man’s inessential Other
#expands(0.90) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 413 - Men’s contradictory demand makes woman simultaneously servant and sorceress
#expands(0.85) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 406 - Men transform woman from flesh into an ethereal ideal, denying her body
#exemplifies(0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 383 - Hostile and benevolent sexism target different subtypes of women.
#expands(0.80) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 763 - Woman’s subordinate situation makes her lovable but not genuinely equal in man’s eyes.
#qualifies(0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1930