Wives transfer the need for male guidance to substitutes when husbands fail

Evidence

For most women, this world keeps its glow after marriage; only the husband loses his prestige; the wife discovers that his pure manly essence tarnishes: but man still remains the truth of the universe, the supreme authority, the wonderful, adventure, master, gaze, prey, pleasure, salvation; he still embodies transcendence, he is the answer to all questions. And the most loyal wife never consents to give him up completely and close herself in a dismal tête-à-tête with a contingent individual. Her childhood left her in absolute need of a guide; when the husband fails to fulfill this role, she turns to another man. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1607

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the childhood-formed need for a ‘guide’ that Beauvoir traces from earlier chapters on girlhood. — connects to: Respect for a husband can itself prevent a wife’s sexual abandon — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1286

Broader Connections

• Respect for a husband can itself prevent a wife’s sexual abandon #qualifies (0.72) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1286