Woman’s dependence is interiorized while man’s is only external.

Evidence

The big difference is that for the wife, dependence is interiorized; she is a slave even when she conducts herself with apparent freedom, while the husband is essentially autonomous and enchained from the outside. If he has the impression he is the victim, it is because the burdens he bears are more obvious: the wife feeds on him like a parasite; but a parasite is not a triumphant master. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1370

Categorization

• DEFINE: This clarifies the existential distinction between externally imposed constraint and interiorized servitude, central to Beauvoir’s analysis of the married woman.
• XREF: connects to: Women’s economic dependence makes them define themselves through men’s desires. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 298; Total dependence reduces a wife’s freedom to abstract interiority that cannot save her — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1355; Woman’s contradictory image stems from being man’s inessential Other — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 413 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• A woman is not distinguished from her appearance, while a man’s clothing is incidental #exemplifies (0.82) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1921
• Woman’s contradictory image stems from being man’s inessential Other #qualifies (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 413
• Woman’s defining situation is being forced to assume herself as Other #qualifies (0.80) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 64