Woman is prized as yielding material that resists mastery enough to remain precious

Evidence

But woman does more than flatter man’s social vanity; she allows him a more intimate pride; he delights in his domination over her; superimposed on the naturalistic images of the plowshare cutting furrows are more spiritual symbols concerning the wife as a person; the husband “forms” his wife not only erotically but also spiritually and intellectually; he educates her, impresses her, puts his imprint on her. One of the daydreams he enjoys is the impregnation of things by his will, shaping their form, penetrating their substance: the woman is par excellence the “clay in his hands” that passively lets itself be worked and shaped, resistant while yielding, permitting masculine activity to go on. A too-plastic material wears out by its softness; what is precious in woman is that something in her always escapes all embraces; so man is master of a reality that is all the more worthy of being mastered as it surpasses him. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 376

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘clay in his hands’ and the eroticization of form-shaping power echoes the Genesis myth of Adam naming/formation and a Platonic artisan-creator framing of masculinity — connects to how existentialist freedom gets gendered. — connects to: Flesh prized in women is that which appears passive, purposeless, and inert — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 351; Gifts given to a kept woman function as instruments of continued control — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1687; Woman experiences her body as both treacherous burden and prized artwork — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1762 (+4 more)
• DEFINE: Concrete instance of how the Other is constituted: woman’s value requires a residue that escapes domination, which produces the dynamic of mastery.

Broader Connections

• Gifts given to a kept woman function as instruments of continued control #expands (0.78) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1687
• The mystical exaltation of woman still subordinates her as man’s instrument of salvation #expands (0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 589
• Being coveted transforms a woman into an object, which the neglected lover lacks #expands (0.73)
• Woman experiences her body as both treacherous burden and prized artwork #qualifies (0.72) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1762