Work · Simone de Beauvoir
Les Belles Images
Laurence, an advertising worker in a prosperous bourgeois circle, begins doubting the images of happiness and success organizing her life.
Understanding the text
The novel examines 1960s French modernization through advertising, consumption and family relationships.
Key points
- 01
Image
Attractive representations conceal contradictions that could make them contestable.
- 02
Conformity
Laurence's distress cannot be reduced to an isolated private problem.
- 03
Childhood
Her daughter's questions interrupt adults' ready-made answers.
How to read it
Mark advertising expressions and shifts of tone that expose what this social world avoids thinking about.
Editions & sources
- Consult the reference 1plato.stanford.edunew tab
- Consult the reference 2iep.utm.edunew tab
- Consult the reference 3gallimard.frnew tab
Summaries and key points are original editorial interpretations. They accompany reading the work and do not replace an edition of the text. Editorial method ↗