Work · Simone de Beauvoir
When Things of the Spirit Come First
Five connected stories examine women shaped by Catholicism, bourgeois respectability and spiritual ideals that overlook concrete lives.
Understanding the text
Beauvoir's first fiction collection was rejected before the war and published over forty years after composition.
Key points
- 01
Spiritualism
Exalted values can legitimize sacrificing actual people.
- 02
Voices
Changing perspectives prevent one heroine from simply possessing the truth.
- 03
Genesis
The collection introduces problems later revisited in novels and memoirs.
How to read it
Distinguish composition from publication: the work belongs to Beauvoir's literary apprenticeship in the 1930s.
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 ↗