The Woman Destroyed (27 page)

But I know that I shall move. The door will open slowly, and I shall see what there is behind the door. It is the future. The door to the future will open. Slowly. Unrelentingly.
I am on the threshold. There is only this door and what is watching behind it. I am afraid. And I cannot call to anyone for help.

I am afraid.

Born in Paris in 1908, Simone de Beauvoir is a legendary figure. A lifelong companion of Jean-Paul Sartre and a pioneering feminist, she wrote books that are famous throughout the world. Her works of fiction include
The Mandarins, All Men Are Mortal, The Blood of Others, When Things of the Spirit Come First
, and
The Woman Destroyed
. Her nonfiction includes
The Second Sex, A Very Easy Death, Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter, Force of Circumstance, The Prime of Life
, and
The Coming of Age
. Simone de Beauvoir died in 1986.