The body between life and death in „The blood of the others” by Simone de Beauvoir
Life and death are two bodies that act directly on living bodies, two essential properties of beings that have preoccupied the artistic imagination since the dawn of time. People have always felt the need to represent their existence: the cavemen have left trace including death that is inherent in all existence. In the life and work of Simone de Beauvoir, death is always presented as a mirror to life. In a depth perspective, the characters of Simone de Beauvoir perceive death as a continuance of life and realize that death is an alternative to life and that the body remains a tool of manipulation and exchange. It seems interesting to understand the role of the characters in the novel The blood of others, published in 1945.
Keywords: contemporary French literature, Simone de Beauvoir, The blood of others, novel, body, death, character
1.[1] François Dagonet, Le corps, Quadrige, PUF, Paris, 2008, p. 7
2.[1] Cf. Michel Porret, «Le corps et ses enjeux», in Le corps violenté, Du geste à la parole, Genève, Droz, 1998, p. 8
3.[1] Voir Laurent Gagnebin, Simone de Beauvoir ou le refus de l’indifférence, éd. Fischbacher, Paris, 1968
4.[1] Chantal Moubachir, Simone de Beauvoir ou le souci de différence, éditions Seghers, Paris, 1972, p. 99
5.[1] Voir le chapitre sur le corps libidinal dans François Dagonet, Le corps, op. cit.