A Very Easy Death

Beauvoir applies her existential and feminist theory to her mother in her memoir. Apply the same theory to the behavior and emotions of Beauvoir as presented in the book. To what extent do you think she exemplifies her own theoretical principles?

Examine how the memoir presents intergenerational conflict and experience between women in order to show female emancipation and progress through the 20th century in France.

Beauvoir occasionally mentions euthanasia. Do you think she rejects this idea or wishes it was a possibility? Use textual evidence to support your argument.

How might Beauvoir’s criticisms of the medicalization of dying apply to hospice care today?

How does Beauvoir’s description of her mother’s deterioration compare to that of her partner Jean-Paul Sartre 17 years later in her memoir Adieux: A Farewell to Sartre?

Do you think the memoir is primarily sad and pessimistic or consolatory and optimistic? Explain why, drawing on close analysis of the text.

How is class identity presented in the memoir? What purpose do you think this serves?

Existentialism gained popularity after World War II in response to tyranny and genocide. How might existentialism, particularly existentialist ethics, apply to current world events?