Q0510

“The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals…” — Simone de Beauvoir (The Second Sex (1949), Vol. II)

Verified English quotation. Primary source: The Second Sex (1949), Vol. II. Theme: relation.

English

The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength.
Thinker Simone de Beauvoir
School Existentialism
Source The Second Sex (1949), Vol. II
Theme Relation
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source and attribution

The archive attributes this English wording to The Second Sex (1949), Vol. II and files it under Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

About Simone de Beauvoir

Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) was a French existentialist philosopher and novelist whose The Second Sex (1949) transformed feminist theory. A Normalienne, she partnered intellectually with Sartre while building an independent oeuvre on ethics, aging, and politics.

How to read this passage

Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Martin Buber and G. W. This passage enters that discussion through relation, autonomy, ethics.

Concepts in this quote

Relation
Relation appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat relation as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
Autonomy
Autonomy appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat autonomy as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
Ethics
Ethics appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat ethics as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.

How to cite this quotation

APA: Simone de Beauvoir. (n.d.). The curse which lies upon marriage is that too often the individuals are joined in their weakness rather than in their strength. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0510

MLA: Simone de Beauvoir. “The curse which lies upon marriage is that….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0510.

Chicago: Simone de Beauvoir. “The curse which lies upon marriage is that….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0510.

Frequently asked questions

What is the source of the quotation “The curse which lies upon marriage is that…”?

The passage is attributed to Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1949), Vol. II. The archive attributes this English wording to The Second Sex (1949), Vol. II and files it under Existentialism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.

What does Simone de Beauvoir mean by relation?

Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Martin Buber and G. W. This passage enters that discussion through relation, autonomy, ethics.

Same thinker

More from Simone de Beauvoir

  1. One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.
  2. To will oneself free is also to will others free.
  3. The freedom of others… conditions my freedom.
  4. The body is not a thing, it is a situation.
  5. Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.

All quotations by Simone de Beauvoir

Same theme

More on relation

  1. All real living is meeting.
  2. Self-consciousness attains its satisfaction only in another self-consciousness.
  3. The self is a relation that relates itself to itself.
  4. Better to forget one another in the rivers and lakes than to moisten one another with foam when stranded.
  5. After this we should speak of friendship; for it is a kind of virtue, or involves virtue.

Browse the relation theme