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Simone's family's wealth diminished alongside the rest of the middle class in the 1920's due to World War 1. The dowry system was no longer sustainable and for this reason, Simone attended Sorbonne to gain an education and make a living for herself, at a time when higher education options for women were just becoming available.
This was a significant moment in her life as she was in the first wave of women that were receiving higher education, which would go on to influence her future work. -
In 1929, Simone became the ninth woman and youngest person to pass the aggregation from Ecole Normale for philosophy. This is an incredibly difficult and competitive exam for civil service within the French education system. Passing this exam led to Simone gaining the title of professor, and also to meet her soon to be lifelong friend Jean-Paul Sartre.
Passing this exam and becoming a professor led her to meeting a life long friend and colleague with whom she would go on to publish with. -
Simone wrote and released "Second Sex" in 1949 which created a shockwave so large that the Catholic church deemed it "unsuitable" for Catholics to read, as the believed it painted a poor image of me. Women on the other hand ran to purchase and read this book, to the point that it sold 20,000 copies in two weeks.
This is the moment in Simone's life that stands out the most. Her book and name remain relevant to this day in education and mainstream media and has immortalized her teachings. -
In 1970 she published "The Woman Destroyed", which explored and blamed poverty for the poor state that the elderly were living in and the way they were treated. In 1980, Simone's life long companion, Sartre, passed away which led her to publish a mourning text about him. Simone was later buried next to him when she passed in 1986.
"The woman Destroyed" was said to be the counterpart of "Second Sex". This text explored beyond young feminism and into aging and made a wave within politics.