Since The Mandarins, Beauvoir seems to change her opinions on committed literature, apparently harboring few illusions about the actual impact an intellectual can have on society. Beauvoir was obviously very politically active, and we must assume she was active because she felt that she could make a difference. How is this reflected in her novels?

As readers, we have Beauvoir's treatise on the plight of women during the period in which she wrote her fiction.

Read The Second Sex in conjunction with the fiction to see if her theory meets up with her praxis, or if it is merely speculation without investment.