They laugh at Nelson when he offers to punch a man who verbally assaults Simone. When they travel they take pride in not being tourists, never noticing that locals mock and take advantage of their obvious inclusion in this set. Simone and her friends sneer at the bourgeoise with all the pompous contempt of intellectuals convinced of their own superiority. She is unable to see that she would not accept such behaviour from him. Simone deals with this by buying clothes she approves of for Nelson and throwing away what he has chosen. For example, they criticise the other’s attire. Simone wished to rekindle their romance but remained unwilling to either give up her life in Paris or to have him join her long term.Įarly on it is clear that the lovers are not satisfied with even the little details of each other’s lives.
He had always mixed with gamblers, drunks and drug addicts now he became one of them with disasterous results. When Nelson realised that he could not get Simone to behave as he wanted he took other lovers before sinking into depression. She became upset when he allowed her intransigence to colour his behaviour. Simone believed that Nelson should appreciate this and make the most of the limited time she offered him. He wished her to move to America which she would not countenance, believing that Sartre needed her and that their work was too important to set aside. Nelson resented the continued presence of Sartre in Simone’s life. Their affair started immediately and was characterised by short periods of passionate intensity followed by long months apart during which they both, although Simone more especially, poured out their desires in frequent and lengthy correspondence. He met Simone when she telephoned him to ask for a tour of the ‘real Chicago’ on the recommendation of a mutual acquaintance. Nelson Algren was an American writer, considered ‘a bard of the down-and-outer’. They welcomed the diversions offered by others but retained the belief that they themselves were superior. Simone and Sartre were core members of an intimate circle of Parisian philosophers and friends who held a high opinion of themselves, regarding their work as of vital importance.
Although only touched on briefly in this book, Simone scandalised society by taking lovers of both sexes, some of them underage. She and Sartre had what has been described as an open relationship. She was the long term partner of Jean-Paul Sartre and made her name writing the feminist text, The Second Sex.
Simone de Beauvoir was a French writer and intellectual. It is an interesting exploration of why couples get together, and why they fall apart. Each was looking for something the other could not offer leaving both dissatisfied. Their relationship spanned two decades although their mutual passion burnt out much more quickly. Noon in Paris, Eight in Chicago, by Douglas Cowie, reimagines the love affair between Simone de Beauvoir and Nelson Algren.
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