Irony in de Beauvoir's Critique
de Beauvoir often makes use of irony to criticize previous thinkers with whom she disagrees. For example, she begins the first chapter of the book by writing, "Woman? Very simple, say those who like simple answers: She is a womb, an ovary; she is a female: this word is enough to define her" (21). In this quote, de Beauvoir mocks previous theorists by repeating their interpretations of women in simplified terms that reveal how absurd these interpretations really are. By beginning her chapter in this way, she makes clear that she takes issue with existing thinking and will be presenting her own, more logical theories.
Irony in Woman's Situation
Throughout her descriptions of women's situations in society, de Beauvoir often reveals the fundamental ironies that structure woman's position in society. For example, she points out that women have historically gotten more abstract freedom by living on the margins of society and rejecting attachment to men, but this has denied them more concrete freedom, because it has left them without tangible resources or political powers. There is no easy solution to this dilemma. Similarly, women tend to gain more freedom and confidence as they grow older and are no longer depended on by their children, but they also lose their ability to exercise this freedom, because they lose physical and mental functioning with age, as well. In contemporary times, the independent woman faces the dilemma of feeling more confident and fulfilled in her social and professional life when she is more educated and powerful, but thereby alienating most men who want a submissive, feminine woman and thus never being fulfilled in her personal and sexual life.
