Ethics, ambiguity, and the existential novel; A study of Simone de Beauvoir's works of fiction

This thesis analyzes five novels of the existentialist French author Simone de Beauvoir. It seeks to challenge the arguments presented by many scholars, which regard Simone de Beauvoir's work as subordinate to and dependent on Jean Paul Sartre's work. Secondly, too many see her only as a feminist philosopher and little more. Through the study of Simone de Beauvoir's works of fiction, this thesis demonstrates that Beauvoir goes beyond both Sartre's work and feminism. Through settings, characters, and plots, inspired by Beauvoir's reading of G.W.F. Hegel as interpreted by Alexandre Kojève, these works of fiction illuminate key concepts in her philosophic essays, particularly her Ethics of Ambiguity.