Beauvoir et Ricœur — L’identité narrative

This article will examine the uses of Paul Ricœur’s theory of narrative identity for the study of Simone de Beauvoir’s L’invitée (She Came to Stay) and will show that there are significant parallels between the two writers’ philosophical perspectives. The notion of identity is central both to Beauvoir’s novel and to Ricœur’s philosophy. As an existentialist, Beauvoir is inspired by a notion of identity based on action and practical experience rather than on any essentialist premise. Similarly, Ricœur’s philosophy is generally regarded as a “philosophy of human action”, an interpretation which foregrounds the importance of intersubjective interaction in his approach to self and identity. By means of a close reading of the main character’s identity crisis, with reference to Ricœur’s reflections, this article proposes to shed new light on the way in which the battle for selfhood is inextricably interwoven with the recognition of otherness in Beauvoir’s first novel.