WHEN TIME CHANGES THE NATURE OF A RELATIONSHIP

A Disgraceful Affair: Simone de Beauvoir, Jean Paul Sartre, Bianca Lamblin

-----by Biana Lamblin-----

`````I have finished reading the book about the threesome that Simone de Beauvoir, Biana Bienenfeld and Jean Paul Sartre had. I know that not only are the times different, but the culture is different when it comes to relationships between students and teachers. Nevertheless, I could never approve of a teacher getting sexually involved with a student. It is especially sordid when she then passes the girl off to somebody else (Sartre). In a way, Simone de Beauvoir is procuring for him as she knows that he likes girls of that age. They first attempted such a trio with "Olga", then with Bianca and Nathalie Sorokine. At times it gets confusing given the various pseudonyms used in the autobiographies and the novels. What isn't hard to understand, though, is that all of the girls were students. Yes, psychologially they were more mature during that decade. But still...

`````I do realize that in France the stigma of teachers getting involved with students isn't the same as here, especially back at that time. Even in North America, it wasn't all that uncommon for teachers to fall in love with female students. In reading Lucy Maud Montgomery's biography it was obvious that it went on fairly routinely with young teachers leaving the colleges. In small towns the instructors would be quite young, perhaps only a few years older than the students themselves. The dating pool was not large and the girls were fairly mature and they married earlier. It was not a crime as it is now.

`````The girls who were studying at the lycee in France at 17 were advanced intellectually compared to the students here as they undertook lessons in Latin, philosophy and the classics. It was certainly comparable to a university level study of today. On the other hand, they were not as "worldly" as the girls of today. I guess that would be a nice way of saying that the girls then were less trampy then their sisters today. They were raised as good Catholics; values such as purity were held in the highest regard. Everybody back then certainly knew who the town pump was. There was a negative stigma attached to promiscuous behavior in small towns. The family would certainly be told if somebody got out of line.

`````I am a huge fan on Ms de Beauvoir's, but emotionally and morally, I think it was wrong. The girl formed a bond and an attachment with her teacher. I recall what it was like to look up to an instructor at that age. Bianca must really have felt special to have her beloved Mademoiselle select her to spend time with. When the actions cross over into the sexual it is wrong. It is especially bad when Bianca is encouraged to also develop an interest in Sartre. If Simone then witholds her affections or turns cold when Bianca doesn't act interested, it is a form of coercion. As Simone herself was conflicted and became jealous when Sartre became overly interested in Bianca, this would cause feelings of guilt, betrayal and even more confusion. That's a lot for a 17 year old to handle.

`````Bianca had been a virgin until she met Sartre. He acted like a cad and a boor in his encounter with her. He told her that he'd deflowered somebody else the day before and wouldn't the chambermaid be surprised. They were faithful to the scene in the film "Les Amants des Flores" where they showed Sartre standing by the sink and washing one foot after another. He would not let Bianca close the blinds even though she was uncomfortable.

`````I also do not like the fact that Simone was aware the relationship created friction between Bianca and her Mother yet she pursued the girl anyways. I believe that this harkens to her own family dynamics. There seems to be a hint of passive aggressivity at play here; if she couldn't enjoy a happy homelife then nobody else could either.

`````There were long term negative consequences for Bianca in that she fell into a depression. Nathalie Sorokine also had mental health issues. Was it preexisting and made worse by her encounter with Sartre and de Beauvoir? The two other women that were mainstays in their lives never forged independent careers. Olga and Wanda were two malingering and slatternly sisters who would have found a way to leech off somebody no matter what. Neither had a work ethic from the get-go and both had a strong sense of entitlement. Like overfed, lazy cats, they wanted a life of leisure.

`````I have a real curiosity as to what Simone's sexuality truly was. In her youth she was friends with Zaza but she had no sexual interest in her. Yet, it is in her teen years that she would have felt some yearnings. On the other hand she was very much interested in her cousin Jacques. In University she had desires only towards males. I cannot but help think that her physical encounters with females were at the urging of Sartre. These encounters procurred girls for him. I think that's why her sexual encounters with women stopped when her physical relationship with Sartre stopped 100%. Nelson Algren did note some strange dynamic between Nathalie Sorokine when she came to visit the lake, however.

`````Sartre was the love of her life, yet he would not commit to one person. She was very physically attracted to Nelson Algren, but there was a cultural and physical distance between them which could not be spanned. She was attracted to Bost for his character, intellect and looks but he was involved with another. With Claude Lanzman, the age difference was too great and he too played around. Simone lamented the loss of holding a man in her arms at night. She never wrote that about a woman.

`````Anyways, I have gotten off on a tangent again. This book made me think about the nature of Simone's attraction to Sartre and how far she was willing to take it. The book goes into Bianca Lamblin's work in the resistance movement in the war as well. Her anger towards the couple never lets up and is an ever present under-current. That's the fourth person in the story. It would have been much better without it.