Episode 19: The Mother – Between Creation and Captivity
Description
In this episode, we explore Chapter 5 of Part Two: Situation – The Mother (pages 591–648). Simone de Beauvoir offers a profound and layered analysis of motherhood—not as a natural or inevitable role, but as one constructed and constrained by societal, cultural, and economic forces.
We discuss Beauvoir’s reflections on how pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing shape women’s identities—often binding them to immanence and limiting their freedom. While motherhood can offer purpose and connection, it can also isolate, consume, and reduce women to a biological function.
Join us as we unpack Beauvoir’s interrogation of the myths and realities of motherhood, and consider what it means for women to reclaim agency within—or beyond—this complex role.
United States
