Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. This collection presents three distinct portraits of female crisis. Which of the three stories resonated most strongly with you, and what was it about that particular story or protagonist that captured your attention?

2. Beauvoir intended Monique to be a cautionary tale about self-deception, but many contemporary readers sympathized with her as a tragic victim, echoing the popular response to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar (1963). How did you react to Monique? Did you find yourself rooting for Monique, critiquing her, or something in between?

3. The stories in The Woman Destroyed are emotionally intense and often bleak. How did the overall tone of the collection affect your reading experience? Did you find the endings of the stories to be powerful, disheartening, or something else entirely?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. In “The Age of Discretion,” both the narrator and her husband, André, confront the fear that their best work is behind them and that they are becoming obsolete. Have you ever felt the pressure to accomplish something in your chosen field by a certain age? Where do you feel this pressure comes from?

2. Philippe’s decision to abandon the academic path his mother designed for him in favor of his own career is seen as a major betrayal. Have you ever felt caught between your own ambitions and the expectations of your family? How do you navigate those differences in values?

3. Monique builds her entire identity on being Maurice’s wife, leaving her with a terrifying void when he leaves. In your own relationships, how do you think about balancing your personal identity with the identity you share with a partner or family? What does Monique’s story suggest about the risks of losing that balance?

4. Thinking about the way the telephone is portrayed in this collection, do you feel that modern communication tools like texting or social media have changed the way you handle difficult conversations and relationships? Do you feel more or less connected to other people because of these tools?

5. The narrator of “The Age of Discretion” views her son as her greatest project, and his independence feels like a personal failure. Think about a time you invested yourself deeply in a project, goal, or even a relationship. How do you cope when the outcome is completely out of your control?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. Beauvoir’s foundational feminist text, The Second Sex (1949), argues that femininity is a social construct. In what ways do the lives of Monique, Murielle, and the narrator of the first story serve as fictional illustrations of this argument?

2. The title story was first published in installments in the popular women’s magazine Elle. Why do you think so many readers in 1967 responded with sympathy for Monique, overlooking Beauvoir’s critique of her “bad faith”? Do you believe a modern audience reading it today would react differently?

3. The theme of the social erasure of aging women is a powerful undercurrent in the book. How do the stories explore the idea that a woman’s value in society is often tied to her youth and maternal role? Are these pressures still prevalent today, and in what ways might they have changed since Beauvoir was writing?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. All three protagonists could be described as unreliable narrators who engage in self-deception. How does Beauvoir use Monique’s diary, Murielle’s monologue, and the first narrator’s confident prose to reveal the gap between how these women see themselves and who they really are?

2. How do the characters demonstrate the existentialist concept of “bad faith,” or the denial of one’s own freedom? Which character do you think provides the clearest example of this flight from responsibility, and why?

3. Monique’s daughters, the conventional Colette and the independent Lucienne, represent very different life paths. What commentary might Beauvoir be making through these two characters? How do they challenge or reflect Monique’s own life choices?

4. What do the characters of Maurice and André reveal about the male experience of aging and marriage in this world? Are they simply antagonists, or does Beauvoir present them as complex figures navigating their own crises?

5. The apartments in the stories often start as sanctuaries but transform into prisons. How does Beauvoir use these domestic spaces to symbolize the protagonists’ internal states and the trap of the gender roles they inhabit?

6. The book’s structure moves from the controlled, intellectual narration of “The Age of Discretion” to the frantic, raw outpouring of “The Monologue” and finally to the collapsing narrative in “The Woman Destroyed.” What is the effect of this progression? How does the changing style shape your understanding of the collection as a whole?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were to write a fourth story for this collection set in the present day, what kind of existential crisis would your protagonist face? How might contemporary issues like social media, career pressures, or changing family structures inform her story?

2. Imagine you are Isabelle, Monique’s friend. What advice might you have offered her when she first learned of Maurice’s affair? Would your advice have changed as her crisis deepened, and what might you have said to her after her final diary entry?

3. Choose one of the protagonists at the end of her story. What do you think is the first step she could take toward building an authentic, independent life for herself? What would that new life look like?