In what ways do the contrasting social positions of Monique, a homemaker, and the narrator of “The Age of Discretion,” an intellectual, illuminate Beauvoir’s views on work as a conduit for female agency and empowerment?

Using Monique’s diary as evidence, do you agree with Beauvoir’s intention to portray her as the architect of her own personal crisis? Or do you align with the first readers of the story who saw her as a sympathetic figure? Explain your answer.

Consider the social critiques Beauvoir leverages by situating each of the stories’ crises within the home. Why is the home relevant in the destruction of the woman?

The guide explains that the stories in The Woman Destroyed serve as fictional illustrations of the arguments in Beauvoir’s 1949 treatise, The Second Sex. Are these ideas still relevant in the light of later waves of feminism and intersectionality? Why or why not?

Compare the characters of André from “The Age of Discretion” and Maurice from the title story. What roles do these husbands play in the crises their wives experience? What might Beauvoir be suggesting about masculinity and marriage through their differences?

Each story employs a distinct narrative form. How do these formal choices shape our understanding of each protagonist’s inner life?

How does Beauvoir engage with motherhood across the collection? Does Beauvoir necessarily view motherhood as an impediment to femininity?

Discuss the way Beauvoir portrays aging in order to explain her commentary on the social perception of age.