was willed in heaven and profitable on earth.

If woman discovers herself as the inessential and never turns into the essential, it is because she does not bring about this transformation herself.

of meaning without reference to the male.

the woman’s body seems devoid

Man thinks himself without woman. Woman does not think herself without man.”

This convergence is in no way pure chance: whether it is race, caste, class, or sex reduced to an inferior condition, the justification process is the same. “The eternal feminine” corresponds to “the black soul” or “the Jewish character.”

Humanity is male, and man defines woman, not in herself, but in relation to himself; she is not considered an autonomous being.

Refusing to be the Other, refusing complicity with man, would mean renouncing all the advantages an alliance with the superior caste confers on them.

Religions forged by men reflect this will for domination: they found ammunition in the legends of Eve and Pandora.