Benoîte Groult (31 January 1920 – 20 June 2016) was a French journalist, writer, and feminist activist.

Life and career

Groult was born on 31 January 1920 in Paris. She was the daughter of

André Groult André Groult (27 August 1884 – 1966) was a French decorator and furniture designer., and one of the most prominent figures of the Art Deco style. His work featured curving and organic shapes, and extremely rich materials. His work has been de ...

and Nicole Poiret, sister of

Paul Poiret Paul Poiret (20 April 1879 – 30 April 1944, Paris, France) was a French fashion designer, a master couturier during the first two decades of the 20th century. He was the founder of his namesake haute couture house. Early life and care ...

and herself a fashion designer, and was raised in the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

ian upper class. Groult attended the Sorbonne, where she studied Latin and Greek. After her studies in literature ended in 1953, she worked as a journalist for television. Before publishing her own book in 1972, she co-wrote three books with her younger sister Flora. On her own she eventually published twenty novels and numerous essays on feminism. Because Benoîte Groult was a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, her novels often deal with topics such as the history of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, the

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

of women and

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...

. Her novel ''Les vaisseaux du cœur'', published in 1988, was called pornographic by some because of its explicit sexual depictions. It was filmed by

Andrew Birkin Andrew Timothy Birkin (born 9 December 1945) is an English screenwriter and director. He was born the only son of Lieutenant-Commander David Birkin and his wife, actress Judy Campbell. One of his sisters is the actress and singer Jane Birkin. W ...

in 1992 as '' Salt on Our Skin''. Benoite Groult - Comédie du Livre 2010 - P1390493

In April 2010, she became Commander of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

In popular culture

Benoîte Groult was the subject of several documentary films. Anne Lefant devoted the documentary ''Une chambre à elle: Benoîte Groult ou comment la liberté vint aux femmes'' to Groult, who was 86 years old at the time. It includes testimonies of

Josyane Savigneau Josyane Savigneau is a journalist and writer for ''Le Monde'', born on 14 July 1951 in Châtellerault, France. Biography She became editor-in-chief of '' Le Monde des Livres'', editorial subdivision of ''Le Monde'' (2005). She has written ...

Paul Guimard Paul Guimard (3 March 1921 – 2 May 2004) was a French writer known for combining his passion for writing with his love of the sea. His most famous work was '' Les Choses de la Vie'', which was adapted for film, with a complete change of its ...

and

Yvette Roudy Yvette Roudy (born 10 April 1929) is a French politician. She served as a member of the National Assembly from 1986 to 1993, and from 1997 to 2002, representing Calvados. She was the Minister of Women's Rights from 1981 to 1986. She sponsore ...

and was published in 2006 by Hors Champ Productions. In 2008 the documentary ''Benoîte Groult, le temps d'apprendre à vivre'', written by Marie Mitterrand and directed by

Jean-Baptiste Martin Jean-Baptiste Martin, known as "Martin des Batailles" (1659, Paris - 8 October 1735, Paris) was a French painter, decorator and designer who specialized in drawings for tapestries. He was best known for battle scenes, hence his nickname. Biogra ...

, aired on

France 5 France 5 () is a French free-to-air public television channel, part of the France Télévisions group. Principally featuring educational programming, the channel's motto is ''la chaîne de la connaissance et du savoir'' (the knowledge network). ...

as a part of the series Empreintes. In 2013 Grasset published a graphic novel based on the life of Benoîte Groult, called ''Ainsi soit Benoîte Groult'', by the hand of

Catel Catel Muller (born August 27, 1964), who publishes under the name Catel, is a French comic book artist and illustrator. Life Muller was born in Strasbourg and received a diploma from the . In 2014, she received the for her graphic novel ''Ains ...

Personal life

Benoîte Groult was married three times. In 1944, she married medical student Pierre Heuyer, who died soon afterward of tuberculosis. In 1951, she married journalist

Georges de Caunes Louis Georges Gustave de Caunes (26 April 1919 – 28 June 2004), professionally known as Georges de Caunes, was a French television and radio presenter, journalist, writer and producer whose career spanned over six decades in French language telev ...

with whom she had two daughters, Blandine and Lison. She later married the writer

(1921–2004). The couple had one daughter, Constance. Benoîte Groult had a holiday home in

Derrynane Derrynane, officially Darrynane (), is a small village in the civil parish of Kilcrohane in County Kerry, Ireland. It is located on the Iveragh peninsula, just off the N70 national primary road near Caherdaniel on the shores of Derrynane Bay. ...

(

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

) and spent the summer there from 1977 till 2003. The French president

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

visited her there in 1988.

Published books

* 1962: ''Journal à quatre mains'', novel with her sister Flora Groult. Paris, Denoël. (English translation: ''Diary in duo.'' London, Barrie and Rockliff, 1965) * 1965: ''Le féminin pluriel'', novel with her sister Flora Groult. (English translation: ''Feminine Plural''. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1968.) * 1967: ''Il était deux fois'', novel with her sister Flora Groult * 1972: ''La part des choses'', Paris, Grasset. * 1975: ''Ainsi soit-elle'', essay on the social status of women, Paris: B. Grasset, 1975. (Also: sound recording in 2004) * 1977: ''Le féminisme au masculin'', essay on feminism * 1981: ''La moitié de la terre'', essay * 1983: ''Les trois quarts du temps'', novel * 1986: ''Olympe de Gouges'', text submitted by Benoîte Groult * 1988: ''Les vaisseaux du cœur'', Paris, Grasset. * 1991: ''Pauline Roland ou Comment la liberté vint aux femmes'' * 2006: ''La touche étoile'' * 2008: "Mon evasion", Paris, Grasset. . (English translation: My Escape: An Autobiography. New York: Other Press, 2012. )

Sources

* Flitner, Bettina: ''Frauen mit Visionen – 48 Europäerinnen (Women with visions – 48 Europeans)''. With texts by

Alice Schwarzer Alice Sophie Schwarzer (born 3 December 1942) is a German journalist and prominent feminist. She is founder and publisher of the German feminist journal '' EMMA''. Beginning in France, she became a forerunner of feminist positions against anti- ...

. Munich: Knesebeck, 2004. , 100–103 p.

References

External links

* *
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Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, s ...

, 6. Mai 2007, Interview about aging
Benoîte Groult photographed by Bettina Flitner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Groult, Benoite 1920 births 2016 deaths Writers from Paris 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists French women novelists French feminists Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur 20th-century French women writers 21st-century French women writers