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 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. ...

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, 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 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 ...

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

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 B ...

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,

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 e ...

and Yvette Roudy 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 Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in ...

and directed by Jean-Baptiste Martin, 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.

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 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 Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

) 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, ...

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-ab ...

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

References

External links

* *
„Finden Sie String-Tangas bequem?“

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, ...

, 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