Clayman Institute at 50 stanford.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stanford.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Simone de Beauvoir hovered on the edge of greatness as a young philosopher capable of penetrating the ultimate questions of existence. But then she shrank from the challenge, sinking instead into a preoccupation with the melodramatic and often sordid concerns of herself, lovers, friends and peers