Reading Les Mandarins

Abstract This article advocates reading Les Mandarins taking into account, first of all, that it is a novel, leaving aside the familiar theories that it is a roman-à-clef , a roman-à-thèse , a biographical chronicle, or all three. It considers the novel's setting, point of view, plot and character in relation to political activism, love relationships, the literary vocation, as well as its metaphysical framework. I argue that this approach leads to a more complete understanding of the novel's multi-layered world, avoiding the distracting and misleading nature of those theories. I conclude by stating that Beauvoir's own defence of her work confirms such a reading.