She Came to Stay (French, L'Invitée) is a novel written by French author Simone de Beauvoir first published in 1943. The novel is a fictional account of her and Jean-Paul Sartre's relationship with Olga Kosakiewicz and Wanda Kosakiewicz.

Plot

Set in Paris on the eve of and during World War II, the novel revolves around Françoise, whose open relationship with her partner Pierre becomes strained when they form a ménage à trois with her younger friend Xaviere. The novel explores many existentialist concepts such as freedom, angst, and the other.

She Came to Stay

Characters

Françoise – considered to be Simone de Beauvoir

Pierre – considered to be Jean-Paul Sartre

Xaviere – considered to be a character combining elements of both Olga and Wanda Kosakiewicz

She Came to Stay

See also

The Mandarins

The Second Sex

Jean-Paul Sartre

1943 French novels

Novels by Simone de Beauvoir

French autobiographical novels

Existentialist novels

Novels set in Paris

1943 debut novels

She Came to Stay