She Came to Stay

First UK edition
(publ. Secker & Warburg, 1949)
Cover art by Victor Reinganum

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.

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

See also

• The Mandarins
• The Second Sex
• Jean-Paul Sartre