Therese Neumann

Therese Neumann is cited in The Second Sex as a contemporary example of a woman whose religious devotion takes visible bodily form. Her brief appearance belongs to Simone de Beauvoir’s discussion of mystical experience, gender, and the cultural meanings attached to the body, rather than to a biographical account of Neumann’s life.

Appearance in the Discussion of Mysticism

De Beauvoir places Neumann after describing women who identify with Christ’s suffering and seek a transformation of bodily pain into spiritual significance. She notes that Neumann turns a face marked by Christ’s blood toward visitors every Good Friday. The recurring observance makes Neumann an example of devotion presented not only as inward experience but also as a public act.

The Body and Religious Meaning

The passage connects Neumann’s annual appearance to a wider account of women’s mystical practices. De Beauvoir describes a symbolic movement from blood and suffering toward divine love and glory; Neumann’s Good Friday observance is included within this interpretation. The significance assigned to her is therefore principally analytical: her example helps show how religious devotion can give bodily experience a sacred meaning.

Scope and Narrative Role

Neumann is mentioned in a broader argument about women’s religious ecstasy, not developed as a character with a narrated personal history. The book supplies no account of her background, motives, or the circumstances of the observance beyond its recurrence on Good Friday. Her role is that of a concise contemporary reference within a discussion that treats mystical experience as one way women give expression to religious identification and devotion.