Tacitus

Tacitus appears briefly in Simone de Beauvoir’s historical discussion of Germanic women, where his testimony presents a qualified picture of their position: they remained under male authority, yet were recognized as close partners who shared their husbands’ lives in peace and war.## Historical Account and Household StatusIn describing Germanic customs, Beauvoir notes that the family functioned as an autonomous society in peacetime and that a woman’s father and maternal uncle could both exercise authority over her. Her status was therefore dependent on domestic powers, but it was not described as simple exclusion: she received recognized rights and a place within the household.## Tacitus’s TestimonyBeauvoir invokes Tacitus for the concise description that a woman shared her husband’s lot in peace and war, living and dying with him. The account also associates women with accompanying men to war, bringing food to the soldiers, and encouraging them through their presence. It frames partnership as participation in a shared life, without suggesting that this participation dissolved women’s dependence.## Significance in Beauvoir’s ArgumentThe passage distinguishes women’s social situation from a claim of inherent moral inferiority. Beauvoir observes that Germanic women’s incapacity was attributed to physical frailty rather than treated as proof of lesser moral worth; some women served as priestesses and prophets, roles that could imply an education superior to men’s. The cited testimony thus supports a historically specific contrast: subordination and recognized standing could coexist, and neither should be mistaken for a timeless biological destiny.