In The Second Sex, French philosopher, Simone de Beauvoir, explained oppression of woman with the phrase, “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.” (Beauvoir 293). The weight of this socially constructed identity on women's lives is enormous and penetrates all aspects of her being- social, economic, spiritual and physical. In her masterful analysis of the condition of women, Beauvoir illustrates the way that women throughout history have been seen as the other, a lesser being always in comparison to the stronger, more powerful (in every way) male human being. A woman's dependence on a male figure for her subsistence has made her weak and powerless. Beauvoir and many other men and women realized that only by gaining independence through work and the fruits of a woman's own efforts will she be free.