When Things of the Spirit Come First

When Things of the Spirit Come First is Simone de Beauvoir's first work of fiction.

"Lisa" is the third and shortest story, about a girl who struggles to live a spiritual life while existing in a physical body.

"Anne", the fourth story, is the result of many of de Beauvoir's earlier attempts at writing.

It parallels the story of her friend Elizabeth Mabille (Zaza) who died soon after her mother refused to allow her to marry Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

The final story, "Marguerite" expresses the existential views that de Beauvoir herself believed that life itself should be experienced and one should "look things straight in the face, without accepting oracles or ready-made values.