A leading exponent of French existentialism, her work complements, though it is independent of, that of her great friend Jean-Paul Sartre. In "The Ethics of Ambiguity," Madame de Beauvoir penetrates at once to the core ethical problems of modern man: what shall he do, how shall he go about making values, in the face of this awareness of the absurdity of his existence? She forces the reader to face the absurdity of the human condition, and then, having done so, proceeds to develop a dialectic of ambiguity which will enable him not to master the chaos, but to create with it.

    A doctor, red-headed, brilliant, handsome. A nurse, fair-skinned, soft-eyed, beautiful. And Wednesday was a good day for a wedding. Today was Wednesday.But today these two young lovers are a thousand miles apart. There will be no wedding. Because, you see, somebody has stuck a label on the girl - the label, "Negro"."Quality" is the stirring story of a Negro girl, who once passed for white, who chose honor above passion, and found glory in her struggle for a greater life, a greater love.[Filmed as "Pinky" in 1949 by 20th Century Fox]