GEORGE SAND

'Amantine Aurore Lucile Dupin, Baronne Dudevant' (July 1, 1804 – June 8, 1876), best known by her pseudonym 'George Sand', was a French novelist and feminist.

Contents

Early life and family

Contemporary perception

Relationships

Writing career

Death

Works

Novels

Plays

Legacy

In literature

In music, film and television

References

Notes

General references

See also

External links

Early life and family

Sand's father was of aristocratic lineage (a granddaughter of Maurice, comte de Saxe and a distant relative of Louis XVI); her mother was a commoner. Sand was born in Paris but raised for much of her childhood by her grandmother at the family estate, Nohant, in the French region of Berry. She later used the setting in many of her novels. In 1822 she married Baron M. Casimir Dudevant (1795–1871), and they had two children: Maurice (1823–1889) and Solange (1828–1899). In 1835 Sand was legally separated from her husband, which prompted her lifelong search for true liberty and independence.

Contemporary perception

Her reputation was questioned when she began sporting menswear in public, the clothes being far sturdier and less expensive than a noble woman's dress. Also, she was one of the few female pipe smokers of her time. This male "disguise" also enabled Sand to circulate more freely about Paris, and gave her increased access to venues that might have been denied to a woman of her social standing. This was an exceptional practice for the 19th century, where social codes—especially in the upper class—were of the highest importance.
As a consequence Sand lost many of the privileges attached to being a Baroness. Ironically, the mores of this period allowed women of higher classes to live physically separated from their husbands ''without'' losing face, provided they did not show any blatant irregularity to the outer world.
The poet Charles Baudelaire is one example of a contemporary critic of George Sand: "She is stupid, heavy and garrulous. Her ideas on morals have the same depth of judgment and delicacy of feeling as those of janitresses and kept women... The fact that there are men who could become enamoured of this slut is indeed a proof of the abasement of the men of this generation." My Heart Laid Bare, , Charles, Baudelaire, Haskell House, 1975,

Relationships

She was linked romantically with Alfred de Musset (summer 1833-March 1834), Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin (1837-1847). Later in life, she corresponded with Gustave Flaubert; despite their obvious differences in temperament and aesthetic preference, they eventually became close friends.
She was engaged in an intimate friendship with actress Marie Dorval, which led to widespread but unconfirmed rumors of a lesbian affair. ^[1]
In Majorca one can still visit the (then abandoned) Carthusian monastery of Valldemossa, where she spent the winter of 1838–39 with Frédéric Chopin and her children. ^[2] This trip to Mallorca was described by her in ''Un Hiver à Majorque'' ("A Winter in Mallorca"), published in 1855.
She left Chopin shortly before he died from tuberculosis.

Writing career

Her first published novel, ''Rose et Blanche'' (1831) was written in collaboration with Jules Sandeau, from whom she allegedly took her pen name, Sand.
Drawing from her childhood experiences of the countryside, she wrote the rural novels ''La Mare au Diable'' (1846), ''François le Champi'' (1847–1848), ''La Petite Fadette'' (1849), and ''Les Beaux Messieurs Bois-Doré'' (1857).
Her other novels include ''Indiana'' (1832), ''Lélia'' (1833), ''Mauprat'' (1837), ''Le Compagnon du Tour de France'' (1840), ''Consuelo'' (1842–1843), and ''Le Meunier d'Angibault'' (1845).
Further theatre pieces and autobiographical pieces include ''Histoire de ma vie'' (1855), ''Elle et Lui'' (1859) (about her affair with Musset), ''Journal Intime'' (posthumously published in 1926), and ''Correspondence''. Sand often performed her theatrical works in her small private theatre at the Nohant estate.
In addition, Sand authored literary criticism and political texts. Her most widely used quote being, "There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved."
She was known well in far reaches of the world, and her social practices, her writings and her beliefs prompted much commentary, often by other luminaries in the world of arts & letters. A few excerpts demonstrate much of what was often said about George Sand:
:"She was a thinking bosom and one who overpowered her young lovers, all Sybil — a Romantic."
::V.S. Pritchett (writer)
:"What a brave man she was, and what a good woman."
::Ivan Turgenev (novelist)
:"The most womanly woman."
::Alfred de Musset (poet)

Death

George Sand died at Nohant, near Châteauroux, in the Indre ''département'' of France on June 8, 1876 at the age of 72 and was buried in the grounds of her home there. In 2004, controversial plans were suggested to move her remains to the Panthéon in Paris.

Works

★ ''Voyage En Auvergne'' (1827, Autobiographical sketch)

★ ''Compagnon Du Tour De France'' (1840)

★ ''La Petite Fadette'' (1848)

★ ''Chateau Des Désertes'' (1850)

★ ''Histoire De Ma Vie'' (1855, Autobiography up to the revolution of 1848)

Novels

★ ''Indiana'' (1831)

★ ''Rose Et Blanche'' (1831, with Jules Sandeau)

★ ''Lélia'' (1833)

★ ''Andrea'' (1833)

★ ''Mattea'' (1833)

★ ''Jacques'' (1833)

★ ''Kourroglou| Epopee Persane'' (1833)

★ ''Leone Leoni'' (1833)

★ ''Simon'' (1835)

★ ''Mauprat'' (1837)

★ ''les Maîtres Mosaïtes'' (1837)

★ ''l'Oreo'' (1838)

★ ''l'Uscoque'' (1838)

★ ''Un Hiver À Majorque'' (1839)

★ ''Pauline'' (1839)

★ ''Gabriel-Gabrielle'' (1839)

★ ''Horace'' (1840)

★ ''Consuelo'' (1842)

★ ''la Comtesse De Rudolstady'' (1843, a sequel to Consuelo)

★ ''Jeanne'' (1844)

★ ''Teverino'' (1845)

★ ''Pêche de M Antoine'' (1845)

★ ''Le Meunier D'Angibault'' (1845)

★ ''La Mare Au Diable'' (1846)

★ ''Lucrezia Floriani'' (1846)

★ ''François Le Champi'' (1847)

★ ''Les Maîtres Sonneurs'' (1853)

★ ''La Daniella'' (1857)

★ ''Elle Et Lui'' (1859)

★ ''Jean De La Roche'' (1859)

★ ''L'Homme De Neige'' (1859)

★ ''La ville Noire'' (1860)

★ ''Marquis De Villemer'' (1860)

★ ''Mademoiselle La Quintinie'' (1863)

★ ''Laura, Voyage Dans Le Cristal'' (1864)

★ ''Le Dernier Amour'' (1866, dedicated to Flaubert)

Plays

★ ''François Le Champi'' (1849)

★ ''Claudie'' (1851)

★ ''Le Mariage De Victorine'' (1851)

★ ''Le Pressoir'' (1853, Play)

★ French Adaptation of ''As You Like It'' (1856)

★ ''Le Marquis De Villemer'' (1864)

★ ''L'Autre'' (1870, with Sarah Bernhardt)

Legacy

In literature

Frequent literary references to George Sand can be found in "Possession," by A.S. Byatt. The great American poet Walt Whitman cited her novel ''Consuelo'' as a personal favorite and the sequel to this novel ''La Comtesse De Rudolstady'' contains a at least a couple of passages that appears to have had a very direct influence on him. Elizabeth Barrett BRowning (1806-1861), English poet, produced two poems entitled " To George Sand: A Desire" and "To George Sand: A Recognition."

In music, film and television

★ '' A Song to Remember'' (1945), directed by Charles Vidor, starring Cornel Wilde as Chopin and Merle Oberon as George Sand.

★ ''Notorious Woman'' (1974), a 7-part BBC miniseries starring Rosemary Harris as George Sand and George Chakiris as Chopin.

★ In 1976, the band Ambrosia recorded the song "Danse With Me, George (Chopin's Plea)", based on Sand and Chopin's romance. It appeared on Ambrosia's Album "Somewhere I've Never Travelled."

★ ''Impromptu'' (1991), starring Judy Davis as George Sand and Hugh Grant as Chopin.

★ ''Les Enfants du siècle'' (1999), starring Juliette Binoche as George Sand and Benoît Magimel as Alfred de Musset

★ '' (2002), directed by Jerzy Antczak starring Danuta Stenka as George Sand and Piotr Adamczyk as Chopin.

★ In 2007, Céline Dion recorded a song based on a love letter sent from George Sand to Alfred de Musset for her album ''D'Elles''.

References

Notes

1. [1]
2.

General references

★ ''Correspondence'' (letters) by George Sand and her contemporaries (see "Writings by George Sand" link below — some of these letters are available in English translation); Autobiographical writings as mentioned above (several of these also available from Gutenberg website).

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★ In French:

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★ ''Dictionnaire Encyclopédique de la Langue Française'' 3ième édition

See also

★ Gustave Flaubert, by whom she was befriended, leading to an intimate correspondence.

★ Saint-Benoît-du-Sault

External links

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★ Works by George Sand at Internet Archive

★ The International Foundation Can Mossenya Friends of Jorge Luis Borges, celebrating the ethic and critical spirit of George Sand in Majorca