In George Sand, Samuel Edwards tell of the remarkable life of the 19th century novelist from the time of her birth on July 1, 1804 in Paris to the time of her death, on June 8, 1876 in Nohant. Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, the person we know as George Sand, was born on July 1, 1804, in Paris. Her parents were an unlikely couple: nobility on her father's side and gypsies on her mother's side. Her paternal great-grandfather, Maurice de Saxe, was the illegitimate son of, Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland, and a distant cousin of several Kings of France: Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X. He became a Marshal of France. Although he accumulated a huge fortune, none of it was inherited by his second daughter, Aurore, who was George Sand's grandmother. Aurore was married as a child and became a widow at age 15. She was sent to a convent for more than ten years; she was rescued from the convent by her mother and an old family friend, a M. du Pin de Francueil. They married, even though he was more than twice her age. The couple “…fell blissfully in love…” and had a son, Maurice, who was Geroge Sand's father. They lived on du Pin's spacious estate, Nohant, in the province of Berry. George Sand was to spend much of her life there, dying there on 8 June 1876.
Click here to see the rest of this review...
By the time the French Revolution erupted in 1789, old M. du Pin was dead; his widow changed the family name to Dupin.
After the revolution, Maurice enlisted as a private in the army. His natural abilities and hard work resulted in several promotions, and George Sand's father finally became aide-de-camp to a general serving in Italy. He became infatuated with the general's mistress; since, it is said, the general was growing tired of her, she was happy to have a new protector.
The woman in question, Antoinette-Sophie-Victoire Delaborde, was not only a commoner, but was said to have descended from gypsies, to have had an illegitimate daughter named Caroline, and to have known “poverty, privation, and suffering most of her life”. She grew up in the slums of Paris where her father was a bird-seller on the bridges of the Seine. Nonetheless, he had dreams for his daughter, and Sophie, as she was called, learned to read and write.
Although Mme. Dupin was violently opposed to the match, the couple was married, first in a civil ceremony and, then, in the local church at Nohant. The couple moved to Paris where Maurice was a major in the Elite Guards of Napoleon. On July 1, 1804, Amantine Lucile Aurore [George Sand] was born in a small flat in Paris. Some time later, Maurice, Sophie and Aurore were in Nohant, having gone there because Sophie was ill. Maurice rode a new stallion while hunting; the horse threw, and then, trampled him, killing him. The strain between the two Dupin women was so great that Sophie took her daughter back to Paris where they lived with Sophie's other daughter Caroline. However finances were so tight, that the elder Mme. Dupin sent for her granddaughter, and Aurore was brought to Nohant. It was here that she developed the love of the countryside that informed many of her novels, including the “pastoral novels.”
Mme. Dupin had been properly raised and provided an excellent education for her granddaughter. Aurore spent long hours studying mathematics, literature and foreign languages. Soon, she could read, write and speak English, Spanish, Italian, German and Latin. The parish priest supervised her religious education and “…her grandmother personally supervised the task of transforming her into a lady.” When Aurore was 14, her grandmother sent her to the Convent of the Dames Anglaises in Paris. Aurore thought that she would see her beloved mother, who lived in Paris, but Sophie had lost all interest in her. It is said that this maternal neglect resulted, later in life, in Aurore's choosing lovers who were needy in one or more ways and in her extremely maternal behavior to them.
When Aurore was 17, Mme. Dupin was dying, and sent for her to return to Nohant; she died on Christmas Day 1821. Some time later, while dining with friends, Aurore met Casimir Dudevant, the natural [although illegitimate] son of a baron whose title and estate he would some day inherit, since there were no other heirs. However, he had very little money at the time, so the heiress of Nohant was very attractive to him. Aurore and Casimir were married in 1822. Aurore had two children Maurice [1823] and Solange [1828] although it was said that Solange was not Casimir's child.
The first few years of their marriage were not unhappy. However, Aurore tired of Casimir who she felt was insensitive, and could not share her love of literature. In 1831 she moved to Paris, where she was active in the literary scene. Her first works were written with Jules Sandeau, under the pseudonym Jules Sand. Later, when she realized that she was doing much more of the writing than he, she published on her own [her first independent work was Indiana], creating the author George Sand. She was extremely prolific and hard working, setting herself a quota of 15 – 20 pages every day. Her collection of work includes, in addition to novels, plays, memoirs, essays, political treatises and a collection of short stories for her grandchildren.
It is said that her political views were, often, not well thought out and were, sometimes, contradictory. Two constants in her writing were her concern for the poor and equality for women in political, economic, and family affairs.
She had a series of lovers, many of whom were younger and less physically healthy than she. One of her most famous was Frederic Chopin, with whom she lived for nine years; during this she nursed him through many severe episodes of consumption. Rumors that she was a man-eater and dominated these men are, apparently, not supported by their correspondence.
George Sand died at Nohant on June 8, 1876, at 71 years of age.
Best part of story, including ending:
I Liked the book because it is very well-written, scrupulously researched, and seems to be fair to all parties, even when the parties, themselves, were not fair to each other.
Best scene in story:
My favorite scene about George Sand describes the reasons that she started to wear men's clothing, including trousers, namely, so that she could go to the theater, cheaply, with her men friends. In Paris at the time, women were not permitted to occupy the inexpensive parts of the theater, on the main level. It was felt that the men were boisterous, and that was no place for women. Women had to occupy the upper seats which were much more expensive.
Opinion about the main character:
I like George Sand because she was very courageous and extremely hard working. She set herself a quota of the number of pages she would write every day, and she always filled her quota. I was also moved by her complete loyalty to her children and her friends.
