1804-1876
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin was a French novelist who wrote under the pseudonym of George Sand. Living during the general civil unrest of the 1800s, she took part in the socio-political movements of Europe, and expressed her views through her many literary works. Sand was the daughter of an aristocratic bastard and a prostitute. This put her in an interesting position: she received an aristocratic level education, thanks to her father, but was disposed to fight for equality for all people, thanks to her mother (What A Woman 72). Among many other things, Sand was a socialist, feminist, and romantic.
Sand, the socialist, had a clear view of what society should look like and expressed it in her novels (Moses 423). Sand’s works often depict characters of different social rankings coming together in love for one another; they effectively abandon, or ignore, the imposed social hierarchy and try to pursue a life of community (Beyer, Kluck 206). For example, in her novel La Ville Noir, Sand explores the hardship of the working class, the challenges of romantic love, and the “dehumanizing” consequences created when compromising between the two (White 703). Her novels’ influence were far reaching; from USA and England to Russia and Hispanoamerica (Beyer, Kluck 206). She inspired many other writers from all areas of the world, such as Turgenev, Barry, Fuller, and Avellaneda, to write and disseminate socialist views (Beyer, Kluck 206). In addition, Sand supported change, but not top-down reforms. Instead, she believed the general masses would overcome inequalities of all kinds and evolve into a better and just society (Walton 1009).
Sand, the feminist, was not afraid to stand for what women deserved, but was also tactful in what items she pushed for. She was realistic. This meant she sometimes went against the mainstream feminist movement (Moses 423). Sand opposed mainstream liberal feminism, as she stated, “women should change popular attitudes through rational persuasion and gradual reforms before engaging in political activism,” (Walton 1014). For example, she championed equality in marriage, but not divorce; advocated female political involvement, but not women’s suffrage – she understood that conditions were not right and that society was not ready for such radical changes (Moses 423). She was criticized heavily for most of her stances; but she did set achievable and sensible goals for women to strive towards. For example, in the 1848 Revolutions, Sand, alongside many others, fought for the “ability for women to sustain their families through waged as well as household labour…not in suffrage, but in women’s capacity to act as both producers and consumers under just and equitable conditions,” (DeGroat 399). Furthermore, in her novels she demonized the oppressive patriarchy by showing how it harmed and limited both her female and male characters (Beyer, Kluck 206). Likewise, Sand riskily challenged gender norms imposed on her by cross-dressing, smoking cigars, having multiple love affairs, and even by choosing George Sand as her pseudonym (What A Woman 72).
Sand, the romantic, countered “masculinist romanticism” and offered the female meaning of romanticism. For men, melancholy poetry, culture, and nature were at the forefront of romanticism. For Sand, however, as for many other female romantics, romanticism was a way to abandon the self “through historical, political, and spiritual efforts” and work to unite the people (Zonana 176). Whereas male romanticism focused on admiration of grand concepts, female romanticism tended to be more individual in scope – more direct and action based (Dale 83). Novels were at the forefront of female romanticism. With her plots and characters, Sand explored social issues through a “female sensibility” (Zonana 177). She held deeply humanistic beliefs that promoted solidarity, progress, and which discouraged violence; she believed in acting for her cause (Grossman 20). Moreover, in her novel La Petite Fadette, Sand explores her “ideal community” by asserting the ideal person: one with “a quick mind and a tender heart”; a person who accepts and exhibits the best aspects inherent to men and women (Grossman 25). Similarly, she was attracted to the “universal religion” proclaimed by two French priests which promoted human progress and unity, she made efforts to politicize it, and was also opposed to religious persecution (Dale 82). Further, she believed artists had a mission to guide humanity towards new heights; thus, making them some of the most crucial members of society (Dale 98). Art, which expresses truth and emotion, and inspires change, was the most powerful tool for Sand, one which she evidently took advantage of.
Sadly, with the failure of the 1848 revolutions and the realization that her ideal society would not come to pass, Sand, became more conservative and was less involved in the socio-political movements of the day (Moses 424). Her notoriety and infamy made her works more widespread; but today, her scandalous life is more well known than her literary contributions or her impact on social movements (What A Woman 72). Even so, she was a source of great inspiration for many, both within France and on a global scale.
Salomé Rodríguez Solarte
Works Cited
Beyer, Sandra and Frederick Kluck. “George Sand and Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda”.
Nineteenth-Century French Studies 19.2. (1991): 203-209. Web.
Dale, Catherine. “The Mirror of Romanticism: Images of Music, Religion and Art Criticism in
George Sand’s Eleventh ‘Lettre d’un Voyageur’ to Giacomo Meyerbeer,” The Romantic Review 87.1 (1996): 83-108. Web.
DeGroat, Judith. “Working-Class Women and Republicanism in the French Revolution of 1848,”
History of European Ideas 38.3 (2012): 399-407. Web.
Grossman, Kathryn. “The Ideal Community of George Sand’s La Petite Fadette,” Utopian
Studies 6.1. (1995): 19-29. Web.
Moses, Claire. “Eve’s Proud Descendants” The Journal of Modern History 75.2.
(2003): 422-424. Web.
Walton, Whitney. “Writing the 1848 Revolution: Politics, Gender, and Feminism in the Works
of French Women of Letters,” French Historical Studies 18.4. (1994): 1001-1024. Web.
“What A Woman; George Sand,” The Economist 372.8386 (2004): 72-73. Web.
White, Claire. “Labour of Love: George Sand’s La Ville Noire and Emile Zola’s Travail,” The
Modern Language Review 106.3. (2011): 697-708. Web.
Zonana, Joyce. “Tracing Women’s Romanticism.” Tulsa’s Studies in Women’s Literature 27.1.
(2008): 176-177. Web.
Other Relevant Reading
Barry, Joseph. “Infamous Woman: The Life of George Sand,” Our Image (n.a.) (1977): 19. Web.
Brown, Penny. “The Reception of George Sand in Spain,” Comparative Literature Studies 25.3.
(1988): 203-224. Web.
Mitzman, Arthur. “Michelet and Social Romanticism: Religion, Revolution, Mature,” Journal Of
the History of Ideas 57.4 (1996): 659-682. Web.
Richards, L.F Sylvie. “Finding Her Own Voice: George Sand’s Autobiography,” Women’s
Studies An Interdisciplinary Journal 22. (1993): 137-144. Web.
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