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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:14:25 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 05:14:25 -0700 |
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diff --git a/138-h/138-h.htm b/138-h/138-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e5d33f --- /dev/null +++ b/138-h/138-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,7277 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + George Sand, by Rene Doumic + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 138 ***</div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + GEORGE SAND + </h1> + <h2> + Some Aspects of Her Life and Writings + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Rene Doumic + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + Translated by Alys Hallard + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h4> + First published in 1910. <br /> <br /><br /> This volume is dedicated to + Madame L. Landouzy <br /> with gratitude and affection + </h4> + <p> + This book is not intended as a study of George Sand. It is merely a series + of chapters touching on various aspects of her life and writings. My work + will not be lost if the perusal of these pages should inspire one of the + historians of our literature with the idea of devoting to the great + novelist, to her genius and her influence, a work of this kind. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> I </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> + II </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> III </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0006"> IV </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> V + </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0008"> VI </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0009"> VII </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0010"> + VIII </a><br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0011"> IX </a><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0012"> X </a> + </td> + <td> + AURORE DUPIN <br /><br /> BARONNE DUDEVANT <br /><br /> A FEMINIST OF 1832 + <br /><br /> THE ROMANTIC ESCAPADE <br /><br /> THE FRIEND OF MICHEL (DE + BOURGES) <br /><br /> A CASE OF MATERNAL AFFECTION IN LOVE <br /><br /> + THE HUMANITARIAN DREAM <br /><br /> 1848 <br /><br /> THE 'BONNE DAME' OF + NOHANT <br /><br /> THE GENIUS OF THE WRITER + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + GEORGE SAND + </h1> + <p> + <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I + </h2> + <h3> + AURORE DUPIN + </h3> + <p> + PSYCHOLOGY OF A DAUGHTER OF ROUSSEAU + </p> + <p> + In the whole of French literary history, there is, perhaps, no subject of + such inexhaustible and modern interest as that of George Sand. Of what use + is literary history? It is not only a kind of museum, in which a few + masterpieces are preserved for the pleasure of beholders. It is this + certainly, but it is still more than this. Fine books are, before anything + else, living works. They not only have lived, but they continue to live. + They live within us, underneath those ideas which form our conscience and + those sentiments which inspire our actions. There is nothing of greater + importance for any society than to make an inventory of the ideas and the + sentiments which are composing its moral atmosphere every instant that it + exists. For every individual this work is the very condition of his + dignity. The question is, should we have these ideas and these sentiments, + if, in the times before us, there had not been some exceptional + individuals who seized them, as it were, in the air and made them viable + and durable? These exceptional individuals were capable of thinking more + vigorously, of feeling more deeply, and of expressing themselves more + forcibly than we are. They bequeathed these ideas and sentiments to us. + Literary history is, then, above and beyond all things, the perpetual + examination of the conscience of humanity. + </p> + <p> + There is no need for me to repeat what every one knows, the fact that our + epoch is extremely complex, agitated and disturbed. In the midst of this + labyrinth in which we are feeling our way with such difficulty, who does + not look back regretfully to the days when life was more simple, when it + was possible to walk towards a goal, mysterious and unknown though it + might be, by straight paths and royal routes? + </p> + <p> + George Sand wrote for nearly half a century. For fifty times three hundred + and sixty-five days, she never let a day pass by without covering more + pages than other writers in a month. Her first books shocked people, her + early opinions were greeted with storms. From that time forth she rushed + head-long into everything new, she welcomed every chimera and passed it on + to us with more force and passion in it. Vibrating with every breath, + electrified by every storm, she looked up at every cloud behind which she + fancied she saw a star shining. The work of another novelist has been + called a repertory of human documents. But what a repertory of ideas her + work was! She has said what she had to say on nearly every subject; on + love, the family, social institutions and on the various forms of + government. And with all this she was a woman. Her case is almost unique + in the history of letters. It is intensely interesting to study the + influence of this woman of genius on the evolution of modern thought. + </p> + <p> + I shall endeavour to approach my subject conscientiously and with all due + respect. I shall study biography where it is indispensable for the + complete understanding of works. I shall give a sketch of the original + individuals I meet on my path, portraying these only at their point of + contact with the life of our authoress, and it seems to me that a gallery + in which we see Sandeau, Sainte-Beuve, Musset, Michel (of Bourges), Liszt, + Chopin, Lamennais, Pierre Leroux, Dumas <i>fils</i>, Flaubert and many, + many others is an incomparable portrait gallery. I shall not attack + persons, but I shall discuss ideas and, when necessary, dispute them + energetically. We shall, I hope, during our voyage, see many perspectives + open out before us. + </p> + <p> + I have, of course, made use of all the works devoted to George Sand which + were of any value for my study, and among others of the two volumes + published, under the name of Wladimir Karenine,(1) by a woman belonging to + Russian aristocratic society. For the period before 1840, this is the most + complete work that has been written. M. Samuel Rocheblave, a clever + University professor and the man who knows more than any one about the + life and works of George Sand, has been my guide and has helped me greatly + with his wise advice. Private collections of documents have also been + placed at my service most generously. I am therefore able to supply some + hitherto unpublished writings. George Sand published, in all, about a + hundred volumes of novels and stories, four volumes of autobiography, and + six of correspondence. In spite of all this we are still asked for fresh + documents. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (1) WLADIMIR KARENINE: <i>George Sand, Sa vie et ses + oeuvres.</i> 2 Vols. Ollendorf. +</pre> + <p> + It is interesting, as a preliminary study, to note the natural gifts, and + the first impressions of Aurore Dupin as a child and young girl, and to + see how these predetermined the woman and the writer known to us as George + Sand. + </p> + <p> + Lucile-Amandine-Aurore Dupin, legitimate daughter of Maurice Dupin and of + Sophie-Victoire Delaborde, was born in Paris, at 15 Rue Meslay, in the + neighbourhood of the Temple, on the 1st of July, 1804. I would call + attention at once to the special phenomenon which explains the problem of + her destiny: I mean by this her heredity, or rather the radical and + violent contrast of her maternal and paternal heredity. + </p> + <p> + By her father she was an aristocrat and related to the reigning houses. + </p> + <p> + Her ancestor was the King of Poland, Augustus II, the lover of the + beautiful Countess Aurora von Koenigsmarck. George Sand's grandfather was + Maurice de Saxe. He may have been an adventurer and a <i>condottiere</i>, + but France owes to him Fontenoy, that brilliant page of her history. All + this takes us back to the eighteenth century with its brilliant, gallant, + frivolous, artistic and profligate episodes. Maurice de Saxe adored the + theatre, either for itself or for the sake of the women connected with it. + On his campaign, he took with him a theatrical company which gave a + representation the evening before a battle. In this company was a young + artiste named Mlle. de Verrieres whose father was a certain M. Rinteau. + Maurice de Saxe admired the young actress and a daughter was born of this + <i>liaison</i>, who was later on recognized by her father and named + Marie-Aurore de Saxe. This was George Sand's grandmother. At the age of + fifteen the young girl married Comte de Horn, a bastard son of Louis XV. + This husband was obliging enough to his wife, who was only his wife in + name, to die as soon as possible. She then returned to her mother "the + Opera lady." An elderly nobleman, Dupin de Francueil, who had been the + lover of the other Mlle. Verrieres, now fell in love with her and married + her. Their son, Maurice Dupin, was the father of our novelist. The + astonishing part of this series of adventures is that Marie-Aurore should + have been the eminently respectable woman that she was. On her mother's + side, though, Aurore Dupin belonged to the people. She was the daughter of + Sophie-Victoire Delaborde milliner, the grandchild of a certain + bird-seller on the Quai des Oiseaux, who used to keep a public-house, and + she was the great-granddaughter of Mere Cloquart. + </p> + <p> + This double heredity was personified in the two women who shared George + Sand's childish affection. We must therefore study the portraits of these + two women. + </p> + <p> + The grandmother was, if not a typical <i>grande dame</i>, at least a + typical elegant woman of the latter half of the eighteenth century. She + was very well educated and refined, thanks to living with the two sisters, + Mlles. Verrieres, who were accustomed to the best society. She was a good + musician and sang delightfully. When she married Dupin de Francueil, her + husband was sixty-two, just double her age. But, as she used to say to her + granddaughter, "no one was ever old in those days. It was the Revolution + that brought old age into the world." + </p> + <p> + Dupin was a very agreeable man. When younger he had been <i>too</i> + agreeable, but now he was just sufficiently so to make his wife very + happy. He was very lavish in his expenditure and lived like a prince, so + that he left Marie-Aurore ruined and poor with about three thousand a + year. She was imbued with the ideas of the philosophers and an enemy of + the Queen's <i>coterie</i>. She was by no means alarmed at the Revolution + and was very soon taken prisoner. She was arrested on the 26th of + November, 1793, and incarcerated in the <i>Couvent des Anglaises</i>, Rue + des Fosse's-Saint-Victor, which had been converted into a detention house. + On leaving prison she settled down at Nohant, an estate she had recently + bought. It was there that her granddaughter remembered her in her early + days. She describes her as tall, slender, fair and always very calm. At + Nohant she had only her maids and her books for company. When in Paris, + she delighted in the society of people of her own station and of her time, + people who had the ideas and airs of former days. She continued, in this + new century, the shades of thought and the manners and Customs of the old + <i>regime.</i> + </p> + <p> + As a set-off to this woman of race and of culture, Aurore's mother + represented the ordinary type of the woman of the people. She was small, + dark, fiery and violent. She, too, the bird-seller's daughter, had been + imprisoned by the Revolution, and strangely enough in the <i>Couvent des + Anglaises</i> at about the same time as Maurice de Saxe's granddaughter. + It was in this way that the fusion of classes was understood under the + Terror. She was employed as a <i>figurante</i> in a small theatre. This + was merely a commencement for her career. At the time when Maurice Dupin + met her, she was the mistress of an old general. She already had one child + of doubtful parentage. Maurice Dupin, too, had a natural son, named + Hippolyte, so that they could not reproach each other. When Maurice Dupin + married Sophie-Victoire, a month before the birth of Aurore, he had some + difficulty in obtaining his mother's consent. She finally gave in, as she + was of an indulgent nature. It is possible that Sophie-Victoire's conduct + was irreproachable during her husband's lifetime, but, after his death, + she returned to her former ways. She was nevertheless of religious habits + and would not, upon any account, have missed attending Mass. She was + quick-tempered, jealous and noisy and, when anything annoyed her, + extremely hot-headed. At such times she would shout and storm, so that the + only way to silence her was to shout still more loudly. She never bore any + malice, though, and wished no harm to those she had insulted. She was of + course sentimental, but more passionate than tender, and she quickly + forgot those whom she had loved most fondly. There seemed to be gaps in + her memory and also in her conscience. She was ignorant, knowing nothing + either of literature or of the usages of society. Her <i>salon</i> was the + landing of her flat and her acquaintances were the neighbours who happened + to live next door to her. It is easy to imagine what she thought of the + aristocrats who visited her mother-in-law. She was amusing when she joked + and made parodies on the women she styled "the old Countesses." She had a + great deal of natural wit, a liveliness peculiar to the native of the + faubourgs, all the impudence of the street arab, and a veritable talent of + mimicry. She was a good housewife, active, industrious and most clever in + turning everything to account. With a mere nothing she could improvise a + dress or a hat and give it a certain style. She was always most skilful + with her fingers, a typical Parisian work-girl, a daughter of the street + and a child of the people. In our times she would be styled "a midinette." + </p> + <p> + Such are the two women who shared the affection of Aurore Dupin. Fate had + brought them together, but had made them so unlike that they were bound to + dislike each other. The childhood of little Aurore served as the lists for + their contentions. Their rivalry was the dominating note in the + sentimental education of the child. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> +As long as Maurice Dupin lived, Aurore was always with her parents in +their little Parisian dwelling. Maurice Dupin was a brilliant officer, +and very brave and jovial. In 1808, Aurore went to him in Madrid, where +he was Murat's <i>aide-de-camp</i>. She lived in the palace of the Prince +of Peace, that vast palace which Murat filled with the splendour of his +costumes and the groans caused by his suffering. Like Victor Hugo, +who went to the same place at about the same time and under similar +conditions, Aurore may have brought back with her: + + <i>de ses courses lointaines</i> + <i>Comme un vaguefaisceau de lueurs incertaines.</i> +</pre> + <p> + This does not seem probable, though. The return was painful, as they came + back worried and ill, and were glad to take refuge at Nohant. They were + just beginning to organize their life when Maurice Dupin died suddenly, + from an accident when riding, leaving his mother and his wife together. + </p> + <p> + From this time forth, Aurore was more often with her grandmother at Nohant + than with her mother in Paris. Her grandmother undertook the care of her + education. Her half-brother, Hippolyte Chatiron, and she received lessons + from M. Deschartres, who had educated Maurice Dupin. He was steward and + tutor combined, a very authoritative man, arrogant and a great pedant. He + was affectionate, though, and extremely devoted. He was both detestable + and touching at the same time, and had a warm heart hidden under a rough + exterior. Nohant was in the heart of Berry, and this meant the country and + Nature. For Aurore Dupin Nature proved to be an incomparable educator. + </p> + <p> + There was only one marked trait in the child's character up to this date, + and that was a great tendency to reverie. For long hours she would remain + alone, motionless, gazing into space. People were anxious about her when + they saw her looking so <i>stupid</i>, but her mother invariably said: "Do + not be alarmed. She is always ruminating about something." Country life, + while providing her with fresh air and plenty of exercise, so that her + health was magnificent, gave fresh food and another turn to her reveries. + Ten years earlier Alphonse de Lamartine had been sent to the country at + Milly, and allowed to frequent the little peasant children of the place. + Aurore Dupin's existence was now very much the same as that of Lamartine. + Nohant is situated in the centre of the Black Valley. The ground is dark + and rich; there are narrow, shady paths. It is not a hilly country, and + there are wide, peaceful horizons. At all hours of the day and at all + seasons of the year, Aurore wandered along the Berry roads with her little + playfellows, the farmers' children. There was Marie who tended the flock, + Solange who collected leaves, and Liset and Plaisir who minded the pigs. + She always knew in what meadow or in what place she would find them. She + played with them amongst the hay, climbed the trees and dabbled in the + water. She minded the flock with them, and in winter, when the herdsmen + talked together, assembled round their fire, she listened to their + wonderful stories. These credulous country children had "seen with their + own eyes" Georgeon, the evil spirit of the Black Valley. They had also + seen will-o'-the-wisps, ghosts, the "white greyhound" and the "Big Beast"! + In the evenings, she sat up listening to the stories told by the + hemp-weaver. Her fresh young soul was thus impregnated at an early age + with the poetry of the country. And it was all the poetry of the country, + that which comes from things, such as the freshness of the air and the + perfume of the flowers, but also that which is to be found in the + simplicity of sentiments and in that candour and surprise face to face + with those sights of Nature which have remained the same and have been + just as incomprehensible ever since the beginning of the world. + </p> + <p> + The antagonism of the two mothers increased, though. We will not go into + detail with regard to the various episodes, but will only consider the + consequences. + </p> + <p> + The first consequence was that the intelligence of the child became more + keen through this duality. Placed as she was, in these two different + worlds, between two persons with minds so unlike, and, obliged as she was + to go from one to the other, she learnt to understand and appreciate them + both, contrasts though they were. She had soon reckoned each of them up, + and she saw their weaknesses, their faults, their merits and their + advantages. + </p> + <p> + A second consequence was to increase her sensitiveness. Each time that she + left her mother, the separation was heartrending. When she was absent from + her, she suffered on account of this absence, and still more because she + fancied that she would be forgotten. She loved her mother, just as she + was, and the idea that any one was hostile or despised her caused the + child much silent suffering. It was as though she had an ever-open wound. + </p> + <p> + Another consequence, and by no means the least important one, was to + determine in a certain sense the immense power of sympathy within her. For + a long time she only felt a sort of awe, when with her reserved and + ceremonious grandmother. She felt nearer to her mother, as there was no + need to be on ceremony with her. She took a dislike to all those who + represented authority, rules and the tyranny of custom. She considered her + mother and herself as oppressed individuals. A love for the people sprang + up in the heart of the daughter of Sophie-Victoire. She belonged to them + through her mother, and she was drawn to them now through the humiliations + she underwent. In this little enemy of reverences and of society people, + we see the dawn of that instinct which, later on, was to cause her to + revolt openly. George Sand was quite right in saying, later on, that it + was of no use seeking any intellectual reason as the explanation of her + social preferences. Everything in her was due to sentiment. Her socialism + was entirely the outcome of her suffering and torments as a child. + </p> + <p> + Things had to come to a crisis, and the crisis was atrocious. George Sand + gives an account of the tragic scene in her <i>Histoire de ma vie</i>. Her + grandmother had already had one attack of paralysis. She was anxious about + Aurore's future, and wished to keep her from the influence of her mother. + She therefore decided to employ violent means to this end. She sent for + the child to her bedside, and, almost beside herself, in a choking voice, + she revealed to her all that she ought to have concealed. She told her of + Sophie-Victoire's past, she uttered the fatal word and spoke of the + child's mother as a lost woman. With Aurore's extreme sensitiveness, it + was horrible to receive such confidences at the age of thirteen. Thirty + years later, George Sand describes the anguish of the terrible minute. "It + was a nightmare," she says. "I felt choked, and it was as though every + word would kill me. The perspiration came out on my face. I wanted to + interrupt her, to get up and rush away. I did not want to hear the + frightful accusation. I could not move, though; I seemed to be nailed on + my knees, and my head seemed to be bowed down by that voice that I heard + above me, a voice which seemed to wither me like a storm wind." + </p> + <p> + It seems extraordinary that a woman, who was in reality so kind-hearted + and so wise, should have allowed herself to be carried away like this. + Passion has these sudden and unexpected outbursts, and we see here a most + significant proof of the atmosphere of passion in which the child had + lived, and which gradually insinuated itself within her. + </p> + <p> + Under these circumstances, Aurore's departure for the convent was a + deliverance. Until just recently, there has always been a convent in vogue + in France in which it has been considered necessary for girls in good + society to be educated. In 1817, <i>the Couvent des Anglaises</i> was in + vogue, the very convent which had served as a prison for the mother and + grandmother of Aurore. The three years she spent there in that "big + feminine family, where every one was as kind as God," she considered the + most peaceful and happy time of her life. The pages she devotes to them in + her <i>Histoire de ma vie</i> have all the freshness of an oasis. She + describes most lovingly this little world, apart, exclusive and + self-sufficing, in which life was so intense. + </p> + <p> + The house consisted of a number of constructions, and was situated in the + neighbourhood given up to convents. There were courtyards and gardens + enough to make it seem like a small village. There was also a labyrinth of + passages above and underground, just as in one of Anne Radcliffe's novels. + There were old walls overgrown with vine and jasmine. The cock could be + heard at midnight, just as in the heart of the country, and there was a + bell with a silvery tone like a woman's voice. From her little cell, + Aurore looked over the tops of the great chestnut trees on to Paris, so + that the air so necessary for the lungs of a child accustomed to + wanderings in the country was not lacking in her convent home. The pupils + had divided themselves into three categories: the <i>diables</i>, the good + girls, who were the specially pious ones, and the silly ones. Aurore took + her place at once among the <i>diables</i>. The great exploit of these + convent girls consisted in descending into the cellars, during recreation, + and in sounding the walls, in order to "deliver the victim." There was + supposed to be an unfortunate victim imprisoned and tortured by the good, + kindhearted Sisters. Alas! all the <i>diables</i> sworn to the task in the + <i>Couvent des Anglaises</i> never succeeded in finding the victim, so + that she must be there still. + </p> + <p> + Very soon, though, a sudden change-took place in Aurore's soul. It would + have been strange had it been otherwise. With so extraordinarily sensitive + an organization, the new and totally different surroundings could not fail + to make an impression. The cloister, the cemetery, the long services, the + words of the ritual, murmured in the dimly-lighted chapel, and the piety + that seems to hover in the air in houses where many prayers have been + offered up—all this acted on the young girl. One evening in August, + she had gone into the church, which was dimly lighted by the sanctuary + lamp. Through the open window came the perfume of honeysuckle and the + songs of the birds. There was a charm, a mystery and a solemn calm about + everything, such as she had never before experienced. "I do not know what + was taking place within me," she said, when describing this, later on, + "but I breathed an atmosphere that was indescribably delicious, and I + seemed to be breathing it in my very soul. Suddenly, I felt a shock + through all my being, a dizziness came over me, and I seemed to be + enveloped in a white light. I thought I heard a voice murmuring in my ear: + <i>'Tolle Lege.'</i> I turned round, and saw that I was quite alone. . . + ." + </p> + <p> + Our modern <i>psychiatres</i> would say that she had had an hallucination + of hearing, together with olfactory trouble. I prefer saying that she had + received the visit of grace. Tears of joy bathed her face and she remained + there, sobbing for a long time. + </p> + <p> + The convent had therefore opened to Aurore another world of sentiment, + that of Christian emotion. Her soul was naturally religious, and the + dryness of a philosophical education had not been sufficient for it. The + convent had now brought her the aliment for which she had instinctively + longed. Later on, when her faith, which had never been very enlightened, + left her, the sentiment remained. This religiosity, of Christian form, was + essential to George Sand. + </p> + <p> + The convent also rendered her another eminent service. In the <i>Histoire + de ma vie</i>, George Sand retraces from memory the portraits of several + of the Sisters. She tells us of Madame Marie-Xavier, and of her despair at + having taken the vows; of Sister Anne-Joseph, who was as kind as an angel + and as silly as a goose; of the gentle Marie-Alicia, whose serene soul + looked out of her blue eyes, a mirror of purity, and of the mystical + Sister Helene, who had left home in spite of her family, in spite of the + supplications and the sobs of her mother and sisters, and who had passed + over the body of a child on her way to God. It is like this always. The + costumes are the same, the hands are clasped in the same manner, the white + bands and the faces look equally pale, but underneath this apparent + uniformity what contrasts! It is the inner life which marks the + differences so vigorously, and shows up the originality of each one. + Aurore gradually discovered the diversity of all these souls and the + beauty of each one. She thought of becoming a nun, but her confessor did + not advise this, and he was certainly wise. Her grandmother, who had a + philosopher's opinion of priests, blamed their fanaticism, and took her + little granddaughter away from the convent. Perhaps she felt the need of + affection for the few months she had still to live. At any rate, she + certainly had this affection. One of the first results of the larger + perspicacity which Aurore had acquired at the convent was to make her + understand her grandmother at last. She was able now to grasp the complex + nature of her relative and to see the delicacy hidden under an appearance + of great reserve. She knew now all that she owed to her grandmother, but + unfortunately it was one of those discoveries which are made too late. + </p> + <p> + The eighteen months which Aurore now passed at Nohant, until the death of + her grandmother, are very important as regards her psychological + biography. She was seventeen years old, and a girl who was eager to live + and very emotional. She had first been a child of Nature. Her convent life + had taken her away from Nature and accustomed her to falling back on her + own thoughts. Nature now took her back once more, and her beloved Nohant + feted her return. + </p> + <p> + "The trees were in flower," she says, "the nightingales were singing, and, + in the distance, I could hear the classic, solemn sound of the labourers. + My old friends, the big dogs, who had growled at me the evening before, + recognized me again and were profuse in their caresses. . . ." + </p> + <p> + She wanted to see everything again. The things themselves had not changed, + but her way of looking at them now was different. During her long, + solitary walks every morning, she enjoyed seeing the various landscapes, + sometimes melancholy-looking and sometimes delightful. She enjoyed, too, + the picturesqueness of the various things she met, the flocks of cattle, + the birds taking their flight, and even the sound of the horses' feet + splashing in the water. She enjoyed everything, in a kind of voluptuous + reverie which was no longer instinctive, but conscious and a trifle + morbid. + </p> + <p> + Added to all this, her reading at this epoch was without any order or + method. She read everything voraciously, mixing all the philosophers up + together. She read Locke, Condillac, Montesquieu, Bossuet, Pascal, + Montaigne, but she kept Rousseau apart from the others. She devoured the + books of the moralists and poets, La Bruyere, Pope, Milton, Dante, Virgil, + Shakespeare. All this reading was too much for her and excited her brain. + She had reserved Chateaubriand's <i>Rene</i>, and, on reading that, she + was overcome by the sadness which emanates from these distressing pages. + She was disgusted with life, and attempted to commit suicide. She tried to + drown herself, and only owed her life to the healthy-mindedness of the + good mare Colette, as the horse evidently had not the same reasons as its + young mistress for wishing to put an end to its days. + </p> + <p> + All this time Aurore was entirely free to please herself. Deschartres, who + had always treated her as a boy, encouraged her independence. It was at + his instigation that she dressed in masculine attire to go out shooting. + People began to talk about her "eccentricities" at Landerneau, and the + gossip continued as far as La Chatre. Added to this, Aurore began to study + osteology with a young man who lived in the neighbourhood, and it was said + that this young man, Stephane Ajasson de Grandsaigne, gave her lessons in + her own room. This was the climax. + </p> + <p> + We have a curious testimony as regards the state of the young girl's mind + at this epoch. A review, entitled <i>Le Voile de pourpre</i>, published + recently, in its first number, a letter from Aurore to her mother, dated + November 18, 1821. Her mother had evidently written to her on hearing the + gossip about her, and had probably enlarged upon it. + </p> + <p> + "You reproach me, mother, with neither having timidity, modesty, nor + charm," she writes, "or at least you suppose that I have these qualities, + but that I refrain from showing them, and you are quite certain that I + have no outward decency nor decorum. You ought to know me before judging + me in this way. You would then be able to form an opinion about my + conduct. Grandmother is here, and, ill though she is, she watches over me + carefully and lovingly, and she would not fail to correct me if she + considered that I had the manners of a dragoon or of a hussar." + </p> + <p> + She considered that she had no need of any one to guide or protect her, + and no need of leading-strings. + </p> + <p> + "I am seventeen," she says, "and I know my way about." + </p> + <p> + If this Monsieur de Grandsaigne had ventured to take any liberty with her, + she was old enough to take care of herself. + </p> + <p> + Her mother had blamed her for learning Latin and osteology. "Why should a + woman be ignorant?" she asks. "Can she not be well educated without this + spoiling her and without being pedantic? Supposing that I should have sons + in the future, and that I had profited sufficiently by my studies to be + able to teach them, would not a mother's lessons be as good as a tutor's?" + </p> + <p> + She was already challenging public opinion, starting a campaign against + false prejudices, showing a tendency to generalize, and to make the cause + of one woman the cause of all women. + </p> + <p> + We must now bear in mind the various traits we have discovered, one after + another, in Aurore's character. We must remember to what parentage she + owed her intellectuality and her sentimentality. It will then be more easy + to understand the terms she uses when describing her fascination for + Rousseau's writings. + </p> + <p> + "The language of Jean-Jacques and the form of his deductions impressed me + as music might have done when heard in brilliant sunshine. I compared him + to Mozart, and I understood everything." + </p> + <p> + She understood him, for she recognized herself in him. She sympathized + with that predominance of feeling and imagination, that exaggeration of + sentiment, that preference for life according to Nature, that emotion on + beholding the various sights of the country, that distrust of people, + those effusions of religious sentimentality, those solitary reveries, and + that melancholy which made death seem desirable to him. All this was to + Aurore Dupin the gospel according to Rousseau. The whole of her psychology + is to be found here. + </p> + <p> + She was an exceptional being undoubtedly; but in order to be a genial + exception one must have within oneself, and then personify with great + intensity all the inspirations which, at a certain moment, are dispersed + in the atmosphere. Ever since the great agitation which had shaken the + moral world by Rousseau's preaching, there had been various vague currents + and a whole crowd of confused aspirations floating about. It was this + enormous wave that entered a feminine soul. Unconsciously Aurore Dupin + welcomed the new ideal, and it was this ideal which was to operate within + her. The question was, what would she do with it, in presence of life with + all its everyday and social realities. This question is the object of our + study. In the solution of it lies the interest, the drama and the lesson + of George Sand's destiny. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II + </h2> + <p> + BARONNE DUDEVANT MARRIAGE AND FREEDOM—THE ARRIVAL IN PARIS—JULES + SANDEAU + </p> + <p> + We must now endeavour to discover what the future George Sand's + experiences of marriage were, and the result of these experiences on the + formation of her ideas. + </p> + <p> + "You will lose your best friend in me," were the last words of the + grandmother to her granddaughter on her death-bed. The old lady spoke + truly, and Aurore was very soon to prove this. By a clause in her will, + Madame Dupin de Francueil left the guardianship of Aurore to a cousin, + Rene de Villeneuve. It was scarcely likely, though, that Sophie-Victoire + should consent to her own rights being frustrated by this illegal clause, + particularly as this man belonged to the world of the "old Countesses." + She took her daughter with her to Paris. Unfortunately for her, Aurore's + eyes were now open, and she was cultured enough to have been in entire + sympathy with her exquisite grandmother. It was no longer possible for her + to have the old passionate affection and indulgence for her mother, + especially as she felt that she had hitherto been deserted by her. She saw + her mother now just as she was, a light woman belonging to the people, a + woman who could not resign herself to growing old. If only Sophie-Victoire + had been of a tranquil disposition! She was most restless, on the + contrary, wanting to change her abode and change her restaurant every day. + She would quarrel with people one day, make it up the next; wear a + different-shaped hat every day, and change the colour of her hair + continually. She was always in a state of agitation. She loved police news + and thrilling stories; read the <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> of those days until + the middle of the night. She dreamed of such stories, and the following + day went on living in an atmosphere of crime. When she had an attack of + indigestion, she always imagined that she had been poisoned. When a + visitor arrived, she thought it must be a burglar. She was most sarcastic + about Aurore's "fine education" and her literary aspirations. Her hatred + of the dead grandmother was as strong as ever. She was constantly + insulting her memory, and in her fits of anger said unheard-of things. + Aurore's silence was her only reply to these storms, and this exasperated + her mother. She declared that she would correct her daughter's "sly ways." + Aurore began to wonder with terror whether her mother's mind were not + beginning to give way. The situation finally became intolerable. + </p> + <p> + Sophie-Victoire took her daughter to spend two or three days with some + friends of hers, and then left her there. They lived in the country at + Plessis-Picard, near Melun. Aurore was delighted to find a vast park with + thickets in which there were roebucks bounding about. She loved the deep + glades and the water with the green reflections of old willow trees. + Monsieur James Duplessis and his wife, Angele, were excellent people, and + they adopted Aurore for the time being. They already had five daughters, + so that one more did not make much difference. They frequented a few + families in the neighbourhood, and there was plenty of gaiety among the + young people. The Duplessis took Aurore sometimes to Paris and to the + theatre. + </p> + <p> + "One evening," we are told in the <i>Histoire de ma vie</i>, "we were + having some ices at Tortoni's after the theatre, when suddenly my mother + Angele said to her husband, 'Why, there's Casimir!' A young man, slender + and rather elegant, with a gay expression and a military look, came and + shook hands, and answered all the questions he was asked about his father, + Colonel Dudevant, who was evidently very much respected and loved by the + family." + </p> + <p> + This was the first meeting, the first appearance of Casimir in the story, + and this was how he entered into the life of Aurore. + </p> + <p> + He was invited to Plessis, he joined the young people good-humouredly in + their games, was friendly with Aurore, and, without posing as a suitor, + asked for her hand in marriage. There was no reason for her to refuse him. + He was twenty-seven years of age, had served two years in the army, and + had studied law in Paris. He was a natural son, of course, but he had been + recognized by his father, Colonel Dudevant. The Dudevant family was + greatly respected. They had a <i>chateau</i> at Guillery in Gascony. + Casimir had been well brought up and had good manners. Aurore might as + well marry him as any other young man. It would even be preferable to + marry him rather than another young man. He was already her friend, and he + would then be her husband. That would not make much difference. + </p> + <p> + The marriage almost fell through, thanks to Sophie-Victoire. She did not + consider Casimir good-looking enough. She was not thinking of her + daughter, but of herself. She had made up her mind to have a handsome + son-in-law with whom she could go out. She liked handsome men, and + particularly military men. Finally she consented to the marriage, but, a + fortnight before the ceremony, she arrived at Plessis, like a veritable + thunderbolt. An extraordinary idea had occurred to her. She vowed that she + had discovered that Casimir had been a waiter at a <i>cafe</i>. She had no + doubt dreamt this, but she held to her text, and was indignant at the idea + of her daughter marrying a waiter! . . . + </p> + <p> + Things had arrived at this crisis when Casimir's mother, Madame Dudevant, + who had all the manners of a <i>grande dame</i>, decided to pay + Sophie-Victoire an official visit. The latter was greatly flattered, for + she liked plenty of attention paid to her. It was in this way that Aurore + Dupin became Baronne Dudevant. + </p> + <p> + She was just eighteen years of age. It is interesting to read her + description of herself at this time. In her <i>Voyage en Auvergne</i>, + which was her first writing, dated 1827, she traces the following + portrait, which certainly is not exaggerated. + </p> + <p> + "When I was sixteen," she says, "and left the convent, every one could see + that I was a pretty girl. I was fresh-looking, though dark. I was like + those wild flowers which grow without any art or culture, but with gay, + lively colouring. I had plenty of hair, which was almost black. On looking + at myself in the glass, though, I can truthfully say that I was not very + well pleased with myself. I was dark, my features were well cut, but not + finished. People said that it was the expression of my face that made it + interesting. I think this was true. I was gay but dreamy, and my most + natural expression was a meditative one. People said, too, that in this + absent-minded expression there was a fixed look which resembled that of + the serpent when fascinating his prey. That, at any rate, was the + far-fetched comparison of my provincial adorers." + </p> + <p> + They were not very far wrong, these provincial adorers. The portraits of + Aurore at this date show us a charming face of a young girl, as + fresh-looking as a child. She has rather long features, with a + delicately-shaped chin. She is not exactly pretty, but fascinating, with + those great dark eyes, which were her prominent feature, eyes which, when + fixed on any one, took complete possession of them—dreamy, + passionate eyes, sombre because the soul reflected in them had profound + depths. + </p> + <p> + It is difficult to define that soul, for it was so complex. To judge by + appearances, it was a very peaceful soul, and perhaps, too, it was in + reality peaceful. George Sand, who knew herself thoroughly, frequently + spoke of her laziness and of her apathy, traits peculiar to the natives of + Berry. Superficial observers looked no further, and her mother used to + call her "St. Tranquillity." The nuns, though, of her convent had more + perspicacity. They said, when speaking of her: "Still waters run deep." + Under the smooth surface they fancied that storms were gathering. Aurore + had within her something of her mother and of her grandmother, and their + opposite natures were blended in her. She had the calmness of + Marie-Aurore, but she also had the impetuousness of Sophie-Victoire, and + undoubtedly, too, something of the free and easy good humour of her + father, the break-neck young officer. It certainly is not surprising to + find a love of adventure in a descendant of Maurice de Saxe. + </p> + <p> + Beside all these inner contrasts, the observer was particularly struck by + her sudden changes of humour, by the way in which, after a fit of + melancholy sadness, she suddenly gave way to the most exuberant gaiety, + followed by long fits of depression and nervous exhaustion. Personally, I + do not believe much in the influence of the physical over the moral + nature, but I am fully convinced of the action of the moral over the + physical nature. In certain cases and in presence of extremely accentuated + conditions, physiological explanations must be taken into account. All + these fits of melancholy and weeping, this prostration, these high spirits + and the long walks, in order to sober down, denote the exigencies of an + abnormal temperament. When once the crisis was passed, it must not be + supposed that, as with many other people, nothing remained of it all. This + was by no means the case, as in a nature so extraordinarily organized for + storing up sensations nothing was lost, nothing evaporated, and everything + increased. The still water seemed to be slumbering. Its violence, though + held in check, was increasing in force, and when once let loose, it would + carry all before it. + </p> + <p> + Such was the woman whom Casimir Dudevant was to marry. The fascination was + great; the honour rather to be feared, for all depended on his skill in + guiding this powerful energy. + </p> + <p> + The question is whether he loved her. It has been said that it was a + marriage of interest, as Aurore's fortune amounted to twenty thousand + pounds, and he was by no means rich. This may have been so, but there is + no reason why money should destroy one's sentiments, and the fact that + Aurore had money was not likely to prevent Casimir from appreciating the + charms of a pretty girl. It seems, therefore, very probable that he loved + his young wife, at any rate as much as this Casimir was capable of loving + his wife. + </p> + <p> + The next question is whether she loved him. It has been said that she did, + simply because she declared that she did not. When, later on, after her + separation, she spoke of her marriage, all her later grievances were + probably in her mind. There are her earlier letters, though, which some + people consider a proof that she cared for Casimir, and there are also a + few words jotted down in her notebook. When her husband was absent, she + was anxious about him and feared that he had met with an accident. It + would be strange indeed if a girl of eighteen did not feel some affection + for the man who had been the first to make love to her, a man whom she had + married of her own free-will. It is rare for a woman to feel no kind of + attachment for her husband, but is that attachment love? When a young wife + complains of her husband, we hear in her reproaches the protest of her + offended dignity, of her humbled pride. When a woman loves her husband, + though, she does not reproach him, guilty though he may be, with having + humiliated and wounded her. What she has against him then, is that he has + broken her heart by his lack of love for her. This note and this accent + can never be mistaken, and never once do we find it with Aurore. We may + therefore conclude that she had never loved her husband. + </p> + <p> + Casimir did not know how to win her affection. He did not even realize + that he needed to win it. He was very much like all men. The idea never + occurs to them that, when once they are married, they have to win their + wife. + </p> + <p> + He was very much like all men. . . . That is the most faithful portrait + that can be traced of Casimir at this epoch. He had not as yet the vices + which developed in him later on. He had nothing to distinguish him from + the average man. He was selfish, without being disagreeable, rather idle, + rather incapable, rather vain and rather foolish. He was just an ordinary + man. The wife he had married, though, was not an ordinary woman. That was + their misfortune. As Emile Faguet has very wittily put it, "Monsieur + Dudevant, about whom she complained so much, seems to have had no other + fault than that of being merely an ordinary man, which, of course, is + unendurable to a superior woman. The situation was perhaps equally + unendurable for the man." This is quite right, for Casimir was very soon + considerably disconcerted. He was incapable of understanding her + psychology, and, as it seemed impossible to him that a woman was not his + inferior, he came to the logical conclusion that his wife was "idiotic." + This was precisely his expression, and at every opportunity he endeavoured + to crush her by his own superiority. All this seems to throw some light on + his character and also on the situation. Here was a man who had married + the future George Sand, and he complained, in all good faith, that his + wife was "idiotic"! + </p> + <p> + Certainly, on comparing the <i>Correspondance</i> with the <i>Histoire de + ma vie</i>, the difference of tone is most striking. The letters in which + Baronne Dudevant tells, day by day, of her home life are too enthusiastic + for the letters of an unhappy wife. There are receptions at Nohant, lively + dinners, singing and dancing. All this is, at any rate, the surface, but + gradually the misunderstandings are more pronounced, and the gulf widens. + </p> + <p> + There may have been a misunderstanding at the very beginning of their + married life, and Aurore may have had a surprise of the nature of the one + to which Jane de Simerose confesses in <i>L'Ami des femmes</i>. In an + unpublished letter written much later on, in the year 1843, from George + Sand to her half-brother Hippolyte Chatiron on the occasion of his + daughter's engagement, the following lines occur: "See that your + son-in-law is not brutal to your daughter the first night of their + marriage. . . . Men have no idea that this amusement of theirs is a + martyrdom for us. Tell him to sacrifice his own pleasure a little, and to + wait until he has taught his wife gradually to understand things and to be + willing. There is nothing so frightful as the horror, the suffering and + the disgust of a poor girl who knows nothing and who is suddenly violated + by a brute. We bring girls up as much as possible like saints, and then we + hand them over like fillies. If your son-in-law is an intelligent man and + if he really loves your daughter, he will understand his <i>role</i>, and + will not take it amiss that you should speak to him beforehand."(2) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (2) Communicated by M. S. Rocheblave. +</pre> + <p> + Is George Sand recalling here any hidden and painful memories? Casimir + had, at bottom, a certain brutality, which, later on, was very evident. + The question is whether he had shown proofs of it at a time when it would + have been wiser to have refrained. + </p> + <p> + However that may be, the fundamental disagreement of their natures was not + long in making itself felt between the husband and wife. He was + matter-of-fact, and she was romantic; he only believed in facts, and she + in ideas; he was of the earth, earthy, whilst she aspired to the + impossible. They had nothing to say to each other, and when two people + have nothing to say, and love does not fill up the silences, what torture + the daily <i>tete-a-tete</i> must be. Before they had been married two + years, they were bored to death. They blamed Nohant, but the fault was in + themselves. Nohant seemed unbearable to them, simply because they were + there alone with each other. They went to Plessis, perhaps in the hope + that the remembrance of the days of their engagement might have some + effect on them. It was there, in 1824, that the famous scene of the blow + took place. They were playing at a regular children's game in the park, + and throwing sand at each other. Casimir lost his patience and struck his + wife. It was certainly impolite, but Aurore did not appear to have been + very indignant with her husband at the time. Her grievances were quite of + another kind, less tangible and much more deeply felt. + </p> + <p> + From Plessis they went to Ormesson. We do not know what took place there, + but evidently something which made a deep impression morally, something + very serious. A few years later, referring to this stay at Ormesson, + George Sand wrote to one of her friends: "You pass by a wall and come to a + house. . . . If you are allowed to enter you will find a delightful + English garden, at the bottom of which is a spring of water hidden under a + kind of grotto. It is all very stiff and uninteresting, but it is very + lonely. I spent several months there, and it was there that I lost my + health, my confidence in the future, my gaiety and my happiness. It was + there that I felt, and very deeply too, my first approach of trouble. . . + ."(3) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (3) Extract from the unpublished letters of George Sand to + Dr. Emile Regnault. +</pre> + <p> + They left Ormesson for Paris, and Paris for Nohant, and after that, by way + of trying to shake off the dulness that was oppressing them, they had + recourse to the classical mode of diversion—a voyage. + </p> + <p> + They set off on the 5th of July, 1825, for that famous expedition to the + Pyrenees, which was to be so important a landmark in Aurore Dudevant's + history. On crossing the Pyrenees, the scenery, so new to her—or + rather the memory of which had been lying dormant in her mind since her + childhood—filled her with wild enthusiasm. This intense emotion + contributed to develop within her that sense of the picturesque which, + later on, was to add so considerably to her talent as a writer. She had + hitherto been living in the country of plains, the Ile-de-France and + Berry. The contrast made her realize all the beauties of nature, and, on + her return, she probably understood her own familiar scenery, and enjoyed + it all the more. She had hitherto appreciated it vaguely. Lamartine learnt + to love the severe scenery of Milly better on returning to it after the + softness of Italy. + </p> + <p> + The Pyrenees served, too, for Baronne Dudevant as the setting for an + episode which was unique in her sentimental life. + </p> + <p> + In the <i>Histoire de ma vie</i> there is an enigmatical page in which + George Sand has intentionally measured and veiled every expression. She + speaks of her moral solitude, which, at that time, was profound and + absolute, and she adds: "It would have been mortal to a tender mind and to + a girl in the flower of her youth, if it had not been filled with a dream + which had taken the importance of a great passion, not in my life, as I + had sacrificed my life to duty, but in my thoughts. I was in continual + correspondence with an absent person to whom I told all my thoughts, all + my dreams, who knew all my humble virtues, and who heard all my platonic + enthusiasm. This person was excellent in reality, but I attributed to him + more than all the perfections possible to human nature. I only saw this + man for a few days, and sometimes only for a few hours, in the course of a + year. He was as romantic, in his intercourse with me, as I was. + Consequently he did not cause me any scruples, either of religion or of + conscience. This man was the stay and consolation of my exile, as regards + the world of reality." It was this dream, as intense as any passion, that + we must study here. We must make the acquaintance of this excellent and + romantic man. + </p> + <p> + Aurelien de Seze was a young magistrate, a few years older than Aurore. He + was twenty-six years of age and she was twenty-one. He was the + great-nephew of the counsel who pleaded for Louis XVI. There was, + therefore, in his family a tradition of moral nobility, and the young man + had inherited this. He had met Aurore at Bordeaux and again at Cauterets. + They had visited the grottoes of Lourdes together. Aurelien had + appreciated the young wife's charm, although she had not attempted to + attract his attention, as she was not coquettish. She appreciated in him—all + that was so lacking in Casimir—culture of mind, seriousness of + character, discreet manners which people took at first for coldness, and a + somewhat dignified elegance. He was scrupulously honest, a magistrate of + the old school, sure of his principles and master of himself. It was, + probably, just that which appealed to the young wife, who was a true woman + and who had always wished to be dominated. When they met again at Breda, + they had an explanation. This was the "violent grief" of which George Sand + speaks. She was consoled by a friend, Zoe Leroy, who found a way of + calming this stormy soul. She came through this crisis crushed with + emotion and fatigue, but calm and joyful. They had vowed to love each + other, but to remain without reproach, and their vow was faithfully kept. + </p> + <p> + Aurore, therefore, had nothing with which to reproach herself, but with + her innate need of being frank, she considered it her duty to write a + letter to her husband, informing him of everything. This was the famous + letter of November 8, 1825. Later on, in 1836, when her case for + separation from her husband was being heard, a few fragments of it were + read by her husband's advocate with the idea of incriminating her. By way + of reply to this, George Sand's advocate read the entire letter in all its + eloquence and generosity. It was greeted by bursts of applause from the + audience. + </p> + <p> + All this is very satisfactory. It is exactly the situation of the Princess + of Cleves in Madame de Lafayette's novel. The Princess of Cleves + acknowledges to her husband the love she cannot help feeling for Monsieur + de Nemours, and asks for his help and advice as her natural protector. + This fine proceeding is usually admired, although it cost the life of the + Prince of Cleves, who died broken-hearted. Personally, I admire it too, + although at times I wonder whether we ought not rather to see in it an + unconscious suggestion of perversity. This confession of love to the + person who is being, as it were, robbed of that love, is in itself a kind + of secret pleasure. By speaking of the love, it becomes more real, we + bring it out to light instead of letting it die away in those hidden + depths within us, in which so many of the vague sentiments which we have + not cared to define, even to ourselves, die away. Many women have + preferred this more silent way, in which they alone have been the + sufferers. But such women are not the heroines of novels. No one has + appreciated their sacrifice, and they themselves could scarcely tell all + that it has cost them. + </p> + <p> + Aurelien de Seze had taken upon himself the <i>role</i> of confidant to + this soul that he had allotted to himself. He took his <i>role</i> very + seriously, as was his custom in all things. He became the young wife's + director in all matters of conscience. The letters which he wrote to her + have been preserved, and we know them by the extracts and the analysis + that Monsieur Rocheblave has given us and by his incisive commentaries of + them.(4) They are letters of guidance, spiritual letters. The laic + confessor endeavours, before all things, to calm the impatience of this + soul which is more and more ardent and more and more troubled every day. + He battles with her about her mania of philosophizing, her wish to sift + everything and to get to the bottom of everything. Strong in his own + calmness, he kept repeating to her in a hundred different ways the words: + "Be calm!" The advice was good; the only difficulty was the following of + the advice. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (4) "George Sand avant George Sand," by S. Rocheblave + (<i>Revue de Paris</i>, December 15, 1894). +</pre> + <p> + Gradually the professor lost his hold on his pupil, for it seems as though + Aurore were the first to tire. Aurelien finally began to doubt the + efficacy of his preaching. The usual fate of sentiments outside the common + order of things is that they last the length of time that a crisis of + enthusiasm lasts. The best thing that can happen then is that their nature + should not change, that they should not deteriorate, as is so often the + case. When they remain intact to the end, they leave behind them, in the + soul, a trail of light, a trail of cold, pure light. + </p> + <p> + The decline of this platonic <i>liaison</i> with Aurelien de Seze dates + from 1828. Some grave events were taking place at Nohant about this time. + For the last few years Casimir had fallen into the vices of certain + country squires, or so-called gentlemen farmers. He had taken to drink, in + company with Hippolyte Chatiron, and it seems that the intoxication + peculiar to the natives of Berry takes a heavy and not a gay form. He had + also taken to other bad habits, away from home at first, and later on + under the conjugal roof. He was particularly partial to the maid-servants, + and, the day following the birth of her daughter, Solange, Aurore had an + unpleasant surprise with regard to her husband. From that day forth, what + had hitherto been only a vague wish on her part became a fixed idea with + her, and she began to form plans. A certain incident served as a pretext. + When putting some papers in order, Aurore came upon her husband's will. It + was a mere diatribe, in which the future "deceased" gave utterance to all + his past grievances against his <i>idiotic</i> wife. Her mind was made up + irrevocably from this moment. She would have her freedom again; she would + go to Paris and spend three months out of six there. She had a young tutor + from the south of France, named Boucoiran, educating her children. This + Boucoiran needed to be taken to task constantly, and Baronne Dudevant did + not spare him.(5) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (5) An instance of her disposition for lecturing will be + seen in the following curious letter sent by George Sand to + her friend and neighbour, Adolphe Duplomb. This letter has + never been published before, and we owe our thanks for it to + Monsieur Charles Duplomb. + + <i>Nohant, July</i> 23,1830. + + "Are you so very much afraid of me, my poor Hydrogene? You + expect a good lecture and you will not expect in vain. Have + patience, though. Before giving you the dressing you + deserve, I want to tell you that I have not forgotten you, + and that I was very vexed on returning from Paris, to find + my great simpleton of a son gone. I am so used to seeing + your solemn face that I quite miss it. You have a great many + faults, but after all, you are a good sort, and in time you + will get reasonable. Try to remember occasionally, my dear + Plombeus, that you have friends. If I were your only + friend, that would be a great deal, as I am to be depended + on, and am always at my post as a friend, although I may not + be very tender. I am not very polite either, as I speak the + truth plainly. That is my characteristic, though. I am a + firm friend nevertheless, and to be depended on. Do not + forget what I have said now, as I shall not often repeat + this. Remember, too, that happiness in this world depends + on the interest and esteem that we inspire. I do not say + this to every one, as it would be impossible, but just to a + certain number of friends. It is impossible to find one's + happiness entirely in one's self, without being an egoist, + and I do not think so badly of you that I imagine you to be + one. A man whom no one cares for is wretched, and the man + who has friends is afraid of grieving them by behaving + badly. As Polyte says, all this is for the sake of letting + you know that you must do your best to behave well, if you + want to prove to me that you are not ungrateful for my + interest in you. You ought to get rid of the bad habit of + boasting that you have adopted through frequenting young men + as foolish as yourself. Do whatever your position and your + health allow you to do, provided that you do not compromise + the honour or the reputation of any one else. I do not see + that a young man is called upon to be as chaste as a nun. + But keep your good or bad luck in your love affairs to + yourself. Silly talk is always repeated, and it may chance + to get to the ears of sensible people who will disapprove. + Try, too, not to make so many plans, but to carry out just + one or two of them. You know that is why I quarrel with you + always. I should like to see more constancy in you. You + tell Hippolyte that you are very willing and courageous. As + to physical courage, of the kind that consists in enduring + illness and in not fearing death, I dare say you have that, + but I doubt very much whether you have the courage necessary + for sustained work, unless you have very much altered. + Everything fresh delights you, but after a little time you + only see the inconveniences of your position. You will + scarcely find anything without something that is annoying + and troublesome, but if you cannot learn to put up with + things you will never be a man. + + "This is the end of my sermon. I expect you have had enough + of it, especially as you are not accustomed to reading my + bad handwriting. I shall be glad to hear from you, but do + not consider your letter as a State affair, and do not + torment yourself to arrange well-turned phrases. I do not + care for such phrases at all. A letter is always good enough + when the writer expresses himself naturally, and says what + he thinks. Fine pages are all very well for the + schoolmaster, but I do not appreciate them at all. Promise + me to be reasonable, and to think of my sermons now and + then. That is all I ask. You may be very sure that if it + were not for my friendship for you I should not take the + trouble to lecture you. I should be afraid of annoying you + if it were not for that. As it is, I am sure that you are + not displeased to have my lectures, and that you understand + the feeling which dictates them. + + "Adieu, my dear Adolphe. Write to me often and tell me + always about your affairs. Take care of yourself, and try + to keep well; but if you should feel ill come back to your + native place. There will always be milk and syrup for you, + and you know that I am not a bad nurse. Every one wishes to + be remembered to you, and I send you my holy blessing. + + "AURORE D——" +</pre> + <p> + She considered him idle, and reproached him with his lack of dignity and + with making himself too familiar with his inferiors. She could not admit + this familiarity, although she was certainly a friend of the people and of + the peasants. Between sympathy and familiarity there was a distinction, + and Aurore took care not to forget this. There was always something of the + <i>grande dame</i> in her. Boucoiran was devoted, though, and she counted + on him for looking after her children, for keeping her strictly <i>au + courant</i>, and letting her know in case of illness. Perfectly easy on + this score, she could live in Paris on an income of sixty pounds by adding + to it what she could earn. + </p> + <p> + Casimir made no objections. All that happened later on in this existence, + which was from henceforth so stormy, happened with his knowledge and with + his consent. He was a poor sort of man. + </p> + <p> + Let us consider now, for a moment, Baronne Dudevant's impressions after + such a marriage. We will not speak of her sadness nor of her disgust. In a + union of this kind, how could the sacred and beneficial character of + marriage have appeared to her? A husband should be a companion. She never + knew the charm of true intimacy, nor the delight of thoughts shared with + another. A husband is the counsellor, the friend. When she needed counsel, + she was obliged to go elsewhere for it, and it was from another man that + guidance and encouragement came. A husband should be the head and, I do + not hesitate to say, the master. Life is a ceaseless struggle, and the man + who has taken upon himself the task of defending a family from all the + dangers which threaten its dissolution, from all the enemies which prowl + around it, can only succeed in his task of protector if he be invested + with just authority. Aurore had been treated brutally: that is not the + same thing as being dominated. The sensation which never left her was that + of an immense moral solitude. She could no longer dream in the Nohant + avenues, for the old trees had been lopped, and the mystery chased away. + She shut herself up in her grandmother's little boudoir, adjoining her + children's room, so that she could hear them breathing, and whilst Casimir + and Hippolyte were getting abominably intoxicated, she sat there thinking + things over, and gradually becoming so irritated that she felt the + rebellion within her gathering force. The matrimonial bond was a heavy + yoke to her. A Christian wife would have submitted to it and accepted it, + but the Christianity of Baronne Dudevant was nothing but religiosity. The + trials of life show up the insufficiency of religious sentiment which is + not accompanied by faith. Marriage, without love, friendship, confidence + and respect, was for Aurore merely a prison. She endeavoured to escape + from it, and when she succeeded she uttered a sigh of relief at her + deliverance. + </p> + <p> + Such, then, is the chapter of marriage in Baronne Dudevant's psychology. + It is a fine example of failure. The woman who had married badly now + remained an individual, instead of harmonizing and blending in a general + whole. This ill-assorted union merely accentuated and strengthened George + Sand's individualism. + </p> + <p> + Aurore Dudevant arrived in Paris the first week of the year 1831. The + woman who was rebellious to marriage was now in a city which had just had + a revolution. + </p> + <p> + The extraordinary effervescence of Paris in 1831 can readily be imagined. + There was tempest in the air, and this tempest was bound to break out here + or there, either immediately or in the near future, in an insurrection. + Every one was feverishly anxious to destroy everything, in order to create + all things anew. In everything, in art, ideas and even in costume, there + was the same explosion of indiscipline, the same triumph of + capriciousness. Every day some fresh system of government was born, some + new method of philosophy, an infallible receipt for bringing about + universal happiness, an unheard-of idea for manufacturing masterpieces, + some invention for dressing up and having a perpetual carnival in the + streets. The insurrection was permanent and masquerade a normal state. + Besides all this, there was a magnificent burst of youth and genius. + Victor Hugo, proud of having fought the battle of <i>Hernani</i>, was then + thinking of <i>Notre-Dame</i> and climbing up to it. Musset had just given + his <i>Contes d'Espagne el d'Italie</i>. Stendhal had published <i>Le + Rouge et le Noir</i>, and Balzac <i>La Peau de Chagrin</i>. The painters + of the day were Delacroix and Delaroche. Paganini was about to give his + first concert at the Opera. Such was Paris in all its impatience and + impertinence, in its confusion and its splendour immediately after the + Revolution. + </p> + <p> + The young wife, who had snapped her bonds asunder, breathed voluptuously + in this atmosphere. She was like a provincial woman enjoying Paris to the + full. She belonged to the romantic school, and was imbued with the + principle that an artist must see everything, know everything, and have + experienced himself all that he puts into his books. She found a little + group of her friends from Berry in Paris, among others Felix Pyat, Charles + Duvernet, Alphonse Fleury, Sandeau and de Latouche. This was the band she + frequented, young men apprenticed either to literature, the law, or + medicine. With them she lived a student's life. In order to facilitate her + various evolutions, she adopted masculine dress. In her <i>Histoite de ma + vie</i> she says: "Fashion helped me in my disguise, for men were wearing + long, square frock-coats styled a <i>la proprietaire</i>. They came down + to the heels, and fitted the figure so little that my brother, when + putting his on, said to me one day at Nohant: 'It is a nice cut, isn't it? + The tailor takes his measures from a sentry-box, and the coat then fits a + whole regiment.' I had 'a sentry-box coat' made, of rough grey cloth, with + trousers and waistcoat to match. With a grey hat and a huge cravat of + woollen material, I looked exactly like a first-year student. . . ." + </p> + <p> + Dressed in this style, she explored the streets, museums, cathedrals, + libraries, painters' studios, clubs and theatres. She heard Frederick + Lemaitre one day, and the next day Malibran. One evening it was one of + Dumas' pieces, and the next night <i>Moise</i> at the Opera. She took her + meals at a little restaurant, and she lived in an attic. She was not even + sure of being able to pay her tailor, so she had all the joys possible. + "Ah, how delightful, to live an artist's life! Our device is liberty!" she + wrote.(6) She lived in a perpetual state of delight, and, in February, + wrote to her son Maurice as follows: "Every one is at loggerheads, we are + crushed to death in the streets, the churches are being destroyed, and we + hear the drum being beaten all night."(7) In March she wrote to Charles + Duvernet: "Do you know that fine things are happening here? It really is + amusing to see. We are living just as gaily among bayonets and riots as if + everything were at peace. All this amuses me."(8) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (6) <i>Correspondance</i>: To Boucoiran, March 4, 1831. + + (7) <i>Ibid</i>. To Maurice Dudevant, February 15, 1831. + + (8) <i>Ibid</i>. To Charles Duvernet, March 6, 1831. +</pre> + <p> + She was amused at everything and she enjoyed everything. With her keen + sensitiveness, she revelled in the charm of Paris, and she thoroughly + appreciated its scenery. + </p> + <p> + "Paris," she wrote, "with its vaporous evenings, its pink clouds above the + roofs, and the beautiful willows of such a delicate green around the + bronze statue of our old Henry, and then, too, the dear little + slate-coloured pigeons that make their nests in the old masks of the Pont + Neuf . . ."(9) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (9) Unpublished letters of Dr. Emile Regnault. +</pre> + <p> + She loved the Paris sky, so strange-looking, so rich in colouring, so + variable.(10) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (10) <i>Ibid</i>. +</pre> + <p> + She became unjust with regard to Berry. "As for that part of the world + which I used to love so dearly and where I used to dream my dreams," she + wrote, "I was there at the age of fifteen, when I was very foolish, and at + the age of seventeen, when I was dreamy and disturbed in my mind. It has + lost its charm for me now."(11) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (11) <i>Ibid</i>. +</pre> + <p> + She loved it again later on, certainly, but just at this time she was + over-excited with the joy of her newly-found liberty. It was that really + which made her so joyful and which intoxicated her. "I do not want + society, excitement, theatres, or dress; what I want is freedom," she + wrote to her mother. In another letter she says: "I am absolutely + independent. I go to La Chatre, to Rome. I start out at ten o'clock or at + midnight. I please myself entirely in all this."(12) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (12) <i>Correspondance</i>: To her mother, May 31, 1831. +</pre> + <p> + She was free, and she fancied she was happy. Her happiness at that epoch + meant Jules Sandeau. + </p> + <p> + In a letter, written in the humoristic style in which she delighted, she + gives us portraits of some of her comrades of that time. She tells us of + Duvernet, of Alphonse Fleury, surnamed "the Gaulois," and of Sandeau. + </p> + <p> + "Oh, fair-haired Charles!" she writes, "young man of melancholy thoughts, + with a character as gloomy as a stormy day. . . . And you, gigantic + Fleury, with your immense hands and your alarming beard. . . . And you, + dear Sandeau, agreeable and light, like the humming bird of fragrant + savannahs!"(13) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (13) <i>Correspondance</i>: December 1, 1830. +</pre> + <p> + The "dear Sandeau, agreeable and light, like the humming bird of fragrant + savannahs," was to be Baronne Dudevant's Latin Quarter <i>liaison</i>. Her + biographers usually pass over this <i>liaison</i> quickly, as information + about it was not forthcoming. Important documents exist, though, in the + form of fifty letters written by George Sand to Dr. Emile Regnault, then a + medical student and the intimate friend and confidant of Jules Sandeau, + who kept nothing back from him. His son, Dr. Paul Regnault, has kindly + allowed me to see this correspondence and to reproduce some fragments of + it. It is extremely curious, by turn lyrical and playful, full of + effusions, ideas, plans of work, impressions of nature, and confidences + about her love affairs. Taken altogether it reflects, as nearly as + possible, the state of the young woman's mind at this time. + </p> + <p> + The first letter is dated April, 1831. George Sand had left Paris for + Nohant, and is anxiously wondering how her poor Jules has passed this + wretched day, and how he will go back to the room from which she had torn + herself with such difficulty that morning. In her letter she gives + utterance to the gratitude she owes to the young man who has reconciled + her once more to life. "My soul," she says, "eager itself for affection, + needed to inspire this in a heart capable of understanding me thoroughly, + with all my faults and qualities. A fervent soul was necessary for loving + me in the way that I could love, and for consoling me after all the + ingratitude which had made my earlier life so desolate. And although I am + now old, I have found a heart as young as my own, a lifelong affection + which nothing can discourage and which grows stronger every day. Jules has + taught me to care once more for this existence, of which I was so weary, + and which I only endured for the sake of my children. I was disgusted + beforehand with the future, but it now seems more beautiful to me, full as + it appears to me of him, of his work, his success, and of his upright, + modest conduct. . . . Oh, if you only knew how I love him! . . . ."(14) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (14) This quotation and those that follow are borrowed from + the unpublished correspondence with Emile Regnault. +</pre> + <p> + "When I first knew him I was disillusioned about everything, and I no + longer believed in those things which make us happy. He has warmed my + frozen heart and restored the life that was dying within me." She then + recalls their first meeting. It was in the country, at Coudray, near + Nohant. She fell in love with her dear Sandeau, thanks to his + youthfulness, his timidity and his awkwardness. He was just twenty, in + 1831. On approaching the bench where she was awaiting him, "he concealed + himself in a neighbouring avenue—and I could see his hat and stick + on the bench," she writes. "Everything, even to the little red ribbon + threaded in the lining of his grey hat, thrilled me with joy. . . ." + </p> + <p> + It is difficult to say why, but everything connected with this young Jules + seems absurd. Later on we get the following statement: "Until the day when + I told him that I loved him, I had never acknowledged as much to myself. I + felt that I did, but I would not own it even to my own heart. Jules + therefore learnt it at the same time as I did myself." + </p> + <p> + People at La Chatre took the young man for her lover. The idea of finding + him again in Paris was probably one of her reasons for wishing to + establish herself there. Then came her life, as she describes it herself, + "in the little room looking on to the quay. I can see Jules now in a + shabby, dirty-looking artist's frock-coat, with his cravat underneath him + and his shirt open at the throat, stretched out over three chairs, + stamping with his feet or breaking the tongs in the heat of the + discussion. The Gaulois used to sit in a corner weaving great plots, and + you would be seated on a table." + </p> + <p> + All this must certainly have been charming. The room was too small, + though, and George Sand commissioned Emile Regnault to find her a flat, + the essential condition of which should be some way of egress for Jules at + any hour. + </p> + <p> + A little flat was discovered on the Quay St. Michel. There were three + rooms, one of which could be reserved. "This shall be the dark room," + wrote George Sand, "the mysterious room, the ghost's retreat, the + monster's den, the cage of the performing animal, the hiding-place for the + treasure, the vampire's cave, or whatever you like to call it. . . ." + </p> + <p> + In plainer language, it was Jules' room; and then follows some touching + eloquence about the dear boy she worshipped who loved her so dearly. + </p> + <p> + This is the beginning of things, but later on the tone of the + correspondence changes. The letters become less frequent, and are also not + so gay. George Sand speaks much less of Jules in them and much more of + little Solange, whom she intended to bring back to Paris with her. She is + beginning to weary of Jules and to esteem him at his true value. He is + lazy, and has fits of depression and all the capriciousness of a spoilt + child. She has had enough of him, and then, too, it is very evident from + the letters that there has been some division among the lively friends who + had sworn to be comrades for life. There are explanations and + justifications. George Sand discovers that there are certain + inconveniences connected with intimacies in which there is such + disproportion of age and of social position. Finally there are the + following desperate letters, written in fits of irritation: "My dear + friend, go to Jules and look after him. He is broken-hearted, and you can + do nothing for him in that respect. It is no use trying. I do not ask you + to come to me yet, as I do not need anything. I would rather be alone + to-day. Then, too, there is nothing left for me in life. It will be + horrible for him for a long time, but he is so young. The day will come, + perhaps, when he will not be sorry to have lived. . . . Do not attempt to + put matters right, as this time there is no remedy. We do not blame each + other at all, and for some time we have been struggling against this + horrible necessity. We have had trouble enough. There seemed to be nothing + left but to put an end to our lives, and if it had not been for my + children, we should have done this." + </p> + <p> + The question is, Was George Sand blameless in the matter? It appears that + she had discovered that her dear Jules was faithless to her, and that, + during her absence, he had deceived her. She would not forgive him, but + sent him off to Italy, and refused to see him again. The last of these + letters is dated June 15, 1833. + </p> + <p> + "I shall make a parcel of a few of Jules' things that he left in the + wardrobe," she says, "and I will send them to you. I do not want anything + to do with him when he comes back, and, according to the last words of the + letter you showed me, his return may be soon. For a long time I have been + very much hurt by the discoveries I made with regard to his conduct, and I + could not feel anything else for him now but affectionate compassion. His + pride, I hope, would refuse this. Make him clearly understand, if + necessary, that there can never be anything more between us. If this hard + task should not be necessary, that is, if Jules should himself understand + that it could not be otherwise, spare him the sorrow of hearing that he + has lost everything, even my respect. He must undoubtedly have lost his + own self-esteem, so that he is punished enough." + </p> + <p> + Thus ended this great passion. This was the first of George Sand's errors, + and it certainly was an immense one. She had imagined that happiness + reigns in students' rooms. She had counted on the passing fancy of a young + man of good family, who had come to Paris to sow his wild oats, for giving + her fresh zest and for carving out for herself a fresh future. It was a + most commonplace adventure, utterly destitute of psychology, and by its + very bitterness it contrasted strangely with her elevated sentimental + romance with Aurelien de Seze. That was the quintessence of refinement. + All that is interesting about this second adventure is the proof that it + gives us of George Sand's wonderful illusions, of the intensity of the + mirage of which she was a dupe, and of which we have so many instances in + her life. + </p> + <p> + Baronne Dudevant had tried conjugal life, and she had now tried free love. + She had been unsuccessful in both instances. It is to these adventures + though, to these trials, errors and disappointments that we owe the writer + we are about to study. George Sand was now born to literature. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III + </h2> + <h3> + A FEMINIST OF 1832 + </h3> + <p> + THE FIRST NOVELS AND THE QUESTION OF MARRIAGE + </p> + <p> + When Baronne Dudevant arrived in Paris, in 1831, her intention was to earn + her living with her pen. She never really counted seriously on the income + she might make by her talent for painting flowers on snuff-boxes and + ornamenting cigar-cases with water-colours. She arrived from her province + with the intention of becoming a writer. Like most authors who commence, + she first tried journalism. On the 4th of March, she wrote as follows to + the faithful Boucoiran: "In the meantime I must live, and for the sake of + that, I have taken up the worst of trades: I am writing articles for the + <i>Figaro</i>. If only you knew what that means! They are paid for, + though, at the rate of seven francs a column." + </p> + <p> + She evidently found it worth while to write for the <i>Figaro</i>, which + at that time was quite a small newspaper, managed by Henri de Latouche, + who also came from Berry. He was a very second-rate writer himself, and a + poet with very little talent but, at any rate, he appreciated and + discovered talent in others. He published Andre Chenier's first writings, + and he introduced George Sand to the public. His new apprentice was placed + at one of the little tables at which the various parts of the paper were + manufactured. Unfortunately she had not the vocation for this work. The + first principle with regard to newspaper articles is to make them short. + When Aurore had come to the end of her paper, she had not yet commenced + her subject. It was no use attempting to continue, so she gave up "the + worst of trades," lucrative though it might be. + </p> + <p> + She could not help knowing, though, that she had the gift of writing. She + had inherited it from her ancestors, and this is the blest part of her + atavism. No matter how far back we go, and in every branch of her + genealogical tree, there is artistic heredity to be found. Maurice de Saxe + wrote his <i>Reveries</i>. This was a fine book for a soldier to write, + and for that alone he would deserve praise, even if he had not beaten the + English so gloriously. Mademoiselle Verrieres was an actress and Dupin de + Francueil a dilettante. Aurore's grandmother, Marie-Aurore, was very + musical, she sang operatic songs, and collected extracts from the + philosophers. Maurice Dupin was devoted to music and to the theatre. Even + Sophie-Victoire had an innate appreciation of beauty. She not only wept, + like Margot, at melodrama, but she noticed the pink of a cloud, the mauve + of a flower, and, what was more important, she called her little + daughter's attention to such things. This illiterate mother had therefore + had some influence on Aurore and on her taste for literature. + </p> + <p> + It is not enough to say that George Sand was a born writer. She was a born + novelist, and she belonged to a certain category of novelists. She had + been created by a special decree of Providence to write her own romances, + and not others. It is this which makes the history of the far-back origins + of her literary vocation so interesting. It is extremely curious to see, + from her earliest childhood, the promises of those faculties which were to + become the very essence of her talent. When she was only three years old, + her mother used to put her between four chairs in order to keep her still. + By way of enlivening her captivity, she tells us what she did. + </p> + <p> + "I used to make up endless stories, which my mother styled my novels. . . + . I told these stories aloud, and my mother declared that they were most + tiresome on account of their length and of the development I gave to my + digressions. . . . There were very few bad people in them, and never any + serious troubles. Everything was always arranged satisfactorily, thanks to + my lively, optimistic ideas. . . ." + </p> + <p> + She had already commenced, then, at the age of three, and these early + stories are the precursors of the novels of her maturity. They are + optimistic, drawn out, and with long digressions. Something similar is + told about Walter Scott. There is evidently a primordial instinct in those + who are born story-tellers, and this urges them on to invent fine stories + for amusing themselves. + </p> + <p> + A little later on we have another phenomenon, almost as curious, with + regard to Aurore. We are apt to wonder how certain descriptive writers + proceed in order to give us pictures, the various features of which stand + out in such intense relief that they appear absolutely real to us. George + Sand tells us that when Berquin's stories were being read to her at + Nohant, she used to sit in front of the fire, from which she was protected + by an old green silk screen. She used gradually to lose the sense of the + phrases, but pictures began to form themselves in front of her on the + green screen. + </p> + <p> + "I saw woods, meadows, rivers, towns of strange and gigantic architecture. + . . . One day these apparitions were so real that I was startled by them, + and I asked my mother whether she could see them." + </p> + <p> + With hallucinations like these a writer can be picturesque. He has in + front of him, although it may be between four walls, a complete landscape. + He has only to follow the lines of it and to reproduce the colours, so + that in painting imaginary landscapes he can paint them from nature, from + this model that appears to him, as though by enchantment. He can, if he + likes, count the leaves of the trees and listen to the sound of the + growing grass. + </p> + <p> + Still later on, vague religious or philosophical conceptions began to + mingle with the fiction that Aurore always had in her mind. To her + poetical life, was added a moral life. She always had a romance going on, + to which she was constantly adding another chapter, like so many links in + a never-ending chain. She now gave a hero to her romance, a hero whose + name was Corambe. He was her ideal, a man whom she had made her god. + Whilst blood was flowing freely on the altars of barbarous gods, on + Corambe's altar life and liberty were given to a whole crowd of captive + creatures, to a swallow, to a robin-redbreast, and even to a sparrow. We + see already in all this her tendency to put moral intentions into her + romantic stories, to arrange her adventures in such a way that they should + serve as examples for making mankind better. These were the novels, with a + purpose, of her twelfth year. + </p> + <p> + Let us now study a striking contrast, by way of observing the first signs + of vocation in two totally different novelists. In the beginning of <i>Facino + Cane</i>, Balzac tells us an incident of the time when, as an aspiring + writer, he lived in his attic in the Rue Lesdiguieres. One evening, on + coming out of the theatre, he amused himself with following a working-man + and his wife from the Boulevard du Pontaux-Choux to the Boulevard + Beaumarchais. He listened to them as they talked of the piece they had + just seen. They then discussed their business matters, and afterwards + house and family affairs. "While listening to this couple," says Balzac, + "I entered into their life. I could feel their clothes on my back and, I + was walking in their shabby boots." + </p> + <p> + This is the novelist of the objective school, the one who comes out of + himself, who ceases to be himself and becomes another person. + </p> + <p> + Instead of this exterior world, to which Balzac adapts himself, Aurore + talks to us of an inner world, emanating from her own fancy, the + reflection of her own imagination, the echo of her own heart, which is + really herself. This explains the difference between Balzac's impersonal + novel and George Sand's personal novel. It is just the difference between + realistic art, which gives way to the object, and idealistic art, which + transforms this according to its own will and pleasure. + </p> + <p> + Up to this time George Sand's ideas had not been put on to paper. Both <i>Corambe</i> + and the stories composed between four chairs were merely fancies of a + child's mind. Aurore soon began to write, though. She had composed two + novels while in the convent, one of which was religious and the other a + pastoral story. She was wise enough to tear them both up. On leaving the + convent she wrote another novel for Rene' de Villeneuve, and this shared + the same fate. In 1827, she wrote her <i>Voyage en Auvergne</i>, and in + 1829, another novel. In her <i>Histoire de ma vie</i> she says of this: + "After reading it, I was convinced that it was of no value, but at the + same time I was sure I could write a better one. . . . I saw that I could + write quickly and easily, and without feeling any fatigue. The ideas that + were lying dormant in my mind were quickened and became connected, by my + deductions, as I wrote. With my meditative life, I had observed a great + deal, and had understood the various characters which Fate had put in my + way, so that I really knew enough of human nature to be able to depict + it." She now had that facility, that abundance of matter and that + nonchalance which were such characteristic features of her writing. + </p> + <p> + When George Sand began to publish, she had already written a great deal. + Her literary formation was complete. We notice this same thing whenever we + study the early work of a writer. Genius is revealed to us, perhaps, with + a sudden flash, but it has been making its way for a long time + underground, so that what we take for a spontaneous burst of genius is + nothing but the final effort of a sap which has been slowly accumulating + and which from henceforth is all-powerful. + </p> + <p> + George Sand had to go through the inevitable period of feeling her way. We + are glad to think that the first book she published was not written by + herself alone, so that the responsibility of that execrable novel does not + lie solely with her. + </p> + <p> + On the 9th of March, 1831, George Sand wrote to Boucoiran as follows: + "Monstrosities are in vogue, so we must invent monstrosities. I am + bringing forth a very pleasant one just at present. . . ." This was the + novel written in collaboration with Sandeau which appeared under the + signature of Jules Sand towards the end of 1831. It was entitled, <i>Rose + et Blanche, ou la Comedienne et la Religieuse</i>. + </p> + <p> + It begins by a scene in a coach, rather like certain novels by Balzac, but + accompanied by insignificant details in the worst taste imaginable. Two + girls are travelling in the same coach. Rose is a young comedian, and + Sister Blanche is about to become a nun. They separate at Tarbes, and the + scene of the story is laid in the region of the Pyrenees, in Tarbes Auch, + Nerac, the Landes, and finishes with the return to Paris. Rose, after an + entertainment which is a veritable orgy, is handed over by her mother to a + licentious young man. He is ashamed of himself, and, instead of leading + Rose astray, he takes her to the Convent of the Augustines, where she + finds Sister Blanche once more. Sister Blanche has not yet pronounced her + vows, and the proof of this is that she marries Horace. But what a + wedding! As a matter of fact, Sister Blanche was formerly named Denise. + She was the daughter of a seafaring man of Bordeaux, and was both pretty + and foolish. She had been dishonoured by the young libertine whom she is + now to marry. The memory of the past comes back to Blanche, and makes her + live over again her life as Denise. In the mean time Rose had become a + great singer. She now arrives, just in time to be present at her friend's + deathbed. She enters the convent herself, and takes the place left vacant + by Sister Blanche. The whole of this is absurd and frequently very + disagreeable. + </p> + <p> + It is quite easy to distinguish the parts due to the two collaborators, + and to see that George Sand wrote nearly all the book. There are the + landscapes, Tarbes Auch, Nerac, the Landes, and a number of recollections + of the famous journey to the Pyrenees and of her stay at Guillery with the + Dudevant family. The Convent of the Augustines in Paris, with its English + nuns and its boarders belonging to the best families, is the one in which + Aurore spent three years. The cloister can be recognized, the garden + planted with chestnut trees, and the cell from which there was a view over + the city. All her dreams seemed so near Heaven there, for the rich, cloudy + sky was so near—"that most beautiful and ever-changing sky, perhaps + the most beautiful in the world," of which we read in <i>Rose et Blanche</i>. + But together with this romance of religious life is a libertine novel with + stories of orgies, of a certain private house, and of very risky and + unpleasant episodes. This is the collaborator's share in the work. The + risky parts are Sandeau's. + </p> + <p> + Such, then, is this hybrid composition. It was, in reality, the + monstrosity announced by George Sand. + </p> + <p> + It had a certain success, but the person who was most severe in her + judgment of it was Sophie-Victoire, George Sand's mother, who had very + prudish tastes in literature. This woman is perfectly delightful, and + every time we come across her it is a fresh joy. Her daughter was obliged + to make some excuse for herself, and this she did by stating that the work + was not entirely her own. + </p> + <p> + "I do not approve of a great deal of the nonsense," she writes, "and I + only let certain things pass to please my publisher, who wanted something + rather lively. . . . I do not like the risky parts myself. . . ." Later on + in the same letter, she adds: "There is nothing of the kind in the book I + am writing now, and I am using nothing of my collaborator's in this, + except his name."(15) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (15) <i>Correspondance</i>: To her mother, February 22, 1832. +</pre> + <p> + This was true. Jules Sand had had his day, and the book of which she now + speaks was <i>Indiana</i>. She signed this "George Sand." + </p> + <p> + The unpublished correspondence with Emile Regnault, some fragments of + which we have just read, contains a most interesting letter concerning the + composition of <i>Indiana</i>. It is dated February 28, 1832. George Sand + first insists on the severity of the subject and on its resemblance to + life. "It is as simple, as natural and as positive as you could wish," she + says. "It is neither romantic, mosaic, nor frantic. It is just ordinary + life of the most <i>bourgeois</i> kind, but unfortunately this is much + more difficult than exaggerated literature. . . . There is not the least + word put in for nothing, not a single description, not a vestige of + poetry. There are no unexpected, extraordinary, or amazing situations, but + merely four volumes on four characters. With only just these characters, + that is, with hidden feelings, everyday thoughts, with friendship, love, + selfishness, devotion, self-respect, persistency, melancholy, sorrow, + ingratitude, disappointment, hope, and all the mixed-up medley of the + human mind, is it possible to write four volumes which will not bore + people? I am afraid of boring people, of boring them as life itself does. + And yet what is more interesting than the history of the heart, when it is + a true history? The main thing is to write true history, and it is just + that which is so difficult. . . ." + </p> + <p> + This declaration is rather surprising to any one who reads it to-day. We + might ask whether what was natural in 1832 would be natural in 1910? That + is not the question which concerns us, though. The important fact to note + is that George Sand was no longer attempting to manufacture monstrosities. + She was endeavouring to be true, and she wanted above everything else to + present a character of woman who would be the typical modern woman. + </p> + <p> + "Noemi (this name was afterwards left to Sandeau, who had used it in <i>Marianna</i>. + George Sand changed it to that of <i>Indiana</i>) is a typical woman, + strong and weak, tired even by the weight of the air, but capable of + holding up the sky; timid in everyday life, but daring in days of battle; + shrewd and clever in seizing the loose threads of ordinary life, but silly + and stupid in distinguishing her own interests when it is a question of + her happiness; caring little for the world at large, but allowing herself + to be duped by one man; not troubling much about her own dignity, but + watching over that of the object of her choice; despising the vanities of + the times as far as she is concerned, but allowing herself to be + fascinated by the man who is full of these vanities. This, I believe," she + says, "is the usual woman, an extraordinary mixture of weakness and + energy, of grandeur and of littleness, a being ever composed of two + opposite natures, at times sublime and at times despicable, clever in + deceiving and easily deceived herself." + </p> + <p> + This novel, intended to present to us the modern woman, ought to be styled + a "feminist novel." It was also, as regards other points of view. <i>Indiana</i> + appeared in May, 1832, <i>Valentine</i> in 1833, and <i>Jacques</i> in + 1834. In these three books I should like to show our present feminism, + already armed, and introduced to us according to George Sand's early + ideas. + </p> + <p> + <i>Indiana</i> is the story of a woman who had made an unfortunate + marriage. At the age of nineteen she had married Colonel Delmare. Colonels + were very much in vogue in those days, and the fact that he had attained + that rank proves that he was much older than she was. Colonel Delmare was + an honest, straightforward man in the Pharisaical sense of the word. This + simply means that he had never robbed or killed any one. He had no + delicacy and no charm, and, fond as he was of his own authority, he was a + domestic tyrant. Indiana was very unhappy between this execrable husband + and a cousin of hers, Ralph, a man who is twice over English, in the first + place because his name is Brown, and then because he is phlegmatic. Ralph + is delightful and most excellent, and it is on his account that she is + insensible to the charms of Raymon de Ramieres an elegant and + distinguished young man who is a veritable lady-killer. + </p> + <p> + Space forbids us to go into all the episodes of this story, but the crisis + is that Colonel Delmare is ruined, and his business affairs call him to + the Isle of Bourbon. He intends to take Indiana with him, but she refuses + to accompany him. She knows quite well that Raymon will do all he can to + prevent her going. She hurries away to him, offers herself to him, and + volunteers to remain with him always. It is unnecessary to give Raymon's + reply to this charming proposal. Poor Indiana receives a very wet blanket + on a cold winter's night. + </p> + <p> + She therefore starts for the Isle of Bourbon, and, some time after her + arrival there, she gets a letter from Raymon which makes her think that he + is very unhappy. She accordingly hastens back to him, but is received by + the young wife whom Raymon has just married. It is a very brilliant + marriage, and Raymon could not have hoped for anything more satisfactory. + Poor Indiana! The Seine, however, is quite near, and she throws herself + into it. This was quite safe, as Ralph was there to fish her out again. + Ralph was always at hand to fish his cousin out of everything. He is her + appointed rescuer, her Newfoundland dog. In the country or in the town, on + <i>terra firma</i> or on the boat which takes Indiana to the Isle of + Bourbon, we always see Ralph turn up, phlegmatic as usual. Unnecessary to + say that Ralph is in love with Indiana. His apparent calmness is put on + purposely. It is the snowy covering under which a volcano is burning. His + awkward and unprepossessing appearance conceals an exquisite soul. Ralph + brings Indiana good news. Colonel Delmare is dead, so that she is free. + What will she do now with her liberty? After due deliberation, Ralph and + Indiana decide to commit suicide, but they have to agree about the kind of + death they will die. Ralph considers that this is a matter of certain + importance. He does not care to kill himself in Paris; there are too many + people about, so that there is no tranquillity. The Isle of Bourbon seems + to him a pleasant place for a suicide. There was a magnificent horizon + there; then, too, there was a precipice and a waterfall. . . . + </p> + <p> + Ralph's happy ideas are somewhat sinister, but the couple set out + nevertheless for the Isle of Bourbon in search of a propitious waterfall. + A sea-voyage, under such circumstances, would be an excellent preparation. + When once there, they carry out their plans, and Ralph gives his beloved + wise advice at the last moment. She must not jump from the side, as that + would be bad. "Throw yourself into the white line that the waterfall + makes," he says. "You will then reach the lake with that, and the torrent + will plunge you in." This sounds enticing. + </p> + <p> + Such a suicide was considered infinitely poetical at that epoch, and every + one pitied Indiana in her troubles. It is curious to read such books + calmly a long time afterwards, books which reflect so exactly the + sentiments of a certain epoch. It is curious to note how the point of view + has changed, and how people and things appear to us exactly the reverse of + what they appeared to the author and to contemporaries. + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact, the only interesting person in all this is Colonel + Delmare, or, at any rate, he is the only one of whom Indiana could not + complain. He loved her, and he loved no one else but her. The like cannot + be said for Indiana. Few husbands would imitate his patience and + forbearance, and he certainly allowed his wife the most extraordinary + freedom. At one time we find, a young man in Indiana's bedroom, and at + another time Indiana in a young man's bedroom. Colonel Delmare receives + Raymon at his house in a friendly way, and he tolerates the presence of + the sempiternal Ralph in his home. What more can be asked of a husband + than to allow his wife to have a man friend and a cousin? Indiana declares + that Colonel Delmare has struck her, and that the mark is left on her + face. She exaggerated, though, as we know quite well what took place. In + reality all this was at Plessis-Picard. Delmare-Dudevant struck + Indiana-Aurore. This was certainly too much, but there was no blood shed. + As to the other personages, Raymon is a wretched little rascal, who was + first the lover of Indiana's maid. He next made love to poor Noun's + mistress, and then deserted her to make a rich marriage. Ralph plunges + Indiana down a precipice. That was certainly bad treatment for the woman + he loved. As regards Indiana, George Sand honestly believed that she had + given her all the charms imaginable. As a matter of fact, she did charm + the readers of that time. It is from this model that we have one of the + favourite types of woman in literature for the next twenty years—the + misunderstood woman. + </p> + <p> + The misunderstood woman is pale, fragile, and subject to fainting. Up to + page 99 of the book, Indiana has fainted three times. I did not continue + counting. This fainting was not the result of bad health. It was the + fashion to faint. The days of nerves and languid airs had come back. The + women whose grandmothers had walked so firmly to the scaffold, and whose + mothers had listened bravely to the firing of the cannon under the Empire, + were now depressed and tearful, like so many plaintive elegies. It was + just a matter of fashion. The misunderstood woman was supposed to be + unhappy with her husband, but she would not have been any happier with + another man. Indiana does not find fault with Colonel Delmare for being + the husband that he is, but simply for being the husband! + </p> + <p> + "She did not love her husband, for the mere reason, perhaps, that she was + told it was her duty to love him and that it had become her second nature, + a principle and a law of her conscience to resist inwardly all moral + constraint." She affected a most irritating gentleness, an exasperating + submissiveness. When she put on her superior, resigned airs, it was enough + to unhinge an angel. Besides, what was there to complain about, and why + should she not accommodate herself to conditions of existence with which + so many others fall in? She must not be compared to others, though. She is + eminently a distinguished woman, and she asks without shrinking: "Do you + know what it means to love a woman such as I am?" + </p> + <p> + In her long silences and her persistent melancholy, she is no doubt + thinking of the love appropriate to a woman such as she is. She was a + princess in exile and times were then hard for princesses. That is why the + one in question took refuge in her homesick sorrow. All this is what + people will not understand. Instead of rising to such sublimities, or of + being lost in fogs, they judge from mere facts. And on coming across a + young wife who is inclined to prefer a handsome, dark young man to a + husband who is turning grey, they are apt to conclude: "Well, this is not + the first time we have met with a similar case. It is hardly worth while + making such a fuss about a young plague of a woman who wants to go to the + bad." It would be very unjust, though, not to recognize that <i>Indiana</i> + is a most remarkable novel. There is a certain relief in the various + characters, Colonel Delmare, Raymon, Ralph and Inaiana. We ought to + question the husbands who married wives belonging to the race of + misunderstood women brought into vogue by <i>Indiana</i>. + </p> + <p> + <i>Valentine</i>, too, is the story of a woman unhappily married. + </p> + <p> + This time the chief <i>role</i> is given to the lover, and not to the + woman. Instead of the misunderstood woman, though, we have the typical + frenzied lover, created by the romantic school. Louise-Valentine de + Raimbault is about to marry Norbert-Evariste de Lansac, when suddenly this + young person, who is accustomed to going about in the country round and to + the village fetes, falls in love with the nephew of one of her farmers. + The young man's name is Benedict, and he is a peasant who has had some + education. His mentality is probably that of a present-day elementary + school-teacher. Valentine cannot resist him, although we are told that + Benedict is not very handsome. It is his soul which Valentine loves in + him. Benedict knows very well that he cannot marry Valentine, but he can + cause her a great deal of annoyance by way of proving his love. On the + night of the wedding he is in the nuptial chamber, from which the author + has taken care to banish the husband for the time being. Benedict watches + over the slumber of the woman he loves, and leaves her an epistle in which + he declares that, after hesitating whether he should kill her husband, + her, or himself, or whether he should kill all three, or only select two + of the three, and after adopting in turn each of these combinations, he + has decided to only kill himself. He is found in a ditch in a terrible + plight, but we are by no means rid of him. Benedict is not dead, and he + has a great deal of harm to do yet. We shall meet with him again several + times, always hidden behind curtains, listening to all that is said and + watching all that takes place. At the right moment he comes out with his + pistol in his hand. The husband is away during all this time. No one + troubles about him, though. He is a bad husband, or rather he is—a + husband, and Benedict has nothing to fear as far as he is concerned. But + one day a peasant, who does not like the looks of Benedict, attacks him + with his pitchfork and puts an end to this valuable life. + </p> + <p> + The question arises, by what right Benedict disturbs Valentine's + tranquillity. The answer is by the right of his passion for her. He has an + income of about twenty pounds a year. It would be impossible for him to + marry on that. What has he to offer to the woman whose peace of mind he + disturbs and whose position he ruins? He offers himself. Surely that + should be enough. Then, too, it is impossible to reason with individuals + of his temperament. We have only to look at him, with his sickly pallor + and the restless light in his eyes. We have only to listen to the sound of + his voice and his excited speeches. At times he goes in for wild + declamation, and immediately afterwards for cold irony and sarcasm. He is + always talking of death. When he attempts to shoot himself he always + misses, but when Adele d'Hervey resists him, at the time he has taken the + name of Antony, he kills her. He is therefore a dangerous madman. + </p> + <p> + We now have two fresh personages for novels, the misunderstood woman and + the frenzied lover. It is a pity they do not marry each other, and so rid + us of them. + </p> + <p> + We must not lose sight, though, of the fact that, contestable as <i>Valentine</i> + certainly is as a novel of passion, there is a pastoral novel of the + highest order contained in this book. The setting of the story is + delightful. George Sand has placed the scene in that Black Valley which + she knew so well and loved so dearly. It is the first of her novels in + which she celebrates her birthplace. There are walks along the country + pathways, long meditations at night, village weddings and fetes. All the + poetry and all the picturesqueness of the country transform and embellish + the story. + </p> + <p> + In <i>Jacques</i> we have the history of a man unhappily married, and + this, through the reciprocity which is inevitable under the circumstances, + is another story of a woman unhappily married. + </p> + <p> + At the age of thirty-five, after a stormy existence, in which years count + double, Jacques marries Fernande, a woman much younger than he is. After a + few unhappy months he sees the first clouds appearing in his horizon. He + sends for his sister Sylvia to come and live with himself and his wife. + Sylvia, like Jacques, is an exceptional individual. She is proud, haughty + and reserved. It can readily be imagined that, the presence of this + pythoness does not tend to restore the confidence which has become + somewhat shaken between the husband and wife. A young man named Octave, + who was at first attracted by Sylvia, soon begins to prefer Fernande, who + is not a romantic, ironical and sarcastic woman like her sister-in-law. He + fancies that he should be very happy with the gentle Fernande. Jacques + discovers that Octave and his wife are in love with each other. There are + various alternatives for him. He can dismiss his rival, kill him, or + merely pardon him. Each alternative is a very ordinary way out of the + difficulty, and Jacques cannot resign himself to anything ordinary. He + therefore asks his wife's lover whether he really cares for his wife, + whether he is in earnest, and also whether this attachment will be + durable. Quite satisfied with the result of this examination, he leaves + Fernande to Octave. He then disappears and kills himself, but he takes all + necessary precautions to avert the suspicion of suicide, in order not to + sadden Octave and Fernande in their happiness. He had not been able to + keep his wife's love, but he does not wish to be the jailer of the woman + who no longer loves him. Fernande has a right to happiness and, as he has + not been able to ensure that happiness, he must give place to another man. + It is a case of suicide as a duty. There are instances when a husband + should know that it is his duty to disappear. . . . Jacques is "a stoic." + George Sand has a great admiration for such characters. She gives us her + first sketch of one in Ralph, but Jacques is presented to us as a sublime + being. + </p> + <p> + Personally, I look upon him as a mere greenhorn, or, as would be said in + Wagner's dramas, a "pure simpleton." + </p> + <p> + He did everything to ruin his home life. His young wife had confidence in + him; she was gay and naive. He went about, folding his arms in a tragic + way. He was absent-minded and gloomy, and she began to be awed by him. One + day, when, in her sorrow for having displeased him, she flung herself on + her knees, sobbing, instead of lifting her up tenderly, he broke away from + her caresses, telling her furiously to get up and never to behave in such + a way again in his presence. After this he puts his sister, the "bronze + woman," between them, and he invites Octave to live with them. When he has + thus destroyed his wife's affection for him, in spite of the fact that at + one time she wished for nothing better than to love him, he goes away and + gives up the whole thing. All that is too easy. One of Meilhac's heroines + says to a man, who declares that he is going to drown himself for her + sake, "Oh yes, that is all very fine. You would be tranquil at the bottom + of the water! But what about me? . . ." + </p> + <p> + In this instance Jacques is tranquil at the bottom of his precipice, but + Fernande is alive and not at all tranquil. Jacques never rises to the very + simple conception of his duty, which was that, having made a woman the + companion of his life's journey, he had no right to desert her on the way. + </p> + <p> + Rather than blame himself, though, Jacques prefers incriminating the + institution of marriage. The criticism of this institution is very plain + in the novel we are considering. In her former novels George, Sand treated + all this in a more or less vague way. She now states her theory clearly. + Jacques considers that marriage is a barbarous institution. "I have not + changed my opinion," he says, "and I am not reconciled to society. I + consider marriage one of the most barbarous institutions ever invented. I + have no doubt that it will be abolished when the human species makes + progress in the direction of justice and reason. Some bond that will be + more human and just as sacred will take the place of marriage and provide + for the children born of a woman and a man, without fettering their + liberty for ever. Men are too coarse at present, and women too cowardly, + to ask for a nobler law than the iron one which governs them. For + individuals without conscience and without virtue, heavy chains are + necessary." + </p> + <p> + We also hear Sylvia's ideas and the plans she proposes to her brother for + the time when marriage is abolished. + </p> + <p> + "We will adopt an orphan, imagine that it is our child, and bring it up in + our principles. We could educate a child of each sex, and then marry them + when the time came, before God, with no other temple than the desert and + no priest but love. We should have formed their souls to respect truth and + justice, so that, thanks to us, there would be one pure and happy couple + on the face of the earth." + </p> + <p> + The suppression of marriage, then, was the idea, and, in a future more or + less distant, free love! + </p> + <p> + It is interesting to discover by what series of deductions George Sand + proceeds and on what principles she bases everything. When once her + principles are admitted, the conclusion she draws from them is quite + logical. + </p> + <p> + What is her essential objection to marriage? The fact that marriage + fetters the liberty of two beings. "Society dictates to you the formula of + an oath. You must swear that you will be faithful and obedient to me, that + you will never love any one but me, and that you will obey me in + everything. One of those oaths is absurd and the other vile. You cannot be + answerable for your heart, even if I were the greatest and most perfect of + men." Now comes the question of love for another man. Until then it was + considered that such love was a weakness, and that it might become a + fault. But, after all, is not passion a fatal and irresistible thing? + </p> + <p> + "No human creature can command love, and no one is to be blamed for + feeling it or for ceasing to feel it. What lowers a woman is untruth." A + little farther on we are told: "They are not guilty, for they love each + other. There is no crime where there is sincere love." According to this + theory, the union of man and woman depends on love alone. When love + disappears, the union cannot continue. Marriage is a human institution, + but passion is of Divine essence. In case of any dissension, it is always + the institution of marriage which is to be blamed. + </p> + <p> + The sole end in view of marriage is charm, either that of sentiment or + that of the senses, and its sole object is the exchange of two fancies. As + the oath of fidelity is either a stupidity or a degradation, can anything + more opposed to common sense, and a more absolute ignorance of all that is + noble and great, be imagined than the effort mankind is making, against + all the chances of destruction by which he is surrounded, to affirm, in + face of all that changes, his will and intention to continue? We all + remember the heart-rending lamentation of Diderot: "The first promises + made between two creatures of flesh," he says, "were made at the foot of a + rock crumbling to dust. They called on Heaven to be a witness of their + constancy, but the skies in the Heaven above them were never the same for + an instant. Everything was changing, both within them and around them, and + they believed that their heart would know no change. Oh, what children, + what children always!" Ah, not children, but what men rather! We know + these fluctuations in our affections. And it is because we are afraid of + our own fragility that we call to our aid the protection of laws, to which + submission is no slavery, as it is voluntary submission. Nature does not + know these laws, but it is by them that we distinguish ourselves from + Nature and that we rise above it. The rock on which we tread crumbles to + dust, the sky above our heads is never the same an instant, but, in the + depth of our hearts, there is the moral law—and that never changes! + </p> + <p> + In order to reply to these paradoxes, where shall we go in search of our + arguments? We can go to George Sand herself. A few years later, during her + intercourse with Lamennals, she wrote her famous <i>Lettres a Marcie</i> + for <i>Le Monde</i>. She addresses herself to an imaginary correspondent, + to a woman supposed to be suffering from that agitation and impatience + which she had experienced herself. + </p> + <p> + "You are sad," says George Sand to her, "you are suffering, and you are + bored to death." We will now take note of some of the advice she gives to + this woman. She no longer believes that it belongs to human dignity to + have the liberty of changing. "The one thing to which man aspires, the + thing which makes him great, is permanence in the moral state. All which + tends to give stability to our desires, to strengthen the human will and + affections, tends to bring about the <i>reign of God</i> on earth, which + means love and the practice of truth." She then speaks of vain dreams. + "Should we even have time to think about the impossible if we did all that + is necessary? Should we despair ourselves if we were to restore hope in + those people who have nothing left them but hope?" With regard to feminist + claims, she says: "Women are crying out that they are slaves: let them + wait until men are free! . . . In the mean time we must not compromise the + future by our impatience with the present. . . . It is to be feared that + vain attempts of this kind and unjustifiable claims may do harm to what is + styled at present the cause of women. There is no doubt that women have + certain rights and that they are suffering injustice. They ought to lay + claim to a better future, to a wise independence, to a greater + participation in knowledge, and to more respect, interest and esteem from + men. This future, though, is in their own hands." + </p> + <p> + This is wisdom itself. It would be impossible to put it more clearly, and + to warn women in a better way, that the greatest danger for their cause + would be the triumph of what is called by an ironical term—feminism. + </p> + <p> + These retractions, though, have very little effect. There is a certain + piquancy in showing up an author who is in contradiction with himself, in + showing how he refutes his own paradoxes. But these are striking paradoxes + which are not readily forgotten. What I want to show is that in these + first novels by George Sand we have about the whole of the feminist + programme of to-day. Everything is there, the right to happiness, the + necessity of reforming marriage, the institution, in a more or less near + future, of free unions. Our feminists of to-day, French, English, or + Norwegian authoresses, and theoricians like Ellen Key, with her book on <i>Love + and Marriage</i>, all these rebels have invented nothing. They have done + nothing but take up once more the theories of the great feminist of 1832, + and expose them with less lyricism but with more cynicism. + </p> + <p> + George Sand protested against the accusation of having aimed at attacking + institutions in her feminist novels. She was wrong in protesting, as it is + just this which gives her novels their value and significance. It is this + which dates them and which explains the enormous force of expansion that + they have had. They came just after the July Revolution, and we must + certainly consider them as one of the results of that. A throne had just + been overturned, and, by way of pastime, churches were being pillaged and + an archbishop's palace had been sackaged. Literature was also attempting + an insurrection, by way of diversion. For a long time it had been feeding + the revolutionary ferment which it had received from romanticism. + Romanticism had demanded the freedom of the individual, and the writers at + the head of this movement were Chateaubriand, Victor Hugo and Dumas. They + claimed this freedom for Rene, for Hermann and for Antony, who were men. + An example had been given, and women meant to take advantage of it. Women + now began their revolution. + </p> + <p> + Under all these influences, and in the particular atmosphere now created, + the matrimonial mishap of Baronne Dudevant appeared to her of considerable + importance. She exaggerated and magnified it until it became of social + value. Taking this private mishap as her basis, she puts into each of her + heroines something of herself. This explains the passionate tone of the + whole story. And this passion could not fail to be contagious for the + women who read her stories, and who recognized in the novelist's cause + their own cause and the cause of all women. + </p> + <p> + This, then, is the novelty in George Sand's way of presenting feminist + grievances. She had not invented these grievances. They were already + contained in Madame de Stael's books, and I have not forgotten her. + Delphine and Corinne, though, were women of genius, and presented to us as + such. In order to be pitied by Madame de Stael, it was absolutely + necessary to be a woman of genius. For a woman to be defended by George + Sand, it was only necessary that she should not love her husband, and this + was a much more general thing. + </p> + <p> + George Sand had brought feminism within the reach of all women. This is + the characteristic of these novels, the eloquence of which cannot be + denied. They are novels for the vulgarization of the feminist theory. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV + </h2> + <h3> + THE ROMANTIC ESCAPADE + </h3> + <p> + THE VENICE ADVENTURE + </p> + <p> + George Sand did not have to wait long for success. She won fame with her + first book. With her second one she became rich, or what she considered + rich. She tells us that she sold it for a hundred and sixty pounds! That + seemed to her the wealth of the world, and she did not hesitate to leave + her attic on the Quay St. Michel for a more comfortable flat on Quay + Malaquais, which de Latouche gave up to her. + </p> + <p> + There was, at that time, a personage in Paris who had begun to exercise a + sort of royal tyranny over authors. Francois Buloz had taken advantage of + the intellectual effervescence of 1831 to found the <i>Revue des Deux + Mondes</i>. He was venturesome, energetic, original, very shrewd, though + apparently rough, obliging, in spite of his surly manners. He is still + considered the typical and traditional review manager. He certainly + possessed the first quality necessary for this function. He discovered + talented writers, and he also knew how to draw from them and squeeze out + of them all the literature they contained. Tremendously headstrong, he has + been known to keep a contributor under lock and key until his article was + finished. Authors abused him, quarrelled with him, and then came back to + him again. A review which had, for its first numbers, George Sand, Vigny, + Musset, Merimee, among many others, as contributors, may be said to have + started well. George Sand tells us that after a battle with the <i>Revue + de Paris</i> and the <i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i>, both of which papers + wanted her work, she bound herself to the <i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i>, + which was to pay her a hundred and sixty pounds a year for thirty-two + pages of writing every six weeks. In 1833 the <i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i> + published Lelia, and on January 1, 1876, it finished publishing the <i>Tour + de Percemont</i>. This means an uninterrupted collaboration, extending + over a period of forty-three years. + </p> + <p> + The literary critic of the <i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i> at that time was a + man who was very much respected and very little liked, or, in other words, + he was universally detested. This critic was Gustave Planche. He took his + own <i>role</i> too seriously, and endeavoured to put authors on their + guard about their faults. Authors did not appreciate this. He endeavoured, + too, to put the public on guard against its own infatuations. The public + did not care for this. He sowed strife and reaped revenge. This did not + stop him, though, for he went calmly on continuing his executions. His + impassibility was only feigned, and this is the curious side of the story. + He suffered keenly from the storms of hostility which he provoked. He had + a kindly disposition at bottom and tender places in his heart. He was + rather given to melancholy and intensely pessimistic. To relieve his + sadness, he gave himself up to hard work, and he was thoroughly devoted to + art. In order to comprehend this portrait and to see its resemblance, we, + who knew our great Brunetiere, have only to think of him. He, too, was + noble, fervent and combative, and he sought in his exclusive devotion to + literature a diversion from his gloomy pessimism, underneath which was + concealed such kindliness. It seemed with him, too, as though he took a + pride in making a whole crowd of enemies, whilst in reality the discovery + of every fresh adversary caused him great suffering. + </p> + <p> + When <i>Lelia</i> appeared, the novel was very badly treated in <i>L'Europe + litteraire</i>. Planche challenged the writer of the article, a certain + Capo de Feuillide, to a duel. So much for the impassibility of severe + critics. The duel took place, and afterwards there was a misunderstanding + between George Sand and Planche. From that time forth critics have given + up fighting duels for the sake of authors. + </p> + <p> + About the same time, George Sand made use of Sainte-Beuve as her + confessor. He seemed specially indicated for this function. In the first + place, he looked rather ecclesiastical, and then he had a taste for + secrets, and more particularly for whispered confessions. George Sand had + absolute confidence in him. She considered that he had an almost angelic + nature. In reality, just about that time, the angelic man was endeavouring + to get into the good graces of the wife of his best friend, and was + writing his <i>Livre d'Amour</i>, and divulging to the world a weakness of + which he had taken advantage. This certainly was the most villainous thing + a man could do. But then he, too, was in love and was struggling and + praying. George Sand declares her veneration for him, and she constituted + herself his penitent. + </p> + <p> + She begins her confession by an avowal that must have been difficult for + her. She tells of her intimacy with Merimee, an intimacy which was of + short duration and very unsatisfactory. She had been fascinated by + Merimee's art. + </p> + <p> + "For about a week," she says, "I thought he had the secret of happiness." + At the end of the week she was "weeping with disgust, suffering and + discouragement." She had hoped to find in him the devotion of a consoler, + but she found "nothing but cold and bitter jesting."(16) This experiment + had also proved a failure. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (16) Compare <i>Lettres a Sainte-Beuve</i>. +</pre> + <p> + Such were the conditions in which George Sand found herself at this epoch. + Her position was satisfactory; she might have been calm and independent. + Her inner life was once more desolate, and she was thoroughly discouraged. + She felt that she had lived centuries, that she had undergone torture, + that her heart had aged twenty years, and that nothing was any pleasure to + her now. Added to all this, public life saddened her, for the horizon had + clouded over. The boundless hopes and the enthusiasm of 1831 were things + of the past. "The Republic, as it was dreamed of in July," she writes, + "has ended in the massacres of Warsaw and in the holocaust of the + Saint-Merry cloister. The cholera has just been raging. Saint Simonism has + fallen through before it had settled the great question of love."(17) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (17) <i>Histoire de ma vie</i>. +</pre> + <p> + Depression had come after over-excitement. This is a phenomenon frequently + seen immediately after political convulsions. It might be called the + perpetual failure of revolutionary promises. + </p> + <p> + It was under all these influences that George Sand wrote <i>Lelia</i>. She + finished it in July, and it appeared in August, 1833. + </p> + <p> + It is absolutely impossible to give an analysis of <i>Lelia</i>. There + really is no subject. The personages are not beings of flesh and blood. + They are allegories strolling about in the garden of abstractions. Lelia + is a woman who has had her trials in life. She has loved and been + disappointed, so that she can no longer love at all. She reduces the + gentle poet Stenio to despair. He is much younger than she is, and he has + faith in life and in love. His ingenuous soul begins to wither and to lose + its freshness, thanks to the scepticism of the beautiful, disdainful, + ironical and world-weary Lelia. This strange person has a sister + Pulcherie, a celebrated courtesan, whose insolent sensuality is a set-off + to the other one's mournful complaints. We have here the opposition of + Intelligence and of the Flesh, of Mind and Matter. Then comes Magnus, the + priest, who has lost his faith, and for whom Lelia is a temptation, and + after him we have Trenmor, Lelia's great friend, Trenmor, the sublime + convict. As a young man he had been handsome. He had loved and been young. + He had known what it was to be only twenty years of age. "The only thing + was, he had known this at the age of sixteen" (!!) He had then become a + gambler, and here follows an extraordinary panegyric on the fatal passion + for gambling. Trenmor ruins himself, borrows without paying back, and + finally swindles "an old millionaire who was himself a defrauder and a + dissipated man" out of a hundred francs. Apparently the bad conduct of the + man Trenmor robs, excuses the swindling. He is condemned to five years of + hard labour. He undergoes his punishment, and is thereby regenerated. + "What if I were to tell you," writes George Sand, "that such as he now is, + crushed, with a tarnished reputation, ruined, I consider him superior to + all of us, as regards the moral life. As he had deserved punishment, he + was willing to bear it. He bore it, living for five years bravely and + patiently among his abject companions. He has come back to us out of that + abominable sewer holding his head up, calm, purified, pale as you see him, + but handsome still, like a creature sent by God." + </p> + <p> + We all know how dear convicts are to the hearts of romantic people. There + is no need for me to remind you how they have come to us recently, + encircled with halos of suffering and of purity. We all remember + Dostoiewsky's <i>Crime and Punishment</i> and Tolstoi's <i>Resurrection</i>. + When the virtue of expiation and the religion of human suffering came to + us from Russia, we should have greeted them as old acquaintances, if + certain essential works in our own literature, of which these books are + the issue, had not been unknown to us. + </p> + <p> + The last part of the novel is devoted to Stenio. Hurt by Lelia's disdain, + which has thrown him into the arms of her sister Pulcherie, he gives + himself up to debauch. We find him at a veritable orgy in Pulcherie's + house. Later on he is in a monastery at Camaldules, talking to Trenmor and + Magnus. In such books we must never be astonished. . . . There is a long + speech by Stenio, addressed to Don Juan, whom he regrets to have taken as + his model. The poor young man of course commits suicide. He chooses + drowning as the author evidently prefers that mode of suicide. Lelia + arrives in time to kneel down by the corpse of the young man who has been + her victim. Magnus then appears on the scene, exactly at the right moment, + to strangle Lelia. Pious hands prepare Lelia and Stenio for their burial. + They are united and yet separated up to their very death. + </p> + <p> + The summing up we have given is the original version of <i>Lelia</i>. In + 1836, George Sand touched up this work, altering much of it and spoiling, + what she altered. It is a pity that her new version, which is longer, + heavier and more obscure, should have taken the place of the former one. + In its first form <i>Lelia</i> is a work of rare beauty, but with the + beauty of a poem or an oratorio. It is made of the stuff of which dreams + are composed. It is a series of reveries, adapted to the soul of 1830. At + every different epoch there is a certain frame of mind, and certain ideas + are diffused in the air which we find alike in the works of the writers of + that time, although they did not borrow them from each other. <i>Lelia</i> + is a sort of summing up of the themes then in vogue in the personal novel + and in lyrical poetry. The theme of that suffering which is beneficent and + inspiring is contained in the following words: "Come back to me, Sorrow! + Why have you left me? It is by grief alone that man is great." This is + worthy of Chateaubriand. The theme of melancholy is as follows: "The moon + appeared. . . . What is the moon, and what is its nocturnal magic to me? + One hour more or less is nothing to me." This might very well be + Lamartine. We then have the malediction pronounced in face of impassible + Nature: "Yes, I detested that radiant and magnificent Nature, for it was + there before me in all its stupid beauty, silent and proud, for us to gaze + on, believing that it was enough to merely show itself." This reminds us + of Vigny in his <i>Maison du berger</i>. Then we have the religion of + love: "Doubt God, doubt men, doubt me if you like, but do not doubt love." + This is Musset. + </p> + <p> + But the theme which predominates, and, as we have compared all this to + music, we might say the <i>leit-motiv</i> of all, is that of desolation, + of universal despair, of the woe of life. It is the same lamentation + which, ever since Werther, was to be heard throughout all literature. It + is the identical suffering which Rene, Obermann and Lara had been + repeating to all the echoes. The elements of it were the same: pride which + prevents us from adapting ourselves to the conditions of universal life, + an abuse of self-analysis which opens up our wounds again and makes them + bleed, the wild imagination which presents to our eyes the deceptive + mirage of Promised Lands from which we are ever exiles. Lelia personifies, + in her turn, the "<i>mal du siecle</i>." Stenio reproaches her with only + singing grief and doubt. "How many, times," he says, "have you appeared to + me as typical of the indescribable suffering in which mankind is plunged + by the spirit of inquiry! With your beauty and your sadness, your + world-weariness and your scepticism, do you not personify the excess of + grief produced by the abuse of thought?" He then adds: "There is a great + deal of pride in this grief, Lelia!" It was undoubtedly a malady, for + Lelia had no reason to complain of life any more than her brothers in + despair. It is simply that the general conditions of life which all people + have to accept seem painful to them. When we are well the play of our + muscles is a joy to us, but when we are ill we feel the very weight of the + atmosphere, and our eyes are hurt by the pleasant daylight. + </p> + <p> + When <i>Lelia</i> appeared George Sand's old friends were stupefied. + "What, in Heaven's name, is this?" wrote Jules Neraud, the <i>Malgache.</i> + "Where have you been in search of this? Why have you written such a book? + Where has it sprung from, and what is it for? . . . This woman is a + fantastical creature. She is not at all like you. You are lively and can + dance a jig; you can appreciate butterflies and you do not despise puns. + You sew and can make jam very well."(18) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (18) <i>Histoire de ma vie</i>. +</pre> + <p> + It certainly was not her portrait. She was healthy and believed in life, + in the goodness of things and in the future of humanity, just as Victor + Hugo and Dumas <i>pere</i>, those other forces of Nature, did, at about + the same time. A soul foreign to her own had entered into her, and it was + the romantic soul. With the magnificent power of receptivity which she + possessed, George Sand welcomed all the winds which came to her from the + four quarters of romanticism. She sent them back with unheard-of fulness, + sonorous depth and wealth of orchestration. From that time forth a woman's + voice could be heard, added to all the masculine voices which railed + against life, and the woman's voice dominated them all! + </p> + <p> + In George Sand's psychological evolution, <i>Lelia</i> is just this: the + beginning of the invasion of her soul by romanticism. It was a borrowed + individuality, undoubtedly, but it was not something to be put on and off + at will like a mask. It adhered to the skin. It was all very fine for + George Sand to say to Sainte-Beuve: "Do not confuse the man himself with + the suffering. . . . And do not believe in all my satanical airs. . . . + This is simply a style that I have taken on, I assure you. . . ." + </p> + <p> + Sainte-Beuve had every reason to be alarmed, and the confessor was quite + right in his surmises. The crisis of romanticism had commenced. It was to + take an acute form and to reach its paroxysm during the Venice escapade. + It is from this point of view that we will study the famous episode, which + has already been studied by so many other writers. + </p> + <p> + No subject, perhaps, has excited the curiosity of readers like this one, + and always without satisfying that curiosity. A library could be formed of + the books devoted to this subject, written within the last ten years. + Monsieur Rocheblave, Monsieur Maurice Clouard, Dr. Cabanes, Monsieur + Marieton, the enthusiastic collector, Spoelberch de Lovenjoul and Monsieur + Decori have all given us their contributions to the debate.(19) Thanks to + them, we have the complete correspondence of George Sand and Musset, the + diary of George Sand and Pagello's diary. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (19) Consult: Rocheblave, <i>La fin dune Legende;</i> Maurice + Clouard, <i>Documents inedits sur A. de Musset;</i> Dr. Cabanes, + <i>Musset et le Dr. Pagello</i>; Paul Marieton, <i>Une histoire + d'amour;</i> Vicomte Spoelberch de Lovenjoul, <i>La vrai histoire + d'Elle et Lui;</i> Decori, <i>Lettres de George Sand et Musset.</i> +</pre> + <p> + With the aid of all these documents Monsieur Charles Maurras has written a + book entitled <i>Les Amants de Venise</i>. It is the work of a + psychologist and of an artist. The only fault I have to find with it is + that the author of it seems to see calculation and artifice everywhere, + and not to believe sufficiently in sincerity. We must not forget, either, + that as early as the year 1893, all that is essential had been told us by + that shrewd writer and admirable woman, Arvede Barine. The chapter which + she devotes to the Venice episode, in her biography of Alfred de Musset, + is more clear and simple, and at the same time deeper than anything that + had yet been written. + </p> + <p> + It is a subject that has been given up to the curiosity of people and to + their disputes. The strange part is the zeal which at once animates every + one who takes part in this controversy. The very atmosphere seems to be + impregnated with strife, and those interested become, at once, the + partisans of George Sand or the partisans of Musset. The two parties only + agree on one point, and that is, to throw all the blame on the client + favoured by their adversary. I must confess that I cannot take a + passionate interest in a discussion, the subject of which we cannot + properly judge. According to <i>Mussetistes</i>, it was thanks to George + Sand that the young poet was reduced to the despair which drove him to + debauchery. On the other hand, if we are to believe the <i>Sandistes</i>, + George Sand's one idea in interesting herself in Musset was to rescue him + from debauchery and convert him to a better life. I listen to all such + pious interpretations, but I prefer others for myself. I prefer seeing the + physiognomy of each of the two lovers standing out, as it does, in + powerful relief. + </p> + <p> + It is the custom, too, to pity these two unfortunates, who suffered so + much. At the risk of being taken for a very heartless man, I must own that + I do not pity them much. The two lovers wished for this suffering, they + wanted to experience the incomparable sensations of it, and they got + enjoyment and profit from this. They knew that they were working for + posterity. "Posterity will repeat our names like those of the immortal + lovers whose two names are only one at present, like Romeo and Juliette, + like Heloise and Abelard. People will never speak of one of us without + speaking of the other." + </p> + <p> + Juliette died at the age of fifteen and Heloise entered a convent. The + Venice lovers did not have to pay for their celebrity as dearly as that. + They wanted to give an example, to light a torch on the road of humanity. + "People shall know my story," writes George Sand. "I will write it. . . . + Those who follow along the path I trod will see where it leads." <i>Et + nunc erudimini</i>. Let us see for ourselves, and learn. + </p> + <p> + Their <i>liaison</i> dates from August, 1833. + </p> + <p> + George Sand was twenty-nine years of age. It was the time of her greatest + charm. We must try to imagine the enchantress as she then was. She was not + tall and she was delightfully slender, with an extraordinary-looking face + of dark, warm colouring. Her thick hair was very dark, and her eyes, her + large eyes, haunted Musset for years after. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "<i>Ote-moi, memoire importune</i>, + <i>Ote-moi ces yeux que je vois toujours!</i>" +</pre> + <p> + he writes. + </p> + <p> + And this woman, who could have been loved passionately, merely for her + charm as a woman, was a celebrity! She was a woman of genius! Alfred de + Musset was twenty-three years old. He was elegant, witty, a flirt, and + when he liked he could be irresistible. He had won his reputation by that + explosion of gaiety and imagination, <i>Les Contes d'Espagne el d'Italle</i>. + He had written some fine poetry, dreamy, disturbing and daring. He had + also given <i>Les Caprices de Marianne</i>, in which he figures twice over + himself, for he was both Octave the sceptic, the disillusioned man, and + Coelio, the affectionate, candid Coelio. He imagined himself Rolla. It was + he, and he alone, who should have been styled the sublime boy. + </p> + <p> + And so here they both are. We might call them Lelia and Stenio, but <i>Lelia</i> + was written before the Venice adventure. She was not the reflection of it, + but rather the presentiment. This is worthy of notice, but not at all + surprising. Literature sometimes imitates reality, but how much more often + reality is modelled on literature! + </p> + <p> + It was as though George Sand had foreseen her destiny, for she had feared + to meet Musset. On the 11th of March, she writes as follows to + Sainte-Beuve: "On second thoughts, I do not want you to bring Alfred de + Musset. He is a great dandy. We should not suit each other, and I was + really more curious to see him than interested in him." A little later on, + though, at a dinner at the <i>Freres provencaux</i>, to which Buloz + invited his collaborators, George Sand found herself next Alfred de + Musset. She invited him to call on her, and when <i>Lelia</i> was + published she sent him a copy, with the following dedication written in + the first volume: <i>A Monsieur mon gamin d'Allred</i>; and in the second + volume: <i>A Monsieur le vicomte Allred de Musset, hommage respectueux de + son devoue serviteur George Sand</i>. Musset replied by giving his opinion + of the new book. Among the letters which followed, there is one that + begins with these words: "My dear George, I have something silly and + ridiculous to tell you. I am foolishly writing, instead of telling you, as + I ought to have done, after our walk. I am heartbroken to-night that I did + not tell you. You will laugh at me, and you will take me for a man who + simply talks nonsense. You will show me the door, and fancy that I am not + speaking the truth. . . . I am in love with you. . . ." + </p> + <p> + She did not laugh at him, though, and she did not show him the door. + Things did not drag on long, evidently, as she writes to her confessor, + Sainte-Beuve, on the 25th of August: "I have fallen in love, and very + seriously this time, with Alfred de Musset." How long was this to last? + She had no idea, but for the time being she declared that she was + absolutely happy. + </p> + <p> + "I have found a candour, a loyalty and an affection which delight me. It + is the love of a young man and the friendship of a comrade." There was a + honeymoon in the little flat looking on the Quay Malaquals. Their friends + shared the joy of the happy couple, as we see by Musset's frolicsome + lines: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>George est dans sa chambrette, + Entre deux pots de fleurs, + Fumiant sa cigarette, + Les yeux baignes de pleurs.</i> + + <i>Buloz assis par terre + Lui fait de doux serments, + Solange par derriere + Gribouille ses romans.</i> + + <i>Plante commme une borne</i>, + <i>Boucoiran tout crott</i>, + <i>Contemple d'un oeil morne</i> + <i>Musset tout debraille, etc.</i> +</pre> + <p> + It is evident that, as poetry, this does not equal the <i>Nuits.</i> + </p> + <p> + In the autumn they went for a honeymoon trip to Fontainebleau. It was + there that the strange scene took place which is mentioned in <i>Elle et + Lui</i>. One evening when they were in the forest, Musset had an + extraordinary hallucination, which he has himself described: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Dans tin bois, sur une bruyere, + Au pied d'un arbre vint s'asseoir + Un jeune homme vetu de noir + Qui me ressemblail comme un frere.</i> + + <i>Le lui demandais mon chemin, + Il tenait un luth d'ue main, + De l'autre un bouquet d'eglantine. + Il me fit tin salut d'ami + Et, se detournant a demu, + Me montra du doigt la colline.</i> +</pre> + <p> + He really saw this "double," dressed in black, which was to visit him + again later on. His <i>Nuit de decembre</i> was written from it. + </p> + <p> + They now wanted to see Italy together. Musset had already written on + Venice; he now wanted to go there. Madame de Musset objected to this, but + George Sand promised so sincerely that she would be a mother to the young + man that finally his own mother gave her consent. On the evening of + December 12, 1833, Paul de Musset accompanied the two travellers to the + mail-coach. On the boat from Lyons to Avignon they met with a big, + intelligent-looking man. This was Beyle-Stendhal, who was then Consul at + Civita-Vecchia. He was on his way to his post. They enjoyed his lively + conversation, although he made fun of their illusions about Italy and the + Italian character. He made fun, though, of everything and of every one, + and they felt that he was only being witty and trying to appear unkind. At + dinner he drank too much, and finished by dancing round the table in his + great fur-lined boots. Later on he gave them some specimens of his obscene + conversation, so that they were glad to continue their journey without + him. + </p> + <p> + On the 28th the travellers reached Florence. The aspect of this city and + his researches in the <i>Chroniques florentines</i> supplied the poet with + the subject for <i>Lorenzaccio</i>. It appears that George Sand and Musset + each treated this subject, and that a <i>Lorenzaccio</i> by George Sand + exists. I have not read it, but I prefer Musset's version. They reached + Venice on January 19, 1834, and put up at the Hotel Danieli. By this time + they were at loggerheads. + </p> + <p> + The cause of their quarrel and disagreement is not really known, and the + activity of retrospective journalists has not succeeded in finding this + out. George Sand's letters only give details about their final quarrel. On + arriving, George Sand was ill, and this exasperated Musset. He was + annoyed, and declared that a woman out of sorts was very trying. There are + good reasons for believing that he had found her very trying for some + time. He was very elegant and she a learned "white blackbird." He was + capricious and she a placid, steady <i>bourgeois</i> woman, very + hard-working and very regular in the midst of her irregularity. He used to + call her "personified boredom, the dreamer, the silly woman, the nun," + when he did not use terms which we cannot transcribe. The climax was when + he said to her: "I was mistaken, George, and I beg your pardon, for I do + not love you." + </p> + <p> + Wounded and offended, she replied: "We do not love each other any longer, + and we never really loved each other." + </p> + <p> + They therefore took back their independence. This is a point to note, as + George Sand considered this fact of the greatest importance, and she + constantly refers to it. She was from henceforth free, as regarded her + companion. + </p> + <p> + Illness kept them now at Venice. George Sand's illness first and then + Musset's alarming malady. He had high fever, accompanied by chest + affection and attacks of delirium which lasted six consecutive hours, + during which it took four men to hold him. + </p> + <p> + George Sand was an admirable nurse. This must certainly be acknowledged. + She sat up with him at night and she nursed him by day, and, astonishing + woman that she was, she was also able to work and to earn enough to pay + their common expenses. This is well known, but I am able to give another + proof of it, in the letters which George Sand wrote from Venice to Buloz. + These letters have been communicated to me by Madame Pailleron, <i>nee</i> + Buloz, and by Madame Landouzy, <i>veuve</i> Buloz, whom I thank for the + public and for myself. The following are a few of the essential passages: + </p> + <p> + "February 4. <i>Read this when you are alone.</i> + </p> + <p> + "MY DEAR BULOZ,—Your reproaches reach me at a miserable moment. If + you have received my letter, you already know that I do not deserve them. + A fortnight ago I was well again and working. Alfred was working too, + although he was not very well and had fits of feverishness. About five + days ago we were both taken ill, almost at the same time. I had an attack + of dysentery, which caused me horrible suffering. I have not yet recovered + from it, but I am strong enough, anyhow, to nurse him. He was seized with + a nervous and inflammatory fever, which has made such rapid progress that + the doctor tells me he does not know what to think about it. We must wait + for the thirteenth or fourteenth day before knowing whether his life is in + danger. And what will this thirteenth or fourteenth day be? Perhaps his + last one? I am in despair, overwhelmed with fatigue, suffering horribly, + and awaiting who knows what future? How can I give myself up to literature + or to anything in the world at such a time? I only know that our entire + fortune, at present, consists of sixty francs, that we shall have to spend + an enormous amount at the chemist's, for the nurse and doctor, and that we + are at a very expensive hotel. We were just about to leave it and go to a + private house. Alfred cannot be moved now, and even if everything should + go well, he probably cannot be moved for a month. We shall have to pay one + term's rent for nothing, and we shall return to France, please God. If my + ill-luck continues, and if Alfred should die, I can assure you that I do + not care what happens after to me. If God allows Alfred to recover, I do + not know how we shall pay the expenses of his illness and of his return to + France. The thousand francs that you are to send me will not suffice, and + I do not know what we shall do. At any rate, do not delay sending that, + as, by the time it arrives, it will be more than necessary. I am sorry + about the annoyance you are having with the delay for publishing, but you + can now judge whether it is my fault. If only Alfred had a few quiet days, + I could soon finish my work. But he is in a frightful state of delirium + and restlessness. I cannot leave him an instant. I have been nine hours + writing this letter. Adieu, my friend, and pity me. + </p> + <p> + "GEORGE. + </p> + <p> + "Above everything, do not tell any one, not any one in the world, that + Alfred is ill. If his mother heard (and it only needs two persons for + telling a secret to all Paris) she would go mad. If she has to be told, + let who will undertake to tell her, but if in a fortnight Alfred is out of + danger, it is useless for her to grieve now. Adieu." + </p> + <p> + "February 13, 1834. + </p> + <p> + "My friend, Alfred is saved. There has been no fresh attack, and we have + nearly reached the fourteenth day without the improvement having altered. + After the brain affection inflammation of the lungs declared itself, and + this rather alarmed us for two days. . . . He is extremely weak at + present, and he wanders occasionally. He has to be nursed night and day. + Do not imagine, therefore, that I am only making pretexts for the delay in + my work. I have not undressed for eight nights. I sleep on a sofa, and + have to get up at any minute. In spite of this, ever since I have been + relieved in my mind about the danger, I have been able to write a few + pages in the mornings while he is resting. You may be sure that I should + like to be able to take advantage of this time to rest myself. Be assured, + my friend, that I am not short of courage, nor yet of the will to work. + You are not more anxious than I am that I should carry out my engagements. + You know that a debt makes me smart like a wound. But you are friend + enough to make allowances for my situation and not to leave me in + difficulties. I am spending very wretched days here at this bedside, for + the slightest sound, the slightest movement causes me constant terror. In + this disposition of mind I shall not write any light works. They will be + heavy, on the contrary, like my fatigue and my sadness. + </p> + <p> + "Do not leave me without money, I beseech you, or I do not know what will + happen to me. I spend about twenty francs a day in medicine of all sorts. + We do not know how to keep him alive. . . ." + </p> + <p> + These letters give the lie to some of the gossip that has been spread + abroad with regard to the episode of the Hotel Danieli. And I too, thanks + to these letters, shall have put an end to a legend! In the second volume + of Wladimir Karenine's work on George Sand, on page 61, we have the + following words— + </p> + <p> + "Monsieur Plauchut tells us that, according to Buloz, Musset had been + enticed into a gambling hell during his stay in Venice, and had lost about + four hundred pounds there. The imprudent young man could not pay this debt + of honour, and he never would have been able to do so. He had to choose + between suicide or dishonour. George Sand did not hesitate a moment. She + wrote at once to the manager of the <i>Revue</i>, asking him to advance + the money." And this debt was on her shoulders for a long time. + </p> + <p> + The facts of the case are as follows, according to a letter from George + Sand to Buloz: "I beseech you, as a favour, to pay Alfred's debt and to + write to him that it is all settled. You cannot imagine the impatience and + the disturbance that this little matter cause him. He speaks to me of it + every minute, and begs me every day to write to you about it. He owes + these three hundred and sixty francs (L14 8<i>s</i>.) to a young man he + knows very little and who might talk of it to people. . . . You have + already advanced much larger sums to him. He has always paid you back, and + you are not afraid that this would make you bankrupt. If, through his + illness, he should not be able to work for a long time, my work could be + used for that, so be at ease. . . . Do this, I beseech you, and write him + a short letter to ease his mind at once. I will then read it to him, and + this will pacify one of the torments of his poor head. Oh, my friend, if + you only knew what this delirium is like! What sublime and awful things he + has said, and then what convulsions and shouts! I do not know how he has + had strength enough to pull through and how it is that I have not gone mad + myself. Adieu, adieu, my friend." + </p> + <p> + There really was a gambling debt, then, but we do not know exactly where + it was contracted. It amounted to three hundred and sixty francs, which is + very different from the ten thousand francs and the threat of suicide. + </p> + <p> + And now we come to the pure folly! Musset had been attended by a young + doctor, Pietro Pagello. He was a straightforward sort of young man, of + rather slow intelligence, without much conversation, not speaking French, + but very handsome. George Sand fell in love with him. One night, after + having scribbled a letter of three pages, she put it into an envelope + without any address and gave it to Pagello. He asked her to whom he was to + give the letter. George Sand took the envelope back and wrote on it: "To + stupid Pagello." We have this declaration, and among other things in the + letter are the following lines: "You will not deceive me, anyhow. You will + not make any idle promises and false vows. . . . I shall not, perhaps, + find in you what I have sought for in others, but, at any rate, I can + always believe that you possess it. . . . I shall be able to interpret + your meditations and make your silence speak eloquently. . . ." This shows + us clearly the kind of charm George Sand found in Pagello. She loved him + because he was stupid. + </p> + <p> + The next questions are, when did they become lovers, and how did Musset + discover their intimacy? It is quite certain that he suspected it, and + that he made Pagello confess his love for George Sand.(20) A most + extraordinary scene then took place between the three of them, according + to George Sand's own account. "Adieu, then," she wrote to Musset, later + on, "adieu to the fine poem of our sacred friendship and of that ideal + bond formed between the three of us, when you dragged from him the + confession of his love for me and when he vowed to you that he would make + me happy. Oh, that night of enthusiasm, when, in spite of us, you joined + our hands, saying: 'You love each other and yet you love me, for you have + saved me, body and soul." Thus, then, Musset had solemnly abjured his love + for George Sand, he had engaged his mistress of the night before to a new + lover, and was from henceforth to be their best friend. Such was the ideal + bond, such the sacred friendship! This may be considered the romantic + escapade. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (20) On one of George Sand's unpublished letters to Buloz + the following lines are written in the handwriting of Buloz: + + "In the morning on getting up he discovered, in an adjoining + room, a tea-table still set, but with only one cup. + + "'Did you have tea yesterday evening?' + + "'Yes,' answered George Sand, 'I had tea with the doctor.' + + "'Ah, how is it that there is only one cup?' + + "'The other has been taken away.' + + "'No, nothing has been taken away. You drank out of the + same cup.' + + "'Even if that were so, you have no longer the right to + trouble about such things.' + + "'I have the right, as I am still supposed to be your lover. + You ought at least to show me respect, and, as I am leaving + in three days, you might wait until I have gone to do as you + like.' + + "The night following this scene Musset discovered George + Sand, crouching on her bed, writing a letter. + + "'What are you doing?' he asked. + + "'I am reading,' she replied, and she blew out the candle. + + "'If you are reading, why do you put the candle out?' + + "'It went out itself: light it again.' + + "Alfred de Musset lit it again. + + "'Ah, so you were reading, and you have no book. Infamous + woman, you might as well say that you are writing to your + lover.' George Sand had recourse to her usual threat of + leaving the house. Alfred de Musset read her up: 'You are + thinking of a horrible plan. You want to hurry off to your + doctor, pretend that I am mad and that your life is in + danger. You will not leave this room. I will keep you from + anything so base. If you do go, I will put such an epitaph + on your grave that the people who read it will turn pale,' + said Alfred with terrible energy. + + "George Sand was trembling and crying. + + "'I no longer love you,' Alfred said scoffingly to George + Sand. + + "'It is the right moment to take your poison or to go and + drown yourself.' + + "Confession to Alfred of her secret about the doctor. + Reconciliation. Alfred's departure. George Sand's + affectionate and enthusiastic letters." + + Such are the famous episodes of the <i>tea-cup</i> and <i>the + letter</i> as Buloz heard them told at the time. +</pre> + <p> + Musset returned in March, 1834, leaving George Sand with Pagello in + Venice. The sentimental exaggeration continued, as we see from the letters + exchanged between Musset and George Sand. When crossing the Simplon the + immutable grandeur of the Alps struck Alusset with admiration, and he + thought of his two "great friends." His head was evidently turned by the + heights from which he looked at things. George Sand wrote to him: "I am + not giving you any message from Pagello, except that he is almost as sad + as I am at your absence." "He is a fine fellow," answered Musset. "Tell + him how much I like him, and that my eyes fill with tears when I think of + him." Later on he writes: "When I saw Pagello, I recognized in him the + better side of my own nature, but pure and free from the irreparable + stains which have ruined mine." "Always treat me like that," writes Musset + again. "It makes me feel proud. My dear friend, the woman who talks of her + new lover in this way to the one she has given up, but who still loves + her, gives him a proof of the greatest esteem that a man can receive from + a woman. . . ." That romanticism which made a drama of the situation in <i>L'Ecole + des Femmes</i>, and another one out of that in the <i>Precieuses ridicules</i>, + excels in taking tragically situations that belong to comedy and in + turning them into the sublime. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile George Sand had settled down in Venice with Pagello—and + with all the family, all the Pagello tribe, with the brother, the sister, + to say nothing of the various rivals who came and made scenes. It was the + vulgar, ordinary platitude of an Italian intimacy of this kind. In spite + of everything, she continued congratulating herself on her choice. + </p> + <p> + "I have my love, my stay here with me. He never suffers, for he is never + weak or suspicious. . . . He is calm and good. . . . He loves me and is at + peace; he is happy without my having to suffer, without my having to make + efforts for his happiness. . . . As for me, I must suffer for some one. It + is just this suffering which nurtures my maternal solicitude, etc. . . ." + She finally begins to weary of her dear Pagello's stupidity. It occurred + to her to take him with her to Paris, and that was the climax. There are + some things which cannot be transplanted from one country to another. When + they had once set foot in Paris, the absurdity of their situation appeared + to them. + </p> + <p> + "From the moment that Pagello landed in France," says George Sand, "he + could not understand anything." The one thing that he was compelled to + understand was that he was no longer wanted. He was simply pushed out. + George Sand had a remarkable gift for bringing out the characteristics of + the persons with whom she had any intercourse. This Pagello, thanks to his + adventure with her, has become in the eyes of the world a personage as + comic as one of Moliere's characters. + </p> + <p> + Musset and George Sand still cared for each other. He beseeched her to + return to him. "I am good-for-nothing," he says, "for I am simply steeped + in my love for you. I do not know whether I am alive, whether I eat, + drink, or breathe, but I know I am in love." George Sand was afraid to + return to him, and Sainte-Beuve forbade her. Love proved stronger than all + other arguments, however, and she yielded. + </p> + <p> + As soon as she was with him once more, their torture commenced again, with + all the customary complaints, reproaches and recriminations. "I was quite + sure that all these reproaches would begin again immediately after the + happiness we had dreamed of and promised each other. Oh, God, to think + that we have already arrived at this!" she writes. + </p> + <p> + What tortured them was that the past, which they had believed to be "a + beautiful poem," now seemed to them a hideous nightmare. All this, we + read, was a game that they were playing. A cruel sort of game, of which + Musset grew more and more weary, but which to George Sand gradually became + a necessity. We see this, as from henceforth it was she who implored + Musset. In her diary, dated December 24, 1834, we read: "And what if I + rushed to him when my love is too strong for me. What if I went and broke + the bell-pull with ringing, until he opened his door to me. Or if I lay + down across the threshold until he came out!" She cut off her magnificent + hair and sent it to him. Such was the way in which this proud woman + humbled herself. She was a prey to love, which seemed to her a holy + complaint. It was a case of Venus entirely devoted to her prey. The + question is, was this really love? "I no longer love you," she writes, + "but I still adore you. I do not want you any more, but I cannot do + without you." They had the courage to give each other up finally in March, + 1835. + </p> + <p> + It now remains for us to explain the singularity of this adventure, which, + as a matter of fact, was beyond all logic, even the logic of passion. It + is, however, readily understood, if we treat it as a case of acute + romanticism, the finest case of romanticism, that has been actually lived, + which the history of letters offers us. + </p> + <p> + The romanticism consists first in exposing one's life to the public, in + publishing one's most secret joys and sorrows. From the very beginning + George Sand and Musset took the whole circle of their friends into their + confidence. These friends were literary people. George Sand specially + informs Sainte-Beuve that she wishes her sentimental life from thenceforth + to be known. They were quite aware that they were on show, as it were, + subjects of an experiment that would be discussed by "the gallery." + </p> + <p> + Romanticism consists next in the writer putting his life into his books, + making literature out of his emotions. The idea of putting their adventure + into a story occurred to the two lovers before the adventure had come to + an end. It was at Venice that George Sand wrote her first <i>Lettres d'un + voyageur</i>, addressed to the poet—and to the subscribers of the <i>Revue + des Deux Mondes</i>. Musset, to improve on this idea, decides to write a + novel from the episode which was still unfinished. "I will not die," he + says, "until I have written my book on you and on myself, more + particularly on you. No, my beautiful, holy fiancee, you shall not return + to this cold earth before it knows the woman who has walked on it. No, I + swear this by my youth and genius." Musset's contributions to this + literature were <i>Confession d'un enfant du siecle</i>, <i>Histoire d'un + merle blanc</i>, <i>Elle et Lui</i>, and all that followed. + </p> + <p> + In an inverse order, romanticism consists in putting literature into our + life, in taking the latest literary fashion for our rule of action. This + is not only a proof of want of taste; it is a most dangerous mistake. The + romanticists, who had so many wrong ideas, had none more erroneous than + their idea of love, and in the correspondence between George Sand and + Musset we see the paradox in all its beauty. It consists in saying that + love leads to virtue and that it leads there through change. Whether the + idea came originally from <i>her</i> or from <i>him</i>, this was their + common faith. + </p> + <p> + "You have said it a hundred times over," writes George Sand, "and it is + all in vain that you retract; nothing will now efface that sentence: 'Love + is the only thing in the world that counts.' It may be that it is a divine + faculty which we lose and then find again, that we must cultivate, or that + we have to buy with cruel suffering, with painful experience. The + suffering you have endured through loving me was perhaps destined, in + order that you might love another woman more easily. Perhaps the next + woman may love you less than I do, and yet she may be more happy and more + beloved. There are such mysteries in these things, and God urges us along + new and untrodden paths. Give in; do not attempt to resist. He does not + desert His privileged ones. He takes them by the hand and places them in + the midst of the sandbanks, where they are to learn to live, in order that + they may sit down at the banquet at which they are to rest. . . ." Later + on she writes as follows: "Do you imagine that one love affair, or even + two, can suffice for exhausting or taking the freshness from a strong + soul? I believed this, too, for a long time, but I know now that it is + quite the contrary. Love is a fire that endeavours to rise and to purify + itself. Perhaps the more we have failed in our endeavours to find it, the + more apt we become to discover it, and the more we have been obliged to + change, the more conservative we shall become. Who knows? It is perhaps + the terrible, magnificent and courageous work of a whole lifetime. It is a + crown of thorns which will blossom and be covered with roses when our hair + begins to turn white." + </p> + <p> + This was pure frenzy, and yet there were two beings ready to drink in all + this pathos, two living beings to live out this monstrous chimera. Such + are the ravages that a certain conception of literature may make. By the + example we have of these two illustrious victims, we may imagine that + there were others, and very many others, obscure and unknown individuals, + but human beings all the same, who were equally duped. There are + unwholesome fashions in literature, which, translated into life, mean + ruin. The Venice adventure shows up the truth of this in bright daylight. + This is its interest and its lesson. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V + </h2> + <h3> + THE FRIEND OF MICHEL (DE BOURGES) + </h3> + <p> + LISZT AND COMTESSE D'AGOULT. <i>MAUPRAT</i> + </p> + <p> + We have given the essential features of the Venice adventure. The love + affair, into which George Sand and Musset had put so much literature, was + to serve literature. Writers of the romantic school are given to making + little songs with their great sorrows. When the correspondence between + George Sand and Musset appeared, every one was surprised to find passages + that were already well known. Such passages had already appeared in the + printed work of the poet or of the authoress. An idea, a word, or an + illustration used by the one was now, perhaps, to be found in the work of + the other one. + </p> + <p> + "It is I who have lived," writes George Sand, "and not an unreal being + created by my pride and my <i>ennui</i>." We all know the use to which + Musset put this phrase. He wrote the famous couplet of Perdican with it: + "All men are untruthful, inconstant, false, chatterers, hypocritical, + proud, cowardly, contemptible and sensual; all women are perfidious, + artful, vain, inquisitive and depraved. . . . There is, though, in this + world one thing which is holy and sublime. It is the union of these two + beings, imperfect and frightful as they are. We are often deceived in our + love; we are often wounded and often unhappy, but still we love, and when + we are on the brink of the tomb we shall turn round, look back, and say to + ourselves: 'I have often suffered, I have sometimes been deceived, but I + have loved. It is I who have lived, and not an unreal being created by my + pride and <i>ennui</i>.'" Endless instances of this kind could be given. + They are simply the sign of the reciprocal influence exercised over each + other by George Sand and Musset, an influence to be traced through all + their work. + </p> + <p> + This influence was of a different kind and of unequal degree. It was + George Sand who first made literature of their common recollections. Some + of these recollections were very recent ones and were impregnated with + tears. The two lovers had only just separated when George Sand made the + excursion described in the first <i>Lettre d'un voyageur</i>. She goes + along the Brenta. It is the month of May, and the meadows are in flower. + In the horizon she sees the snowy peaks of the Tyrolese Alps standing out. + The remembrance of the long hours spent at the invalid's bedside comes + back to her, with all the anguish of the sacred passion in which she + thinks she sees God's anger. She then pays a visit to the Oliero grottoes, + and once more her wounded love makes her heart ache. She returns through + Possagno, whose beautiful women served as models for Canova. She then goes + back to Venice, and the doctor gives her a letter from the man she has + given up, the man she has sent away. These poetical descriptions, + alternating with lyrical effusions, this kind of dialogue with two voices, + one of which is that of nature and the other that of the heart, remind us + of one of Musset's <i>Nuits</i>. + </p> + <p> + The second of these <i>Lettres d'un voyageur</i> is entirely descriptive. + It is spring-time in Venice. The old balconies are gay with flowers; the + nightingales stop singing to listen to the serenades. There are songs to + be heard at every street corner, music in the wake of every gondola. There + are sweet perfumes and love-sighs in the air. The delights of the Venetian + nights had never been described like this. The harmony of "the three + elements, water, sky and marble," had never been better expressed, and the + charm of Venice had never been suggested in so subtle and, penetrating a + manner. The second letter treats too of the gondoliers, and of their + habits and customs. + </p> + <p> + The third letter, telling us about the nobility and the women of Venice, + completes the impression. Just as the Pyrenees had moved George Sand, so + Italy now moved her. This was a fresh acquisition for her palette. More + than once from henceforth Venice was to serve her for the wonderful + scenery of her stories. This is by no means a fresh note, though, in + George Sand's work. There is no essential difference, then, in her + inspiration. She had always been impressionable, but her taste was now + getting purer. Musset, the most romantic of French poets, had an eminently + classical taste. In the <i>Lettres de Dupuis et Cotonet</i>, he defined + romanticism as an abuse of adjectives. He was of Madame de Lafayette's + opinion, that a word taken out was worth twenty pennies, and a phrase + taken out twenty shillings. In a copy of <i>Indiana</i> he crossed out all + the useless epithets. This must have made a considerable difference to the + length of the book. George Sand was too broad-minded to be hurt by such + criticism, and she was intelligent enough to learn a lesson from it. + </p> + <p> + Musset's transformation was singularly deeper. When he started for Venice, + he was the youngest and most charming of poets, fanciful and full of fun. + "Monsieur mon gamin d'Alfred," George Sand called him at that time. When + he returned from there, he was the saddest of poets. For some time he was, + as it were, stunned. His very soul seemed to be bowed down with his grief. + He was astonished at the change he felt in himself, and he did not by any + means court any fresh inspiration. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>J'ai vu, le temps ou ma jeunesse</i> + <i>Sur mes levres etait sans cesse</i> + <i>Prete a chanter comme un oiseau;</i> + <i>Mais j'ai souffert un dur martyre</i> + <i>Et le moins que j'en pourrais dire</i>, + <i>Si je lessayais sur a lyre</i>, + <i>La briserait comme un roseau</i>, +</pre> + <p> + he writes. + </p> + <p> + In the <i>Nuit de Mai</i>, the earliest of these songs of despair, we have + the poet's symbol of the pelican giving its entrails as food to its + starving young. The only symbols that we get in this poetry are symbols of + sadness, and these are at times given in magnificent fulness of detail. We + have solitude in the <i>Nuit de decembre</i>, and the labourer whose house + has been burnt in the <i>Lettre a Lamartine</i>. The <i>Nuit d'aout</i> + gives proof of a wild effort to give life another trial, but in the <i>Auit + d'octobre</i> anger gets the better of him once more. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Honte a toi, qui la premiere + M'as appris la trahison . . . !</i> +</pre> + <p> + The question has often been asked whether the poet refers here to the + woman he loved in Venice but it matters little whether he did or not. He + only saw her through the personage who from henceforth symbolized "woman" + to him and the suffering which she may cause a man. And yet, as this + suffering became less intense, softened as it was by time, he began to + discover the benefit of it. His soul had expanded, so that he was now in + communion with all that is great in Nature and in Art. The harmony of the + sky, the silence of night, the murmur of flowing water, Petrarch, Michel + Angelo, Shakespeare, all appealed to him. The day came when he could + write: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Un souvenir heureux est peut-etre sur terre + Plus vrai que le bonheur</i>. +</pre> + <p> + This is the only philosophy for a conception of life which treats love as + everything for man. He not only pardons now, but he is grateful: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Je ne veux rien savoir, ni si les champs fleurissent, + Nice quil adviendra di., simulacre humain, + Ni si ces vastes cieux eclaireront demain + Ce qu' ils ensevelissent heure, en ce lieu, + Je me dis seulement: a cette + Un jour, je fus aime, j'aimais, elle etait belle, + Jenfouis ce tresor dans mon ame immortelle + Et je l'em porte a Dieu.</i> +</pre> + <p> + This love poem, running through all he wrote from the <i>Nuit de Mai</i> + to the <i>Souvenir</i>, is undoubtedly the most beautiful and the most + profoundly human of anything in the French language. The charming poet had + become a great poet. That shock had occurred within him which is felt by + the human being to the very depths of his soul, and makes of him a new + creature. It is in this sense that the theory of the romanticists, with + regard to the educative virtues of suffering, is true. But it is not only + suffering in connection with our love affairs which has this special + privilege. After some misfortune which uproots, as it were, our life, + after some disappointment which destroys our moral edifice, the world + appears changed to us. The whole network of accepted ideas and of + conventional opinions is broken asunder. We find ourselves in direct + contact with reality, and the shock makes our true nature come to the + front. . . . Such was the crisis through which Musset had just passed. The + man came out of it crushed and bruised, but the poet came through it + triumphant. + </p> + <p> + It has been insisted on too much that George Sand was only the reflection + of the men who had approached her. In the case of Musset it was the + contrary. Musset owed her more than she owed to him. She transformed him + by the force of her strong individuality. She, on the contrary, only found + in Musset a child, and what she was seeking was a dominator. + </p> + <p> + She thought she had discovered him this very year 1835. + </p> + <p> + The sixth <i>Lettre d'un voyageur</i> was addressed to Everard. This + Everard was considered by her to be a superior man. He was so much above + the average height that George Sand advised him to sit down when he was + with other men, as when standing he was too much above them. She compares + him to Atlas carrying the world, and to Hercules in a lion's skin. But + among all her comparisons, when she is seeking to give the measure of his + superiority, without ever really succeeding in this, it is evident that + the comparison she prefers is that of Marius at Minturnae. He personifies + virtue a <i>l'antique:</i> he is the Roman. + </p> + <p> + Let us now consider to whom all this flattery was addressed, and who this + man, worthy of Plutarch's pen, was. His name was Michel, and he was an + advocate at Bourges. He was only thirty-seven years of age, but he looked + sixty. After Sandeau and Musset, George Sand had had enough of + "adolescents." She was very much struck with Michel, as he looked like an + old man. The size of his cranium was remarkable, or, as she said of his + craniums: "It seemed as though he had two craniums, one joined to the + other." She wrote: "The signs of the superior faculties of his mind were + as prominent at the prow of this strong vessel as those of his generous + instincts at the stern."(21) In order to understand this definition of the + "fine physique" by George Sand, we must remember that she was very much + taken up with phrenology at this time. One of her <i>Lettres d'un voyageur</i> + was entitled Sur <i>Lavater et sur une Maison deserte</i>. In a letter to + Madame d'Agoult, George Sand tells that her gardener gave notice to leave, + and, on asking him his reason, the simple-minded man replied: "Madame has + such an ugly head that my wife, who is expecting, might die of fright." + The head in question was a skull, an anatomical one with compartments all + marked and numbered, according to the system of Gall and Spurzheim. In + 1837, phrenology was very much in favour. In 1910, it is hypnotism, so we + have no right to judge the infatuation of another epoch. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (21) <i>Histoire de ma vie</i>. +</pre> + <p> + Michel's cranium was bald. He was short, slight, he stooped, was + short-sighted and wore glasses. It is George Sand who gives these details + for his portrait. He was born of peasant parents, and was of Jacobin + simplicity. He wore a thick, shapeless inverness and sabots. He felt the + cold very much, and used to ask permission to put on a muffler indoors. He + would then take three or four out of his pockets and put them on his head, + one over the other. In the <i>Lettre d'un voyageur</i> George Sand + mentions this crown on Everard's head. Such are the illusions of love. + </p> + <p> + The first time she met Michel was at Bourges. She went with her two + friends, Papet and Fleury, to call on him at the hotel. From seven o'clock + until midnight he never ceased talking. It was a magnificent night, and he + proposed a walk in the town at midnight. When they came back to his door + he insisted on taking them home, and so they continued walking backwards + and forwards until four in the morning. He must have been an inveterate + chatterer to have clung to this public of three persons at an hour when + the great buildings, with the moon throwing its white light over them and + everything around, must have suggested the majesty of silence. To people + who were amazed at this irrepressible eloquence, Michel answered + ingenuously: "Talking is thinking aloud. By thinking aloud in this way I + advance more quickly than if I thought quietly by myself." This was Numa + Roumestan's idea. "As for me," he said, "when I am not talking, I am not + thinking." As a matter of fact, Michel, like Numa, was a native of + Provence. In Paris there was a repetition of this nocturnal and roving + scene. Michel and his friends had come to a standstill on the Saints-Peres + bridge. They caught sight of the Tuileries lighted up for a ball. Michel + became excited, and, striking the innocent bridge and its parapet with his + stick, he exclaimed: "I tell you that if you are to freshen and renew your + corrupt society, this beautiful river will first have to be red with + blood, that accursed palace will have to be reduced to ashes, and the huge + city you are now looking at will have to be a bare strand where the family + of the poor man can use the plough and build a cottage home." + </p> + <p> + This was a fine phrase for a public meeting, but perhaps too fine for a + conversation between friends on the Saints-Peres bridge. + </p> + <p> + This was in 1835, at the most brilliant moment of Michel's career. It was + when he was taking part in the trial of the accused men of April. After + the insurrections of the preceding year at Lyons and Paris, a great trial + had commenced before the Chamber of Peers. We are told that: "The + Republican party was determined to make use of the cross-questioning of + the prisoners for accusing the Government and for preaching Republicanism + and Socialism. The idea was to invite a hundred and fifty noted + Republicans to Paris from all parts of France. In their quality of + defenders, they would be the orators of this great manifestation." + Barb'es, Blanqui, Flocon, Marie, Raspail, Trelat and Michel of Bourges + were among these Republicans. "On the 11th of May, the revolutionary + newspapers published a manifesto in which the committee for the defence + congratulated and encouraged the accused men. One hundred and ten + signatures were affixed to this document, which was a forgery. It had been + drawn up by a few of the upholders of the scheme, and, in order to make it + appear more important, they had affixed the names of their colleagues + without their authorization. Those who had done this then took fright, and + attempted to get out of the dangerous adventure by a public avowal. In + order to save the situation, two of the guilty party, Trelat and Michel of + Bourges, took the responsibility of the drawing up of the manifesto and + the apposition of the signatures upon themselves. They were sentenced by + the Court of Peers, Trelat to four years of prison and Michel to a + month."(22) This was the most shocking inequality, and Michel could not + forgive Trelat for getting such a fine sentence. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (22) Thureau Dangin, <i>Histoire de la Monarchie de Juillet</i>, + II. 297. +</pre> + <p> + What good was one month of prison? Michel's career certainly had been a + very ordinary one. He hesitated and tacked about. In a word, he was just a + politician. George Sand tells us that he was obliged "to accept, in + theory, what he called the necessities of pure politics, ruse, + charlatanism and even untruth, concessions that were not sincere, + alliances in which he did not believe, and vain promises." We should say + that he was a radical opportunist. To be merely an opportunist, though, is + not enough for ensuring success. There are different ways of being an + opportunist. Michel had been elected a Deputy, but he had no <i>role</i> + to play. In 1848, he could not compete with the brilliancy of Raspail, nor + had he the prestige of Flocon. He went into the shade completely after the + <i>coup d'etat</i>. For a long time he had really preferred business to + politics, and a choice must be made when one is not a member of the + Government. + </p> + <p> + It is easy to see what charmed George Sand in Michel. He was a sectarian, + and she took him for an apostle. He was brutal, and she thought him + energetic. He had been badly brought up, but she thought him simply + austere. He was a tyrant, but she only saw in him a master. He had told + her that he would have her guillotined at the first possible opportunity. + This was an incontestable proof of superiority. She was sincere herself, + and was consequently not on her guard against vain boasting. He had + alarmed her, and she admired him for this, and at once incarnated in him + that stoical ideal of which she had been dreaming for years and had not + yet been able to attribute to any one else. + </p> + <p> + This is how she explained to Michel her reasons for loving him. "I love + you," she says, "because whenever I figure to myself grandeur, wisdom, + strength and beauty, your image rises up before me. No other man has ever + exercised any moral influence over me. My mind, which has always been wild + and unfettered, has never accepted any guidance. . . . You came, and you + have taught me." Then again she says: "It is you whom I love, whom I have + loved ever since I was born, and through all the phantoms in whom I + thought, for a moment, that I had found you." According to this, it was + Michel she loved through Musset. Let us hope that she was mistaken. + </p> + <p> + A whole correspondence exists between George Sand and Michel of Bourges. + Part of it was published not long ago in the <i>Revue illustree</i> under + the title of <i>Lettres de lemmze</i>. None of George Sand's letters + surpass these epistles to Michel for fervent passion, beauty of form, and + a kind of superb <i>impudeur</i>. Let us take, for instance, this call to + her beloved. George Sand, after a night of work, complains of fatigue, + hunger and cold: "Oh, my lover," she cries, "appear, and, like the earth + on the return of the May sunshine, I should be reanimated, and would fling + off my shroud of ice and thrill with love. The wrinkles of suffering would + disappear from my brow, and I should seem beautiful and young to you, for + I should leap with joy into your iron strong arms. Come, come, and I shall + have strength, health, youth, gaiety, hope. . . . I will go forth to meet + you like the bride of the song, 'to her well-beloved.'" The Well-beloved + to whom this Shulamite would hasten was a bald-headed provincial lawyer + who wore spectacles and three mufflers. But it appears that his "beauty, + veiled and unintelligible to the vulgar, revealed itself, like that of + Jupiter hidden under human form, to the women whom he loved." + </p> + <p> + We must not smile at these mythological comparisons. George Sand had, as + it were, restored for herself that condition of soul to which the ancient + myths are due. A great current of naturalist poetry circulates through + these pages. In Theocritus and in Rousard there are certain descriptive + passages. There is an analogy between them and that image of the horse + which carries George Sand along on her impetuous course. + </p> + <p> + "As soon as he catches sight of me, he begins to paw the ground and rear + impatiently. I have trained him to clear a hundred fathoms a second. The + sky and the ground disappear when he bears me along under those long + vaults formed by the apple-trees in blossom. . . . The least sound of my + voice makes him bound like a ball; the smallest bird makes him shudder and + hurry along like a child with no experience. He is scarcely five years + old, and he is timid and restive. His black crupper shines in the sunshine + like a raven's wing." This description has all the relief of an antique + figure. Another time, George Sand tells how she has seen Phoebus throw off + her robe of clouds and rush along radiant into the pure sky. The following + day she writes: "She was eaten by the evil spirits. The dark sprites from + Erebus, riding on sombre-looking clouds, threw themselves on her, and it + was in vain that she struggled." We might compare these passages with a + letter of July 10, 1836, in which she tells how she throws herself, all + dressed as she is, into the Indre, and then continues her course through + the sunny meadows, and with what voluptuousness she revels in all the joys + of primitive life, and imagines herself living in the beautiful times of + ancient Greece. There are days and pages when George Sand, under the + afflux of physical life, is pagan. Her genius then is that of the + greenwood divinities, who, at certain times of the year, were intoxicated + by the odour of the meadows and the sap of the woods. If some day we were + to have her complete correspondence given to us, I should not be surprised + if many people preferred it to her letters to Musset. In the first place, + it is not spoiled by that preoccupation which the Venice lovers had, of + writing literature. Mingled with the accents of sincere passion, we do not + find extraordinary conceptions of paradoxical metaphysics. It is Nature + which speaks in these letters, and for that very reason they are none the + less sorrowful. They, too, tell us of a veritable martyrdom. We can easily + imagine from them that Michel was coarse, despotic, faithless and jealous. + We know, too, that more than once George Sand came very near losing all + patience with him, so that we can sympathize with her when she wrote to + Madame d'Agoult in July, 1836: + </p> + <p> + "I have had, my fill of great men (excuse the expression). . . . I prefer + to see them all in Plutarch, as they would not then cause me any suffering + on the human side. May they all be carved in marble or cast in bronze, but + may I hear no more about them!" <i>Amen</i>. + </p> + <p> + What disgusted George Sand with her Michel was his vanity and his craving + for adulation. In July, 1837, she had come to the end of her patience, as + she wrote to Girerd. It was one of her peculiarities to always take a + third person into her confidence. At the time of Sandeau, this third + person was Emile Regnault; at the time of Musset, Sainte-Beuve, and now it + was Girerd. "I am tired out with my own devotion, and I have fought + against my pride with all the strength of my love. I have had nothing but + ingratitude and hardness as my recompense. I have felt my love dying away + and my soul being crushed, but I am cured at last. . . ." If only she had + had all this suffering for the sake of a great man, but this time it was + only in imaginary great man. + </p> + <p> + The influence, though, that he had had over her thought was real, and in a + certain way beneficial. + </p> + <p> + At the beginning she was far from sharing Michel's ideas, and for some of + them she felt an aversion which amounted to horror. The dogma of absolute + equality seemed an absurdity to her. The Republic, or rather the various + republics then in gestation, appeared to her a sort of Utopia, and as she + saw each of her friends making "his own little Republic" for himself, she + had not much faith in the virtue of that form of government for uniting + all French people. One point shocked her above all others in Michel's + theories. This politician did not like artists. Just as the Revolution did + not find chemists necessary, he considered that the Republic did not need + writers, painters and musicians. These were all useless individuals, and + the Republic would give them a little surprise by putting a labourer's + spade or a shoemaker's awl into their hands. George Sand considered this + idea not only barbarous, but silly. + </p> + <p> + Time works wonders, for we have an indisputable proof that certain of his + opinions soon became hers. This proof is the Republican catechism + contained in her letters to her son Maurice, who was then twelve years of + age. He was at the Lycee Henri IV, in the same class as the princes of + Orleans. It is interesting to read what his mother says to him concerning + the father of his young school friends. In a letter, written in December, + 1835, she says: "It is certainly true that Louis-Philippe is the enemy of + humanity. . . ." Nothing less than that! A little later, the enemy of + humanity invites the young friends of his son Montpensier to his <i>chateau</i> + for the carnival holiday. Maurice is allowed to accept the invitation, as + he wishes to, but he is to avoid showing that gratitude which destroys + independence. "The entertainments that Montpensier offers you are + favours," writes this mother of the Gracchi quite gravely. If he is asked + about his opinions, the child is to reply that he is rather too young to + have opinions yet, but not too young to know what opinions he will have + when he is free to have them. "You can reply," says his mother, "that you + are Republican by race and by nature." She then adds a few aphorisms. + "Princes are our natural enemies," she says; and then again: "However + good-hearted the child of a king may be, he is destined to be a tyrant." + All this is certainly a great commotion to make about her little son + accepting a glass of fruit syrup and a few cakes at the house of a + schoolfellow. But George Sand was then under the domination of + "Robespierre in person." + </p> + <p> + Michel had brought George Sand over to republicanism. Without wishing to + exaggerate the service he had rendered her by this, it appears to me that + it certainly was one, if we look at it in one way. Rightly or wrongly, + George Sand had seen in Michel the man who devotes himself entirely to a + cause of general interest. She had learnt something in his school, and + perhaps all the more thoroughly because it was in his school. She had + learnt that love is in any case a selfish passion. She had learnt that + another object must be given to the forces of sympathy of a generous + heart, and that such an object may be the service of humanity, devotion to + an idea. + </p> + <p> + This was a turn in the road, and led the writer on to leave the personal + style for the impersonal style. + </p> + <p> + There was another service, too, which Michel had rendered to George Sand. + He had pleaded for her in her petition for separation from her husband, + and she had won her case. + </p> + <p> + Ever since George Sand had taken back her independence in 1831, her + intercourse with Dudevant had not been disagreeable. She and her husband + exchanged cordial letters. When he came to Paris, he made no attempt to + stay with his wife, lest he should inconvenience her. "I shall put up at + Hippolyte's," he says in his letter to her. "I do not want to + inconvenience you in the least, nor to be inconvenienced myself, which is + quite natural." He certainly was a most discreet husband. When she started + for Italy, he begs her to take advantage of so good an opportunity for + seeing such a beautiful country. He was also a husband ready to give good + advice. Later on, he invited Pagello to spend a little time at Nohant. + This was certainly the climax in this strange story. + </p> + <p> + During the months, though, that the husband and wife were together, again + at Nohant, the scenes began once more. Dudevant's irritability was + increased by the fact that he was always short of money, and that he was + aware of his own deplorable shortcomings as a financial administrator. He + had made speculations which had been disastrous. He was very credulous, as + so many suspicious people are, and he had been duped by a swindler in an + affair of maritime armaments. He had had all the more faith in this + enterprise because a picture of the boat had been shown him on paper. He + had spent ninety thousand francs of the hundred thousand he had had, and + was now living on his wife's income. Something had to be decided upon. + George Sand paid his debts first, and the husband and wife then signed an + agreement to the effect that their respective property should be + separated. Dudevant regretted having signed this afterwards, and it was + torn up after a violent scene which took place before witnesses in + October, 1835. The pretext of this scene had been an order given to + Maurice. In a series of letters, which have never hitherto been published, + George Sand relates the various incidents of this affair. We give some of + the more important passages. The following letter is to her half-brother + Hippolyte, who used to be Casimir's drinking companion. + </p> + <p> + <i>"To Hippolyte Chatiron.</i> + </p> + <p> + "My friend, I am about to tell you some news which will reach you + indirectly, and that you had better hear first from me. Instead of + carrying out our agreement pleasantly and loyally, Casimir is acting with + the most insane animosity towards me. Without my giving him any reason for + such a thing, either by my conduct or my manner of treating him, he + endeavoured to strike me. He was prevented by five persons, one of whom + was Dutheil, and he then fetched his gun to shoot me. As you can imagine, + he was not allowed to do this. + </p> + <p> + "On account of such treatment and of his hatred, which amounts to madness, + there is no safety for me in a house to which he always has the right to + come. I have no guarantee, except his own will and pleasure, that he will + keep our agreement, and I cannot remain at the mercy of a man who behaves + so unreasonably and indelicately to me. I have therefore decided to ask + for a legal separation, and I shall no doubt obtain this. Casimir made + this frightful scene the evening before leaving for Paris. On his return + here, he found the house empty, and me staying at Dutheil's, by permission + of the President of La Chatre. He also found a summons awaiting him on the + mantelshelf. He had to make the best of it, for he knew it was no use + attempting to fight against the result of his own folly, and that, by + holding out, the scandal would all fall on him. He made the following + stipulations, promising to adhere to them. Duthell was our intermediary. I + am to allow him a pension of 3,800 francs, which, with the 1,200 francs + income that he now has, will make 5,000 francs a year for him. I think + this is all straightforward, as I am paying for the education of the two + children. My daughter will remain under my guidance, as I understand. My + son will remain at the college where he now is until he has finished his + education. During the holidays he will spend a month with his father and a + month with me. In this way, there will be no contest. Dudevant will return + to Paris very soon, without making any opposition, and the Court will + pronounce the separation in default."(23) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (23) Communicated by M. S. Rocheblave. +</pre> + <p> + The following amusing letter on the same subject was written by George + Sand to Adolphe Duplomb in the <i>patois</i> peculiar to Berry: + </p> + <p> + "DEAR HYDROGEN, + </p> + <p> + "You have been misinformed about what took place at La Chatre. Duthell + never quarrelled with the Baron of Nohant-Vic. This is the true story. The + baron took it into his head to strike me. Dutheil objected. Fleury and + Papet also objected. The baron went to search for his gun to kill every + one. Every one did not want to be killed, and so the baron said: 'Well, + that's enough then,' and began to drink again. That was how it all + happened. No one quarrelled with him. But I had had enough. As I do not + care to earn my living and then leave <i>my substance</i> in the hands of + the <i>diable</i> and be bowed out of the house every year, while the + village hussies sleep in my beds and bring their fleas into my house, I + just said: 'I ain't going to have any more of that,' and I went and found + the big judge of La Chatre, and I says, says I: 'That's how it is.' And + then he says, says he: 'All right.' And so he unmarried us. And I am not + sorry. They say that the baron will make an appeal. I ain't knowin'. We + shall see. If he does, he'll lose everything. And that's the whole + story."(24) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (24) Communicated by M. Charles Duplomb. +</pre> + <p> + The case was pleaded in March, 1836, at La Chatre, and in July at Bourges. + The Court granted the separation, and the care of the children was + attributed to George Sand. + </p> + <p> + This was not the end of the affair, though. In September, 1837, George + Sand was warned that Dudevant intended to get Maurice away from her. She + sent a friend on whom she could count to take her boy to Fontainebleau, + and then went herself to watch over him. In the mean time, Dudevant, not + finding his son at Nohant, took Solange away with him, in spite of the + child's tears and the resistance of the governess. George Sand gave notice + to the police, and, on discovering that her little daughter was + sequestered at Guillery, near Nerac, she went herself in a post-chaise to + the sub-prefect, a charming young man, who was no other than Baron + Haussmann. On hearing the story, he went himself with her, and, + accompanied by the lieutenant of the constabulary and the sheriff's + officer on horseback, laid siege to the house at Guillery in which the + young girl was imprisoned. Dudevant brought his daughter to the door and + handed her over to her mother, threatening at the same time to take + Maurice from her by legal authority. The husband and wife then separated . + . . delighted with each other, according to George Sand. They very rarely + met after this affair. Dudevant certainly did not impress people very + favourably. After the separation, when matters were being finally settled, + he put in a claim for fifteen pots of jam and an iron frying-pan. All this + seems very petty. + </p> + <p> + The first use George Sand made of the liberty granted to her by the law, + in 1836, was to start off with Maurice and Solange for Switzerland to join + her friends Franz Liszt and the Comtesse d'Agoult. George Sand had made + Liszt's acquaintance through Musset. Liszt gave music-lessons to Alfred's + sister, Herminie. He was born in 1811, so that he was seven years younger + than George Sand. He was twenty-three at the time he first met her, and + their friendship was always platonic. They had remarkable affinities of + nature. Liszt had first thought of becoming a priest. His religious + fervour was gradually transformed into an ardent love of humanity. His + early education had been neglected, and he now read eagerly. He once asked + Monsieur Cremieux, the advocate, to teach him "the whole of French + literature." On relating this to some one, Cremieux remarked: "Great + confusion seems to reign in this young man's mind." He had been wildly + excited during the movement of 1830, greatly influenced by the Saint-Simon + ideas, and was roused to enthusiasm by Lamennals, who had just published + the <i>Paroles d'un Croyant</i>. After reading Leone Leoni, he became an + admirer of George Sand. Leone Leoni is a transposition of Manon Lescaut + into the romantic style. A young girl named Juliette has been seduced by a + young seigneur, and then discovers that this man is an abominable + swindler. If we try to imagine all the infamous things of which an <i>apache</i> + would be capable, who at the same time is devoted to the women of the + pavement, we then have Leone Leoni. Juliette, who is naturally honest and + straightforward, has a horror of all the atrocities and shameful things + she sees. And yet, in spite of all, she comes back to Leone Leoni, and + cannot love any one else. Her love is stronger than she is, and her + passion sweeps away all scruples and triumphs over all scruples. The + difference between the novel of the eighteenth century, which was so true + to life, and this lyrical fantasy of the nineteenth century is very + evident. Manon and Des Grieux always remained united to each other, for + they were of equal value. Everything took place in the lower depths of + society, and in the mire, as it were, of the heart. You have only to make + a good man of Des Grieux, or a virtuous girl of Manon, and it is all over. + The transposing of Leone Leoni is just this, and the romanticism of it + delighted Liszt. + </p> + <p> + He had just given a fine example of applying romanticism to life. Marie + d'Agoult, <i>nee</i> de Flavigny, had decided, one fine day, to leave her + husband and daughter for the sake of the passion that was everything to + her. She accordingly started for Geneva, and Liszt joined her there. + </p> + <p> + Between these two women a friendship sprang up, which was due rather to a + wish to like each other than to a real attraction or real fellow-feeling. + The Comtesse d'Agoult, with her blue eyes, her slender figure, and + somewhat ethereal style, was a veritable Diana, an aristocrat and a + society woman. George Sand was her exact opposite. But the Comtesse + d'Agoult had just "sacrificed all the vanities of the world for the sake + of an artist," so that she deserved consideration. The stay at Geneva was + gay and animated. The <i>Piffoels</i> (George Sand and her children) and + the <i>Fellows</i> (Liszt and his pupil, Hermann Cohen) enjoyed + scandalizing the whole hotel by their Bohemian ways. They went for an + excursion to the frozen lake. At Lausanne Liszt played the organ. On + returning to Paris the friends did not want to separate. In October, 1836, + George Sand took up her abode on the first floor of the Hotel de France, + in the Rue Laffitte, and Liszt and the Corntesse d'Agoult took a room on + the floor above. The trio shared, a drawing-room between them, but in + reality it became more the Comtesse d'Agoult's <i>salon</i> than George + Sand's. Lamennais, Henri Heine, Mickiewicz, Michel of Bourges and Charles + Didier were among their visitors, and we are told that this <i>salon</i>, + improvised in a hotel was "a reunion of the <i>elite</i>, over which the + Comtesse d'Agoult presided with exquisite grace." She was a true society + woman, a veritable mistress of her home, one of those who could transform + a room in a hotel, a travelling carriage, or even a prison into that + exquisite thing, so dear to French polite society of yore—a <i>salon</i>. + </p> + <p> + Among the <i>habitues</i> of Madame d'Agoult's <i>salon</i> was Chopin. + This is a new chapter in George Sand's life, and a little later on we + shall be able to consider, as a whole, the importance of this intercourse + with great artists as regards her intellectual development. + </p> + <p> + Before finishing our study of this epoch in her life, we must notice how + much George Sand's talent had developed and blossomed out. <i>Mauprat</i> + was published in 1837, and is undoubtedly the first of her <i>chefs-d'oeuvre</i>. + In her uninterrupted literary production, which continued regularly in + spite of and through all the storms of her private life, there is much + that is strange and second-rate and much that is excellent. <i>Jacques</i> + is an extraordinary piece of work. It was written at Venice when she was + with Pagello. George Sand declared that she had neither put herself nor + Musset into this book. She was nevertheless inspired by their case, and + she merely transposed their ideal of renunciation. <i>Andre</i> may be + classed among the second-rate work. It is the story of a young noble who + seduces a girl of the working-class. It is a souvenir of Berry, written in + a home-sick mood when George Sand was at Venice. <i>Simon</i> also belongs + to the second-rate category. The portrait of Michel of Bourges can easily + be traced in it. George Sand had intended doing more for Michel than this. + She composed a revolutionary novel in three volumes, in his honour, + entitled: <i>Engelwald with the high forehead</i>. Buloz neither cared for + <i>Engelwald</i> nor for his high forehead, and this novel was never + published. + </p> + <p> + According to George Sand, when she wrote <i>Mauprat</i> her idea was the + rehabilitation of marriage. "I had just been petitioning for a + separation," she says. "I had, until then, been fighting against the + abuses of marriage, and, as I had never developed my ideas sufficiently, I + had given every one the notion that I despised the essential principles of + it. On the contrary, marriage really appeared to me in all the moral + beauty of those principles, and in my book I make my hero, at the age of + eighty, proclaim his faithfulness to the only woman he has ever loved." + </p> + <p> + "She is the only woman I have ever loved," says Bernard de Mauprat. "No + other woman has ever attracted my attention or been embraced by me. I am + like that. When I love, I love for ever, in the past, in the present and + in the future." + </p> + <p> + <i>Mauprat</i>, then, according to George Sand, was a novel with a + purpose, just as <i>Indiana</i> was, although they each had an opposite + purpose. Fortunately it is nothing of the kind. This is one of those + explanations arranged afterwards, peculiar sometimes to authors. The + reality about all this is quite different. + </p> + <p> + In this book George Sand had just given the reins to her imagination, + without allowing sociological preoccupations to spoil everything. During + her excursions in Berry, she had stopped to gaze at the ruins of an old + feudal castle. We all know the power of suggestion contained in those old + stones, and how wonderfully they tell stories of the past they have + witnessed to those persons who know how to question them. The remembrance + of the <i>chateau</i> of Roche Mauprat came to the mind of the novelist. + She saw it just as it stood before the Revolution, a fortress, and at the + same time a refuge for the wild lord and his eight sons, who used to sally + forth and ravage the country. In French narrative literature there is + nothing to surpass the first hundred pages in which George Sand introduces + us to the burgraves of central France. She is just as happy when she takes + us to Paris with Bernard de Mauprat, to Paris of the last days of the old + <i>regime</i>. She introduces us to the society which she had learnt to + know through the traditions of her grandmother. It is not only Nature, but + history, which she uses as a setting for her story. How cleverly, too, she + treats the analysis which is the true subject of the book, that of + education through love. We see the untamed nature of Bernard de Mauprat + gradually giving way under the influence of the noble and delicious Edmee. + </p> + <p> + There are typical peasants, too, in <i>Mauprat</i>. We have Marcasse, the + mole-catcher, and Patience, the good-natured Patience, the rustic + philosopher, well up in Epictetus and in Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who has + gone into the woods to live his life according to the laws of Nature and + to find the wisdom of the primitive days of the world. We are told that, + during the Revolution, Patience was a sort of intermediary between the <i>chateau</i> + and the cottage, and that he helped in bringing about the reign of equity + in his district. It is to be hoped this was so. + </p> + <p> + In any case, it is very certain that we come across this Patience again in + Russian novels with a name ending in <i>ow</i> or <i>ew</i>. This is a + proof that if the personage seems somewhat impossible, he was at any rate + original, new and entertaining. + </p> + <p> + We hear people say that George Sand is no longer read. It is to be hoped + that <i>Mauprat</i> is still read, otherwise our modern readers miss one + of the finest stories in the history of novels. This, then, is the point + at which we have arrived in the evolution of George Sand's genius. There + may still be modifications in her style, and her talent may still be + refreshed under various influences, but with <i>Mauprat</i> she took her + place in the first rank of great storytellers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI + </h2> + <h3> + A CASE OF MATERNAL AFFECTION IN LOVE + </h3> + <p> + CHOPIN + </p> + <p> + We have passed over George Sand's intercourse with Liszt and Madame + d'Agoult very rapidly. One of Balzac's novels gives us an opportunity of + saying a few more words about it. + </p> + <p> + Balzac had been introduced to George Sand by Jules Sandeau. At the time of + her rupture with his friend, Balzac had sided entirely with him. In the <i>Lettres + a l'Etrangere</i>, we see the author of the <i>Comedie humaine</i> pouring + out his indignation with the blue stocking, who was so cruel in her love, + in terms which were not extremely elegant. Gradually, and when he knew + more about the adventure, his anger cooled down. In March, 1838, he gave + Madame Zulma Carraud an account of a visit to Nohant. He found his + comrade, George Sand, in her dressing-gown, smoking a cigar by her + fireside after dinner. + </p> + <p> + "She had some pretty yellow slippers on, ornamented with fringe, some + fancy stockings and red trousers. So much for the moral side. Physically, + she had doubled her chin like a canoness. She had not a single white hair, + in spite of all her fearful misfortunes; her dusky complexion had not + changed. Her beautiful eyes were just as bright, and she looked just as + stupid as ever when she was thinking. . . ." + </p> + <p> + This is George Sand in her thirty-fifth year, as she was at the time of + the fresh adventure we are about to relate. + </p> + <p> + Balzac continues by giving us a few details about the life of the + authoress. It was very much like his own, except that Balzac went to bed + at six o'clock and got up at midnight, and George Sand went to bed at six + in the morning and got up at noon. He adds the following remark, which + shows us the state of her feelings: + </p> + <p> + "She is now in a very quiet retreat, and condemns both marriage and love, + because she has had nothing but disappointment in both herself. Her man + was a rare one, that was really all." + </p> + <p> + In the course of their friendly conversation, George Sand gave him the + subject for a novel which it would be rather awkward for her to write. The + novel was to be <i>Galeriens</i> or <i>Amours forces</i>. These + "galley-slaves" of love were Liszt and the Comtesse d'Agoult, who had been + with George Sand at Chamonix, Paris and Nohant. It was very evident that + she could not write the novel herself. + </p> + <p> + Balzac accordingly wrote it, and it figures in the <i>Comedie humaine as + Beatrix</i>. Beatrix is the Comtesse d'Agoult, the inspirer, and Liszt is + the composer Conti. + </p> + <p> + "You have no idea yet of the awful rights that a love which no longer + exists gives to a man over a woman. The convict is always under the + domination of the companion chained to him. I am lost, and must return to + the convict prison," writes Balzac in this book. Then, too, there is no + mistaking his portrait of Beatrix. The fair hair that seems to give light, + the forehead which looks transparent, the sweet, charming face, the long, + wonderfully shaped neck, and, above and beyond all, that air of a + princess, in all this we can easily recognize "the fair, blue-eyed Peri." + Not content with bringing this illustrious couple into his novel, Balzac + introduces other contemporaries. Claude Vignon (who, although his special + work was criticism, made a certain place for himself in literature) and + George Sand herself appear in this book. She is Felicite des Touches, and + her pen name is Camille Maupin. "Camille is an artist," we are told; "she + has genius, and she leads an exceptional life such as could not be judged + in the same way as an ordinary existence." Some one asks how she writes + her books, and the answer is: "Just in the same way as you do your woman's + work, your netting or your tapestry." She is said to have the intelligence + of an angel and even more heart than talent. With her fixed, set gaze, her + dark complexion and her masculine ways, she is the exact antithesis of the + fair Beatrix. She is constantly being compared to the latter, and is + evidently preferred to her. It is very evident from whom Balzac gets his + information, and it is also evident that the friendship between the two + women has cooled down. + </p> + <p> + The cause of the coolness between them was George Sand's infatuation for + Chopin, whom she had known through Liszt and Madame d'Agoult. George Sand + wrote to Liszt from Nohant, in March, 1837: "Tell Chopin that I hope he + will come with you. Marie cannot live without him, and I adore him." In + April she wrote to Madame d'Agoult: "Tell Chopin that I idolize him." We + do not know whether Madame d'Agoult gave the message, but she certainly + replied: "Chopin coughs with infinite grace. He is an irresolute man. The + only thing about him that is permanent is his cough." This is certainly + very feminine in its ferociousness. + </p> + <p> + At the time when he came into George Sand's life, Chopin, the composer and + virtuoso, was the favourite of Parisian <i>salons</i>, the pianist in + vogue. He was born in 1810, so that he was then twenty-seven years of age. + His success was due, in the first place, to his merits as an artist, and + nowhere is an artist's success so great as in Paris. Chopin's delicate + style was admirably suited to the dimensions and to the atmosphere of a <i>salon</i>.(25) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (25) As regards Chopin, I have consulted a biography by + Liszt, a study by M. Camille Bellaigue and the volume by M. + Elie Poiree in the <i>Collection des musiciens celebres</i>, + published by H. Laurens. +</pre> + <p> + He confessed to Liszt that a crowd intimidated him, that he felt + suffocated by all the quick breathing and paralyzed by the inquisitive + eyes turned on him. "You were intended for all this," he adds, "as, if you + do not win over your public, you can at least overwhelm it." + </p> + <p> + Chopin was made much of then in society. He was fragile and delicate, and + had always been watched over and cared for. He had grown up in a peaceful, + united family, in one of those simple homes in which all the details of + everyday life become less prosaic, thanks to an innate distinction of + sentiment and to religious habits. Prince Radziwill had watched over + Chopin's education. He had been received when quite young in the most + aristocratic circles, and "the most celebrated beauties had smiled on him + as a youth." Social life, then, and feminine influence had thus helped to + make him ultra refined. It was very evident to every one who met him that + he was a well-bred man, and this is quickly observed, even with pianists. + On arriving he made a good impression, he was well dressed, his white + gloves were immaculate. He was reserved and somewhat languid. Every one + knew that he was delicate, and there was a rumour of an unhappy love + affair. It was said that he had been in love with a girl, and that her + family had refused to consent to her marriage with him. People said he was + like his own music, the dreamy, melancholy themes seemed to accord so well + with the pale young face of the composer. The fascination of the languor + which seemed to emanate from the man and from his work worked its way, in + a subtle manner, into the hearts of his hearers. Chopin did not care to + know Lelia. He did not like women writers, and he was rather alarmed at + this one. It was Liszt who introduced them. In his biography of Chopin, he + tells us that the extremely sensitive artist, who was so easily alarmed, + dreaded "this woman above all women, as, like a priestess of Delphi, she + said so many things that the others could not have said. He avoided her + and postponed the introduction. Madame Sand had no idea that she was + feared as a sylph. . . ." She made the first advances. It is easy to see + what charmed her in him. In the first place, he appealed to her as he did + to all women, and then, too, there was the absolute contrast of their two + opposite natures. She was all force, of an expansive, exuberant nature. He + was very discreet, reserved and mysterious. It seems that the Polish + characteristic is to lend oneself, but never to give oneself away, and one + of Chopin's friends said of him that he was "more Polish than Poland + itself." Such a contrast may prove a strong attraction, and then, too, + George Sand was very sensitive to the charm of music. But what she saw + above all in Chopin was the typical artist, just as she understood the + artist, a dreamer, lost in the clouds, incapable of any activity that was + practical, a "lover of the impossible." And then, too, he was ill. When + Musset left Venice, after all the atrocious nights she had spent at his + bedside, she wrote: "Whom shall I have now to look after and tend?" In + Chopin she found some one to tend. + </p> + <p> + About this time, she was anxious about the health of her son Maurice, and + she thought she would take her family to Majorca. This was a lamentable + excursion, but it seemed satisfactory at first. They travelled by way of + Lyons, Avignon, Vaucluse and Nimes. At Perpignan, Chopin arrived, "as + fresh as a rose." "Our journey," wrote George Sand, "seems to be under the + most favourable conditions." They then went on to Barcelona and to Palma. + In November, 1838, George Sand wrote a most enthusiastic letter: "It is + poetry, solitude, all that is most artistic and <i>chique</i> on earth. + And what skies, what a country; we are delighted."(26) The disenchantment + was soon to begin, though. The first difficulty was to find lodgings, and + the second to get furniture. There was no wood to burn and there was no + linen to be had. It took two months to have a pair of tongs made, and it + cost twenty-eight pounds at the customs for a piano to enter the country. + With great difficulty, the forlorn travellers found a country-house + belonging to a man named Gomez, which they were able to rent. It was + called the "Windy House." The wind did not inconvenience them like the + rain, which now commenced. Chopin could not endure the heat and the odour + of the fires. His disease increased, and this was the origin of the great + tribulations that were to follow. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Buloz: + + <i>Monday 13th.</i> + + MY DEAR CHRISTINE, + + "I have only been at Palma four days. My journey has been + very satisfactory, but rather long and difficult until we + were out of France. I took up my pen (as people say) twenty + times over to write the last five or six pages for which + <i>Spiridion</i> has been waiting for six months. It is not the + easiest thing in the world, I can assure you, to give the + conclusion of one's own religious belief, and when + travelling it is impossible. At twenty different places I + have resolved to think it solemnly over and to write down my + conclusion. But these stoppages were the most tiring part of + our journey. There were visits, dinners, walks, curiosities, + ruins, the Vaucluse fountain, Reboul and the Nimes arena, + the Barcelona cathedrals, dinners on board the war-ships, + the Italian theatres of Spain (and what theatres and what + Italians!), guitars and Heaven knows what beside. There was + the moonlight on the sea and above all Valma and Mallorca, + the most delightful place in the world, and all this kept me + terribly far away from philosophy and theology. Fortunately + I have found some superb convents here all in ruins, with + palm-trees, aloes and the cactus in the midst of broken + mosaics and crumbling cloisters, and this takes me back to + <i>Spiridion</i>. For the last three days I have had a rage for + work, which I cannot satisfy yet, as we have neither fire + nor lodging. There is not an inn in Palma, no house to let + and no furniture to be bought. On arriving here people first + have to buy some ground, then build, and afterwards send for + furniture. After this, permission to live somewhere has to + be obtained from Government, and after five or six years one + can think about opening one's trunk and changing one's + chemise, whilst waiting for permission from the Customs to + have some shoes and handkerchiefs passed. For the last four + days then we have spent our time going from door to door, as + we do not want to sleep in the open air. We hope now to be + settled in about three days, as a miracle has taken place. + For the first time in the memory of man, there is a + furnished house to let in Mallorca, a charming country-house + in a delightful desert. . . ." +</pre> + <p> + At that time Spain was the very last country in which to travel with a + consumptive patient. In a very fine lecture, the subject of which was <i>The + Fight with Tuberculosis</i>,(27) Dr. Landouzy proves to us that ever since + the sixteenth century, in the districts of the Mediterranean, in Spain, in + the Balearic Isles and throughout the kingdom of Naples, tuberculosis was + held to be contagious, whilst the rest of Europe was ignorant of this + contagion. Extremely severe rules had been laid down with regard to the + measures to be taken for avoiding the spread of this disease. A + consumptive patient was considered as a kind of plague-stricken + individual. Chateaubriand had experienced the inconveniences of this scare + during his stay in Rome with Madame de Beaumont, who died there of + consumption, at the beginning of the winter of 1803. George Sand, in her + turn, was to have a similar experience. When Chopin was convicted of + consumption, "which," as she writes, "was equivalent to the plague, + according to the Spanish doctors, with their foregone conclusions about + contagion," their landlord simply turned them out of his house. They took + refuge in the Chartreuse monastery of Valdemosa, where they lived in a + cell. The site was very beautiful. By a wooded slope a terrace could be + reached, from which there was a view of the sea on two sides. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (27) L. Landouzy of the Academy of Medecine, <i>La Lutte + contre la tuberculose</i>, published by L. Maretheux. +</pre> + <p> + "We are planted between heaven and earth," wrote George Sand. "The clouds + cross our garden at their own will and pleasure, and the eagles clamour + over our heads." + </p> + <p> + A cell in this monastery was composed of three rooms: the one in the + middle was intended for reading, prayer and meditation, the other two were + the bedroom and the workshop. All three rooms looked on to a garden. + Reading, rest and manual labour made up the life of these men. They lived + in a limited space certainly, but the view stretched out infinitely, and + prayer went up direct to God. Among the ruined buildings of the enormous + monastery there was a cloister still standing, through which the wind + howled desperately. It was like the scenery in the nuns' act in <i>Robert + le Diable</i>. All this made the old monastery the most romantic place in + the world.(28) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (28) George Sand to Madame Buloz. Postscript to the letter + already quoted: + + "I am leaving for the country where I have a furnished house + with a garden, magnificently situated for 50 francs a month. + I have also taken a cell, that is three rooms and a garden + for 35 francs a year in the Chartreuse of Valdemosa, a + magnificent, immense monastery quite lonely in the midst of + mountains. Our garden is full of oranges and lemons. The + trees break under them. We have hedges of cactus twenty to + thirty feet high, the sea is about a mile and a half away. + We have a donkey to take us to the town, roads inaccessible + to visitors, immense cloisters and the most beautiful + architecture, a charming church, a cemetery with a palm-tree + and a stone cross like the one in the third act of <i>Robert + le Diable</i>. Then, too, there are beds of shrubs cut in + form. All this we have to ourselves with an old woman to + wait on us, and the sacristan who is warder, steward, + majordomo and Jack-of-all-trades. I hope we shall have + ghosts. The door of my cell leads into an enormous + cloister, and when the wind slams the door it is like a + cannon going off through all the monastery. I am delighted + with everything, and fancy I shall be more often in the cell + than in the country-house, which is about six miles away. + You see that I have plenty of poetry and solitude, so that + if I do not work I shall be a stupid thing." +</pre> + <p> + The only drawback was that it was most difficult to live there. There was + no way of getting warm. The stove was a kind of iron furnace which gave + out a terrible odour, and did not prevent the rooms from being so damp + that clothes mildewed while they were being worn. There was no way of + getting proper food either. They had to eat the most indigestible things. + There were five sorts of meat certainly, but these were pig, pork, bacon, + ham and pickled pork. This was all cooked in dripping, pork-dripping, of + course, or in rancid oil. Still more than this, the natives refused, not + only to serve the unfortunate travellers, but to sell them the actual + necessaries of life. The fact was, they had scandalized the Majorcan + people. All Majorca was indignant because Solange, who at that time was + nine years old, roamed about the mountains <i>disguised as a man</i>. + Added to this, when the horn sounded which called people to their + devotions in the churches, these strange inhabitants of the old Valdemosa + monastery never took any more notice than pagans. People kept clear of + them. Chopin suffered with the cold, the cooking made him sick, and he + used to have fits of terror in the cloisters. They had to leave hastily. + The only steamboat from the island was used to transport the pigs which + are the pride and wealth of Majorca. People were only taken as an extra. + It was, therefore, in the company of these squealing, ill-smelling + creatures that the invalid crossed the water. When he arrived at + Barcelona, he looked like a spectre and was spitting blood. George Sand + was quite right in saying that this journey was an "awful fiasco." + </p> + <p> + Art and literature did not gain much either by this expedition. George + Sand finished her novel entitled <i>Spiridion</i> at Valdemosa. She had + commenced it before starting for Spain. In a volume on <i>Un hiver a + Majorque</i> she gave some fine descriptions, and also a harsh accusation + of the monks, whom she held responsible for all the mishaps of the Sand + caravan. She considered that the Majorcans had been brutalized and + fanaticized, thanks to their influence. As to Chopin, he was scarcely in a + state to derive any benefit from such a journey, and he certainly did not + get any. He did not thoroughly appreciate the beauties of nature, + particularly of Majorcan nature. In a letter to one of his friends he + gives the following description of their habitation:— + </p> + <p> + "Between rocks and sea, in a great deserted monastery, in a cell, the + doors of which are bigger than the carriage entrances to the houses in + Paris, you can imagine me, without white gloves, and no curl in my hair, + as pale as usual. My cell is the shape of a large-sized bier. . . ." + </p> + <p> + This certainly does not sound very enthusiastic. The question is whether + he composed anything at all at Valdemosa. Liszt presents him to us + improvising his Prelude in B flat minor under the most dramatic + circumstances. We are told that one day, when George Sand and her children + had started on an excursion, they were surprised by a thunderstorm. Chopin + had stayed at home in the monastery, and, terrified at the danger he + foresaw for them, he fainted. Before they reached home he had improvised + his <i>Prelude</i>, in which he has put all his terror and the nervousness + due to his disease. It appears, though, that all this is a legend, and + that there is not a single echo of the stay at Valdemosa in Chopin's work. + </p> + <p> + The deplorable journey to Majorca dates from November, 1838 to March, + 1839. The intimacy between George Sand and Chopin continued eight years + more. + </p> + <p> + In the summer Chopin stayed it Nohant. Eugene Delacroix, who was paying a + visit there too, describes his presence as follows: "At times, through the + window opening on to the garden, we get wafts of Chopin's music, as he too + is at work. It is mingled with the songs of the nightingales and with the + perfume of the rose trees." + </p> + <p> + Chopin did not care much for Nohant. In the first place, he only liked the + country for about a fortnight at a time, which is very much like not + caring for it at all. Then what made him detest the country were the + inhabitants. Hippolyte Chatiron was terrible after he had been drinking. + He was extremely effusive and cordial. + </p> + <p> + In the winter they first lived in the Rue Pigalle. George Sand used to + receive Pierre Leroux, Louis Blanc, Edgar Quinet, Etienne Arago, and many + other men. Chopin, who was not very intellectual, felt ill at ease amongst + all these literary men, these reformers, arguers and speechifiers. In + 1842, they emigrated to the Square d'Orleans. There was a sort of little + colony established there, consisting of Alexandre Dumas, Dantan the + caricaturist, the Viardots, Zimmermann, and the wife of the Spanish + consul, Madame Marliani, who had attracted them all there. They took their + meals together. It was a regular phalinstery, and Chopin had very elegant + tastes! + </p> + <p> + We must give George Sand credit for looking after him with admirable + devotion. She certainly went on nursing her "invalid," or her "dear + skeleton," as she called him, but her infatuation had been over for a long + time. The absolute contrast of two natures may be attractive at first, but + the attraction does not last, and, when the first enthusiasm is over, the + logical consequence is that they become disunited. This was what Liszt + said in rather an odd but energetic way. He points out all that there was + "intolerably incompatible, diametrically opposite and secretly + antipathetic between two natures which seemed to have been mutually drawn + to each other by a sudden and superficial attraction, for the sake of + repulsing each other later on with all the force of inexpressible sorrow + and boredom." Illness had embittered Chopin's character. George Sand used + to say that "when he was angry he was terrifying." He was very + intelligent, too, and delighted in quizzing people for whom he did not + care. Solange and Maurice were now older, and this made the situation + somewhat delicate. Chopin, too, had a mania for meddling with family + matters. He quarrelled one day with Maurice. Another day George Sand was + annoyed with her son-in-law Clesinger and with her daughter Solange, and + Chopin took their side. This was the cause of their quarrel; it was the + last drop that made the cup of bitterness overflow. + </p> + <p> + The following is a fragment of a letter which George Sand sent to + Grzymala, in 1847: "For seven years I have lived with him as a virgin. If + any woman on earth could inspire him with absolute confidence, I am + certainly that woman, but he has never understood. I know, too, that many + people accuse me of having worn him out with my violent sensuality, and + others accuse me of having driven him to despair by my freaks. I believe + you know how much truth there is in all this. He himself complains to me + that I am killing him by the privations I insist upon, and I feel certain + that I should kill him by acting otherwise."(29) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (29) Communicated by M. Rocheblave. +</pre> + <p> + It has been said that when Chopin was at Nohant he had a village girl + there as his mistress. We do not care to discuss the truth of this + statement. + </p> + <p> + It is interesting to endeavour to characterize the nature of this episode + in George Sand's sentimental life. She helps us herself in this. As a + romantic writer she neglected nothing which she could turn into + literature. She therefore made an analysis of her own case, worked out + with the utmost care, and published it in one of her books which is little + read now. The year of the rupture was 1847, and before the rupture had + really occurred, George Sand brought out a novel entitled <i>Lucrezia + Floriani</i>. In this book she traces the portrait of Chopin as Prince + Karol. She denied, of course, that it was a portrait, but contemporaries + were not to be deceived, and Liszt gives several passages from <i>Lucrezia + Floriani</i> in his biography of the musician. The decisive proof was that + Chopin recognized himself, and that he was greatly annoyed. + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact, there was nothing disagreeable about this portrait. + The following fragments are taken from it: "Gentle, sensitive, exquisite + in all things, at the age of fifteen he had all the charms of youth, + together with the gravity of a riper age. He remained delicate in body ind + mind. The lack of muscular development caused him to preserve his + fascinating beauty. . . . He was something like one of those ideal + creatures which mediaeval poetry used for the ornamentation of Christian + temples. Nothing could have been purer and at the same time more + enthusiastic than his ideas. . . . He was always lost in his dreams, and + had no sense of reality. . . ." His exquisite politeness was then + described, and the ultra acuteness and nervosity which resulted in that + power of divination which he possessed. For a portrait to be living, it + must have some faults as well as qualities. His delineator does not forget + to mention the attitude of mystery in which the Prince took refuge + whenever his feelings were hurt. She speaks also of his intense + susceptibility. "His wit was very brilliant," she says; "it consisted of a + kind of subtle mocking shrewdness, not really playful, but a sort of + delicate, bantering gaiety." It may have been to the glory of Prince Karol + to resemble Chopin, but it was also quite creditable to Chopin to have + been the model from which this distinguished neurasthenic individual was + taken. + </p> + <p> + Prince Karol meets a certain Lucrezia Floriani, a rich actress and + courtesan. She is six years older than he is, somewhat past her prime, and + now leading a quiet life. She has done with love and love affairs, or, at + least, she thinks so. "The fifteen years of passion and torture, which she + had gone through, seemed to her now so cruel that she was hoping to have + them counted double by the supreme Dispenser of our trials." It was, of + course, natural that she should acknowledge God's share in the matter. We + are told that "implacable destiny was not satisfied," so that when Karol + makes his first declaration, Lucrezia yields to him, but at the same time + she puts a suitable colouring on her fall. There are many ways of loving, + and it is surely noble and disinterested in a woman to love a man as his + mother. "I shall love him," she says, kissing the young Prince's pale face + ardently, "but it will be as his mother loved him, just as fervently and + just as faithfully. This maternal affection, etc. . . ." Lucrezia Floriani + had a way of introducing the maternal instinct everywhere. She undertook + to encircle her children and Prince Karol with the same affection, and her + notions of therapeutics were certainly somewhat strange and venturesome, + for she fetched her children to the Prince's bedside. "Karol breathed more + freely," we are told, "when the children were there. Their pure breath + mingling with their mother's made the air milder and more gentle for his + feverish lungs." This we shall not attempt to dispute. It is the study of + the situation, though, that forms the subject of <i>Lucrezia Floriani</i>. + George Sand gives evidence of wonderful clear-sightedness and penetration + in the art of knowing herself. + </p> + <p> + She gives us warning that it is "a sad story and sorrowful truth" that she + is telling us. She has herself the better <i>role</i> of the two + naturally. It could not have been on that, account that Chopin' was + annoyed. He was a Pole, and therefore doubly chivalrous, so that such an + objection would have been unworthy of a lover. What concerns us is that + George Sand gives, with great nicety, the exact causes of the rupture. In + the first place, Karol was jealous of Lucrezia's stormy past; then his + refined nature shrank from certain of her comrades of a rougher kind. The + invalid was irritated by her robust health, and by the presence and, we + might almost say, the rivalry of the children. Prince Karol finds them + nearly always in his way, and he finally takes a dislike to them. There + comes a moment when Lucrezia sees herself obliged to choose between the + two kinds of maternity, the natural kind and the maternity according to + the convention of lovers. + </p> + <p> + The special kind of sentiment, then, between George Sand and Chopin, Just + as between Lucrezia and Prince Karol, was just this: love with maternal + affection. This is extremely difficult to define, as indeed is everything + which is extremely complex. George Sand declares that her reason for not + refusing intimacy with Chopin was that she considered this in the light of + a duty and as a safeguard. "One duty more," she writes, "in a life already + so full, a life in which I was overwhelmed with fatigue, seemed to me one + chance more of arriving at that austerity towards which I felt myself + being drawn with a kind of religious enthusiasm."(30) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (30) <i>Histoire de via vie.</i> +</pre> + <p> + We can only imagine that she was deceiving herself. To accept a lover for + the sake of giving up lovers altogether seems a somewhat heroic means to + an end, but also somewhat deceptive. It is certainly true that there was + something more in this love than the attraction she felt for Musset and + for Michel. In the various forms and degrees of our feelings, there is + nothing gained by attempting to establish decided divisions and absolute + demarcations for the sake of classifying them all. Among sentiments which + are akin, but which our language distinguishes when defining them, there + may be some mixture or some confusion with regard to their origin. Alfred + de Vigny gives us in <i>Samson</i>, as the origin of love, even in man, + the remembrance of his mother's caresses: + </p> + <p> + <i>Il revera toujours a la chaleur du sein.</i> + </p> + <p> + It seems, therefore, that we cannot apply the same reasoning, with regard + to love, when referring to the love of a man or of a woman. With the man + there is more pride of possession, and with the woman there is more + tenderness, more pity, more charity. All this leads us to the conclusion + that maternal affection in love is not an unnatural sentiment, as has so + often been said, or rather a perversion of sentiment. It is rather a + sentiment in which too much instinct and heredity are mingled in a + confused way. The object of the education of feeling is to arrive at + discerning and eliminating the elements which interfere with the integrity + of it. Rousseau called Madame de Warens his mother, but he was a man who + was lacking in good taste. George Sand frequently puts into her novels + this conception of love which we see her put into practice in life. It is + impossible when analyzing it closely not to find something confused and + disturbing in it which somewhat offends us. + </p> + <p> + It now remains for us to study what influence George Sand's friendship + with some of the greatest artists of her times had on her works. Beside + Liszt and Chopin, she knew Delacroix, Madame Dorval, Pauline Viardot, + Nourrit and Lablache. Through them she went into artistic circles. Some of + her novels are stories of the life of artists. <i>Les Maitres Mosaistes</i> + treats of the rivalry between two studios. <i>La derniere Aldini</i> is + the story of a handsome gondolier who, as a tenor, turned the heads of + patrician women. The first part of <i>Consuelo</i> takes us back to the + singing schools and theatres of Venice in the eighteenth century, and + introduces us to individuals taken from life and cleverly drawn. We have + Comte Zustiniani, the dilettante, a wealthy patron of the fine arts; + Porpora, the old master, who looks upon his art as something sacred; + Corilla, the prima donna, annoyed at seeing a new star appear; Anzoleto, + the tenor, who is jealous because he gets less applause than his friend; + and above and beyond all the others Consuelo, good kind Consuelo, the + sympathetic singer. + </p> + <p> + The theatres of Venice seem to be very much like those of Paris and of + other places. We have the following sketch of the vanity of the comedian. + "Can a man be jealous of a woman's advantages? Can a lover dislike his + sweetheart to have success? A man can certainly be jealous of a woman's + advantages when that man is a vain artist, and a lover may hate his + sweetheart to have any success if they both belong to the theatre. A + comedian is not a man, Consuelo, but a woman. He lives on his sickly + vanity; he only thinks of satisfying that vanity, and he works for the + sake of intoxicating himself with vanity. A woman's beauty is apt to take + attention from him and a woman's talent may cause his talent to be thrown + in the background. A woman is his rival, or rather he is the rival of a + woman. He has all the little meannesses, the caprices, the exigences and + the weak points of a coquette." Such is the note of this picture of things + and people in the theatrical world. How can we doubt its veracity! + </p> + <p> + At any rate, the general idea that George Sand had of the artist was + exactly the idea adopted by romanticism. We all know what a being set + apart and free from all social and moral laws, what a "monster" + romanticism made of the artist. It is one of its dogmas that the + necessities of art are incompatible with the conditions of a regular life. + An artist, for instance, cannot be <i>bourgeois</i>, as he is the exact + opposite. We have Kean's speech in Dumas' drama, entitled <i>Kean, or + Disorder and Genius.</i> + </p> + <p> + "An actor," he says, "must know all the passions, so that he may express + them as he should. I study them in myself." And then he adds: "That is + what you call, orderly! And what is to become of genius while I am being + orderly?" + </p> + <p> + All this is absurd. The artist is not the man who has felt the most, but + the man best gifted for imagining the various states of mind and feeling + and for expressing them. We know, too, that an irregular life is neither + the origin nor the stamp of extraordinary intellectual worth. All the + cripples of Bohemian life prove to us that genius is not the outcome of + that kind of life, but that, on the contrary, such life is apt to paralyze + talent. It is very convenient, though, for the artist and for every other + variety of "superior beings" to make themselves believe that ordinary + morals are not for them. The best argument we can have against this theory + is the case of George Sand. The artist, in her case, was eminently a very + regular and hard-working <i>bourgeois</i> woman. + </p> + <p> + The art in which George Sand gave evidence of the surest taste was music. + That is worthy of notice. In one of her <i>Lettres d'un voyageur</i>, she + celebrates Liszt attacking the <i>Dies irae</i> on the Fribourg organ. She + devotes another letter to the praise of Meyer-beer. She has analyzed the + different forms of musical emotion in several of her books. One of the + ideas dear to romanticism was that of the union and fusion of all the + arts. The writer can, and in a certain way he ought, to produce with words + the same effects that the painter does with colours and the sculptor with + lines. We all know how much literature romantic painters and sculptors + have put into their art. The romantic writers were less inclined to accord + the same welcome to music as to the plastic arts. Theophile Gautier is + said to have exclaimed that music was "the most disagreeable and the + dearest of all the arts." Neither Lamartine, Hugo, nor any other of the + great writers of that period was influenced by music. Musset was the first + one to be impassioned by it, and this may have been as much through his + dandyism as from conviction. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Fille de la douleur, Harmonie, Harmonie, + Langue que fiour l'amour invents le ginie, + Qui nous viens d'Italie, et qui lui vins des cieux, + Douce langue du coeur, la seule ou la pensee, + Cette vierge craintive et d'une ombre ofensie, + Passe en gardant son voile et sans craindre les eux, + Qui sait ce qu'un enfant peut entendre et peut dire + Dans tes soupirs divins nes de l'air qu'il respire, + Tristes comme son coeur et doux comme sa voix?</i> +</pre> + <p> + George Sand, who agreed with Musset, claimed for "the most beautiful of + all the arts," the honour of being able to paint "all the shades of + sentiment and all the phases of passion." "Music," she says, "can express + everything. For describing scenes of nature it has ideal colours and + lines, neither exact nor yet too minute, but which are all the more + vaguely and delightfully poetical."(31) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (31) Eleventh <i>Lettre d'un voyageur</i>: To Giacomo Meyerbeer. +</pre> + <p> + As examples of music in literature we have George Sand's phrase, more + lyrical and musical than picturesque. We have, too, the gentle, soothing + strophes of Sully Prudhomme and the vague melody of the Verlaine songs: "<i>De + la musique avant toute chose</i>." It would be absurd to exaggerate the + influence exercised by George Sand, and to attribute to her an importance + which does not belong to her, over poetical evolution. It is only fair to + say, though, that music, which was looked upon suspiciously for so long a + time by classical writers of sane and sure taste, has completely invaded + our present society, so that we are becoming more and more imbued with it. + George Sand's predilection for modern art is another feature which makes + her one of us, showing that her tendencies were very marked for things of + the present day. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII + </h2> + <h3> + THE HUMANITARIAN DREAM + </h3> + <p> + PIERRE LEROUX—SOCIALISTIC NOVELS + </p> + <p> + Hitherto we have seen George Sand put into her work her sufferings, her + protests as a woman, and her dreams as an artist. But the + nineteenth-century writer did not confine his ambitions to this modest + task. He belonged to a corporation which counted among its members + Voltaire and Rousseau. The eighteenth-century philosophers had changed the + object of literature. Instead of an instrument of analysis, they had made + of it a weapon for combat, an incomparable weapon for attacking + institutions and for overthrowing governments. The fact is, that from the + time of the Restoration we shall scarcely meet with a single writer, from + the philosopher to the vaudevillist, and from the professor to the + song-maker, who did not wish to act as a torch on the path of humanity. + Poets make revolutions, and show Plato how wrong he was in driving them + away from his Republic. Sophocles was appointed a general at Athens for + having written a good tragedy, and so novelists, dramatists, critics and + makers of puns devoted themselves to making laws. George Sand was too much + a woman of her times to keep aloof from such a movement. We shall now have + to study her in her socialistic <i>role</i>. + </p> + <p> + We can easily imagine on what side her sympathies were. She had always + been battling with institutions, and it seemed to her that institutions + were undoubtedly in the wrong. She had proved that there was a great deal + of suffering in the world, and as human nature is good at bottom, she + decided that society was all wrong. She was a novelist, and she therefore + considered that the most satisfactory solutions are those in which + imagination and feeling play a great part. She also considered that the + best politics are those which are the most like a novel. We must now + follow her, step by step, along the various roads leading to Utopia. The + truth is, that in that great manufactory of systems and that storehouse of + panaceas which the France of Louis-Philippe had become, the only + difficulty was to choose between them all. + </p> + <p> + The first, in date, of the new gospels was that of the Saint-Simonians. + When George Sand arrived in Paris, Saint-Simonism was one of the + curiosities offered to astonished provincials. It was a parody of + religion, but it was organized in a church with a Father in two persons, + Bazard and Enfantin. The service took place in a <i>bouis-bouis</i>. The + costume worn consisted of white trousers, a red waistcoat and a blue + tunic. On the days when the Father came down from the heights of + Menilmontant with his children, there was great diversion for the people + in the street. An important thing was lacking in the organization of the + Saint-Simonians. In order to complete the "sacerdotal couple," a woman was + needed to take her place next the Father. A Mother was asked for over and + over again. It was said that she would soon appear, but she was never + forthcoming. Saint-Simon had tried to tempt Madame de Stael. + </p> + <p> + "I am an extraordinary man," he said to her, "and you are just as + extraordinary as a woman. You and I together would have a still more + extraordinary child." Madame de Stael evidently did not care to take part + in the manufacture of this prodigy. When George Sand's first novels + appeared, the Saint-Simonians were full of hope. This was the woman they + had been waiting for, the free woman, who having meditated on the lot of + her sisters would formulate the Declaration of the rights and duties of + woman. Adolphe Gueroult was sent to her. He was the editor of the <i>Opinion + nationale</i>. George Sand had a great fund of common sense, though, and + once more the little society awaited the Mother in vain. It was finally + decided that she should be sought for in the East. A mission was + organized, and messengers were arrayed in white, as a sign of the vow of + chastity, with a pilgrim's staff in their hand. They begged as they went + along, and slept sometimes outdoors, but more often at the police-station. + George Sand was not tempted by this kind of maternity, but she kept in + touch with the Saint-Simonians. She was present at one of their meetings + at Menilmontant. Her published <i>Correspondance</i> contains a letter + addressed by her to the Saint-Simonian family in Paris. As a matter of + fact, she had received from it, on the 1st of January, 1836, a large + collection of presents. There were in all no less than fifty-nine + articles, among which were the following: a dress-box, a pair of boots, a + thermometer, a carbine-carrier, a pair of trousers and a corset. + </p> + <p> + Saint-Simonism was universally jeered at, but it is quite a mistake to + think that ridicule is detrimental in France. On the contrary, it is an + excellent means of getting anything known and of spreading the knowledge + of it abroad; it is in reality a force. Saint-Simonism is at the root of + many of the humanitarian doctrines which were to spring up from its ashes. + One of its essential doctrines was the diffusion of the soul throughout + all humanity, and another that of being born anew. Enfantin said: "I can + feel St. Paul within me. He lives within me." Still another of its + doctrines was that of the rehabilitation of the flesh. Saint-Simonism + proclaimed the equality of man and woman, that of industry and art and + science, and the necessity of a fresh repartition of wealth and of a + modification of the laws concerning property. It also advocated increasing + the attributions of the State considerably. It was, in fact, the first of + the doctrines offering to the lower classes, by way of helping them to + bear their wretched misery, the ideal of happiness here below, lending a + false semblance of religion to the desire for material well-being. George + Sand had one vulnerable point, and that was her generosity. By making her + believe that she was working for the outcasts of humanity, she could be + led anywhere, and this was what happened. + </p> + <p> + Among other great minds affected by the influence of Saint-Simonism, it is + scarcely surprising to find Lamennais. When George Sand first knew him, he + was fifty-three years of age. He had broken with Rome, and was the + apocalyptic author of <i>Paroles d'un croyant</i>. He put into his + revolutionary faith all the fervour of his loving soul, a soul that had + been created for apostleship, and to which the qualification of "a + disaffected cathedral" certainly applied. + </p> + <p> + After the famous trial, Liszt took him to call on George Sand in her + attic. This was in 1835. She gives us the following portrait of him: + "Monsieur de Lamennais is short, thin, and looks ill. He seems to have + only the feeblest breath of life in his body, but how his face beams. His + nose is too prominent for his small figure and for his narrow face. If it + were not for this nose out of all proportion, he would be handsome. He was + very easily entertained. A mere nothing made him laugh, and how heartily + he laughed."(32) It was the gaiety of the seminarist, for Monsieur Feli + always remained the <i>Abbe</i> de Lamennais. George Sand had a passionate + admiration for him. She took his side against any one who attacked him in + her third <i>Lettre d'un voyageur</i>, in her <i>Lettre a Lerminier</i>, + and in her article on <i>Amshaspands et Darvands</i>. This is the title of + a book by Lamennais. The extraordinary names refer to the spirits of good + and evil in the mythology of Zoroaster. George Sand proposed to pronounce + them <i>Chenapans et Pedants</i>. Although she had a horror of journalism, + she agreed to write in Lamennais' paper, <i>Le Monde.</i> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (32) <i>Histoire de ma vie.</i> +</pre> + <p> + "He is so good and I like him so much," she writes, "that I would give him + as much of my blood and of my ink as he wants."(33) She did not have to + give him any of her blood, and he did not accept much of her ink. She + commenced publishing her celebrated <i>Lettres a Marcie</i> in <i>Le Monde</i>. + We have already spoken of these letters, in order to show how George Sand + gradually attenuated the harshness of her early feminism. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (33) <i>Correspondance</i>: To Jules Janin, February 15, 1837. +</pre> + <p> + These letters alarmed Lamennais, nevertheless, and she was obliged to + discontinue them. Feminism was the germ of their disagreement. Lamennais + said: "She does not forgive St. Paul for having said: 'Wives, obey your + husbands.'" She continued to acknowledge him as "one of our saints," but + "the father of our new Church" gradually broke away from her and her + friends, and expressed his opinion about her with a severity and harshness + which are worthy of note. + </p> + <p> + Lamennais' letters to Baron de Vitrolles contain many allusions to George + Sand, and they are most uncomplimentary. + </p> + <p> + "I hear no more about Carlotta" (Madame Marliani), he writes, "nor about + George Sand and Madame d'Agoult. I know there has been a great deal of + quarrelling among them. They are as fond of each other as Lesage's two <i>diables</i>, + one of whom said: 'That reconciled us, we kissed each other, and ever + since then we have been mortal enemies.'" He also tells that there is a + report that in her novel, entitled <i>Horace</i>, she has given as + unflattering a portrait as possible of her dear, sweet, excellent friend, + Madame d'Agoult, the <i>Arabella</i> of the <i>Lettres d'un voyageur</i>. + "The portraits continue," he writes, "all true to life, without being like + each other." In the same book, <i>Horace</i>, there is a portrait of + Mallefille, who was beloved "during one quarter of the moon," and abhorred + afterwards. He concludes the letter with the following words: "Ah, how + fortunate I am to be forgotten by those people! I am not afraid of their + indifference, but I should be afraid of their attentions. . . . Say what + you like, my dear friend, those people do not tempt me at all. Futility + and spitefulness dissolved in a great deal of <i>ennui</i>, is a bad kind + of medicine." He then goes on to make fun, in terms that it is difficult + to quote, of the silly enthusiasm of a woman like Marliani, and even of + George Sand, for the theories of Pierre Leroux, of which they did not + understand the first letter, but which had taken their fancy. George Sand + may have looked upon Lamennais as a master, but it is very evident that + she was not his favoured disciple. + </p> + <p> + It was due to his teaching that George Sand obtained her definite ideas + about Catholicism, or rather against it. She was decidedly its adversary, + because she held that the Church had stifled the spirit of liberty, that + it had thrown a veil over the words of Christ, and that it was the + obstacle in the way of holy equality. What she owed specially, though, to + Lamennais was another lesson, of quite another character. Lamennais was + the man of the nineteenth century who waged the finest battle against + individualism, against "the scandal of the adoration of man by man."(34) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (34) Compare Brunetiere, <i>Evolution de la poesie lyrique</i>, + vol. i. p. 310. +</pre> + <p> + Under his influence, George Sand began to attach less importance to the + personal point of view, she ceased applying everything to herself, and she + discovered the importance of the life of others. If we study this + attentively, we shall see that a new phase now commenced in the history of + her ideas. Lamennais was the origin of this transformation, although it is + personified in another man, and that other man, was named Pierre Leroux. + </p> + <p> + What a strange mystery it is, among so many other mysteries, that of one + mind taking possession of another mind. We have come into contact with + great minds which have made no impression on us, whilst other minds, of + secondary intelligence, perhaps, and it may be inferior to our own, have + governed us. + </p> + <p> + By the side of a Lamennais, this Pierre Leroux was a very puny personage. + He had been a compositor in a printing works, before founding the <i>Globe</i>. + This paper, in his hands, was to become an organ of Saint-Simonism. He + belonged neither to the <i>bourgeois</i> nor to the working-class. He was + Clumsy, not well built, and had an enormous shock of hair, which was the + joy of caricaturists. He was shy and awkward, in addition to all this. He + nevertheless appeared in various <i>salons</i>, and was naturally more or + less ridiculous. In January, 1840, Beranger writes: "You must know that + our metaphysician has surrounded himself with women, at the head of whom + are George Sand and Marliani, and that, in gilded drawing-rooms, under the + light of chandeliers, he exposes his religious principles and his muddy + boots." George Sand herself made fun of this occasionally. In a letter to + Madame d'Agoult, she writes: + </p> + <p> + "He is very amusing when he describes making his appearance in your + drawing-room of the Rue Laffitte. He says: 'I was all muddy, and quite + ashamed of myself. I was keeping out of sight as much as possible in a + corner. <i>This lady</i> came to me and talked in the kindest way + possible. She is very beautiful.'"(35) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (35) <i>Correspondance</i>: To Madame d'Agoult, October 16, 1837. +</pre> + <p> + There are two features about him, then, which seem to strike every one, + his unkemptness and his shyness. He expressed his ideas, which were + already obscure, in a form which seemed to make them even more obscure. It + has been said wittily that when digging out his ideas, he buried himself + in them.(36) Later on, when he spoke at public meetings, he was noted for + the nonsense he talked in his interminable and unintelligible harangues. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (36) P. Thureau-Dangin, <i>Histoire de la Monarchie de Juillet.</i> +</pre> + <p> + And yet, in spite of all this, the smoke from this mind attracted George + Sand, and became her pillar of light moving on before her. His hazy + philosophy seemed to her as clear as daylight, it appealed to her heart + and to her mind, solved her doubts, and gave her tranquillity, strength, + faith, hope and a patient and persevering love of humanity. It seems as + though, with that marvellous faculty that she had for idealizing always, + she manufactured a Pierre Leroux of her own, who was finer than the real + one. He was needy, but poverty becomes the man who has ideas. He was + awkward, but the contemplative man, on coming down from the region of + thought on to our earth once more, only gropes along. He was not clear, + but Voltaire tells us that when a man does not understand his own words, + he is talking metaphysics. Chopin had personified the artist for her; + Pierre Leroux, with his words as entangled as his hair, figured now to her + as the philosopher. She saw in him the chief and the master. <i>Tu duca e + tu maestro</i>. + </p> + <p> + In February, 1844, she wrote the following extraordinary lines: "I must + tell you that George Sand is only a pale reflection of Pierre Leroux, a + fanatical disciple of the same ideal, but a disciple mute and fascinated + when listening to his words, and quite prepared to throw all her own works + into the fire, in order to write, talk, think, pray and act under his + inspiration. I am merely the popularizer, with a ready pen and an + impressionable mind, and I try to translate, in my novels, the philosophy + of the master." + </p> + <p> + The most extraordinary part about these lines is that they were absolutely + true. The whole secret of the productions of George Sand for the next ten + years is contained in these words. With Pierre Leroux and Louis Viardot + she now founded a review, <i>La Revue independante</i>, in which she could + publish, not only novels (beginning with <i>Horace</i>, which Buloz had + refused), but articles by which philosophical-socialistic ideas could have + a free course. Better still than this, the novelist could take the + watchword from the sociologist, just as Mascarilla put Roman history into + madrigals, she was able to put Pierre Leroux's philosophy into novels. + </p> + <p> + It would be interesting to know what she saw in Pierre Leroux, and which + of his ideas she approved and preferred. One of the ideas dear to Pierre + Leroux was that of immortality, but an immortality which had very little + in common with Christianity. According to it, we should live again after + death, but in humanity and in another world. The idea of metempsychosis + was very much in vogue at this epoch. According to Jean Reynaud and + Lamennais, souls travelled from star to star, but Pierre Leroux believed + in metempsychosis on earth. + </p> + <p> + "We are not only the children and the posterity of those who have already + lived, but we are, at bottom, the anterior generations themselves. We have + gone through former existences which we do not remember, but it may be + that at times we have fragmentary reminiscences of them." + </p> + <p> + George Sand must have been very deeply impressed by this idea. It inspired + her with <i>Sept cordes de la lyre</i>, <i>Spiridion</i>, <i>Consuelo</i> + and the <i>Comtesse de Rudolstadt</i>, the whole cycle of her + philosophical novels. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Sept cordes de la lyre</i> is a dramatic poem after the manner of + <i>Faust</i>. Maitre Albertus is the old doctor conversing with + Mephistocles. He has a ward, named Helene, and a lyre. A spirit lives in + this lyre. It is all in vain that the painter, the <i>maestro</i>, the + poet, the critic endeavour to make the cords vibrate. The lyre remains + dumb. Helene, even without putting her hands on it, can draw from it + magnificent harmony; Helene is mad. All this may seem very + incomprehensible to you, and I must confess that it is so to me. Albertus + himself declares: "This has a poetical sense of a very high order perhaps, + but it seems vague to me." Personally, I am of the same opinion as + Albertus. With a little effort, I might, like any one else, be able to + give you an interpretation of this logogriph, which might appear to have + something in it. I prefer telling you frankly that I do not understand it. + The author, perhaps, did not understand it much better so that it may have + been metaphysics. + </p> + <p> + I would call your attention, though, to that picture of Helene, with the + magic lyre in her hand, risking her life, by climbing to the spire of the + steeple and uttering her inspiring speech from there. Is not this + something like Solness, the builder, from the top of his tower? Like + Tolstoi, Ibsen had evidently read George Sand and had not forgotten her. + </p> + <p> + <i>Spiridion</i> introduces us into a strange convent, in which we see the + portraits come out of their frames and roam about the cloisters. The + founder of the convent, Hebronius, lives again in the person of Father + Alexis, who is no other than Leroux. + </p> + <p> + In <i>Consuelo</i> we have the same imagination. We have already + considered the first part of this novel, that which takes place at Venice, + in the schools of music and in the theatres of song. Who would have + thought that the charming diva, the pupil of Porpora, was to have such + strange adventures? She arrives in Bohemia, at the Chateau of Rudolstadt. + She has been warned that extraordinary things take place there. Comte + Albert de Rudolstadt is subject to nervous fits and to great lethargy. He + disappears from the chateau and then reappears, without any one seeing him + go in or out. He believes that he has been Jean Ziska, and this is + probably true. He has been present at events which took place three + hundred years previously, and he describes them. Consuelo discovers + Albert's retreat. It is a cavern hollowed out of a mountain in the + vicinity, which communicates, by means of a well, with his rooms. The + Chateau of Rudolstadt is built on the same architectural plan as Anne + Radcliffe's chateau. After staying for some time in this bewildering + place, Consuelo sets forth once more. She now meets Haydn, goes through + the Bohmer Wald with him, arrives in Venice, is introduced to Maria + Theresa, and is engaged at the Imperial Theatre. She is now recalled to + the Chateau of Rudolstadt. Albert is on his deathbed, and he marries her + <i>in extremis</i>, after telling her that he is going to leave her for a + time, but that he shall return to her on earth by a new birth. He, too, + had evidently read Pierre Leroux, and it was perhaps that which had caused + his illness. + </p> + <p> + <i>Consuelo</i> is a novel of adventures after the style of <i>Gil Blas</i>, + the <i>Vie de Marianne</i>, and <i>Wilkelm Meister</i>. It is a historical + novel, for which we have Joseph Haydn, Maria Theresa, Baron Trenk, and the + whole history of the Hussites. It is a fantastical story with digressions + on music and on popular songs, but running through it all, with the + persistency of a fixed idea, are divagations on the subject of earthly + metempsychosis. Such, then, is this incongruous story, odd and + exaggerated, but with gleams of light and of great beauty, the reading of + which is apt to leave one weary and disturbed. + </p> + <p> + We meet with Consuelo again in another book. In those days, it was not + enough for a novel to consist of several volumes. People liked a sequel + also. <i>Vingt ans apres</i> was the sequel to <i>Trois Mousquetaires</i>, + and the <i>Vicomte de Bragelonne</i> was a sequel to that sequel. Our + grandparents were capable of allowing themselves to be bored to a degree + which makes us ashamed of our frivolity. The <i>Comtesse de Rudolstadt</i> + was the sequel to <i>Consuelo</i>. As time went on, Pierre Leroux called + George Sand's attention to the study of freemasonry. In 1843, she declared + that she was plunged in it, and that it was a gulf of nonsense and + uncertainties, in which "she was dabbling courageously." + </p> + <p> + "I am up to my ears in freemasonry," she writes. "I cannot get away from + the kaddosh, the Rose Croix and the Sublime Scotchman. The result of all + this will be a mysterious novel." The mysterious novel was the <i>Comtesse + de Rudolstadt</i>. Consuelo, who through her marriage with Albert is now + Comtesse de Rudolstadt, continues her European tour. She reaches Berlin, + and we find her at the Court of Frederick II. We now have Voltaire, La + Mettrie, the Sans-Souci suppers, Cagliostro, Saint-Germain and the occult + sciences. Frederick II sends Consuelo to prison. There appears to be no + reason for this, unless it be that in order to escape she must first have + been imprisoned. Some mysterious rescuers take a great interest in + Consuelo, and transport her to a strange dwelling, where she has a whole + series of surprises. It is, in fact, a sort of Palace of Illusions. She is + first in a dark room, and she then finds herself suddenly in a room of + dazzling light. "At the far end of this room, the whole aspect of which is + very forbidding, she distinguishes seven personages, wrapped in red cloaks + and wearing masks of such livid whiteness that they looked like corpses. + They were all seated behind a table of black marble. Just in front of the + table, and on a lower seat, was an eighth spectre. He was dressed in + black, and he, too, wore a white mask. By the wall, on each side of the + room, were about twenty men in black cloaks and masks. There was the most + profound silence. Consuelo turned round and saw that there were also black + phantoms behind her. At each door there were two of them standing up, each + holding a huge, bright sword."(37) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (37) <i>Comtesse de Rudolstadt.</i> +</pre> + <p> + She wondered whether she had reached the infernal regions, but she + discovered that she was in the midst of a secret society, styled the + Invisibles. Consuelo is to go through all the various stages of the + initiation. She first puts on the bridal dress, and after this the widow's + weeds. She undergoes all the various trials, and has to witness the + different spectacles provided for her edification, including coffins, + funeral palls, spectres and simulated tortures. The description of all the + various ceremonies takes up about half of the book. George Sand's object + was to show up this movement of secret societies, which was such a feature + of the eighteenth century, and which was directed both against monarchical + power and against the Church. It contributed to prepare the way for the + Revolution, and gave to this that international character and that mystic + allure which would otherwise have been incomprehensible. + </p> + <p> + From <i>Spiridion</i> to the <i>Comtesse de Rudolstadt</i>, then, we have + this series of fantastical novels with ghosts, subterranean passages, + secret hiding-places, hallucinations and apparitions. The unfortunate part + is that at present we scarcely know to what category of readers they would + appeal. As regards grown-up people, we all prefer something with a vestige + of truth in it now-a-days. As to our children, they would prefer <i>Monte-Cristo</i> + to <i>Consuelo</i>, and <i>Tom Thumb</i> to <i>Spiridion</i>. At the time + that they were written, in spite of the fact that Buloz protested against + all this philosophy, these novels were quite in accordance with the public + taste. A mania for anything fantastic had taken possession of the most + serious people. Ballanche wrote his <i>La Palingenesie</i>, and Edgar + Quinet <i>Ahasverus</i>. Things took place through the ages, and the + reader travelled through the immensity of the centuries, just as though + Wells had already invented his machine for exploring time. In a country + like France, where clear-mindedness and matter-of-fact intelligence are + appreciated, all this seems surprising. It was no doubt the result of + infiltrations which had come from abroad. There was something wrong with + us just then, "something rotten in the kingdom of France." We see this by + that fever of socialistic doctrines which burst forth among us about the + year 1840. We have the <i>Phalanstere</i> by Fourier, <i>La Phalange</i> + by Considerant, the <i>Icarie</i> by Cabet, and his famous <i>Voyage</i>, + which appeared that very year. We were always to be devoured by the State, + accompanied by whatever sauce we preferred. The State was always to find + us shelter, to dress us, to govern us and to tyrannize over us. There was + the State as employer, the State as general storekeeper, the State to feed + us; all this was a dream of bliss. Buonarotti, formerly Babeuf's + accomplice, preached Communism. Louis Blanc published his <i>Organisation + du travail</i>, in which he calls to his aid a political revolution, + foretaste of a social revolution. Proudhon published his <i>Memoire sur la + propriete</i>, containing the celebrated phrase: "Property means theft." + He declared himself an anarchist, and as a matter of fact anarchy was + already everywhere. A fresh evil had suddenly made its appearance, and, by + a cruel irony, it was the logical consequence of that industrial + development of which the century was so proud. The result of all that + wealth had been to create a new form of misery, an envious, jealous form + of misery, much more cruel than the former one, for it filled the heart + with a ferment of hatred, a passion for destruction. + </p> + <p> + It was Pierre Leroux, also, who led George Sand on to Socialism. She had + been on the way to it by herself. For a long time she had been raising an + altar in her heart to that entity called the People, and she had been + adorning it with all the virtues. The future belonged to the people, the + whole of the future, and first of all that of literature. + </p> + <p> + Poetry was getting a little worn out, but to restore its freshness there + were the poets of the people. Charles Poncy, of Toulon, a bricklayer, + published a volume of poetry, in 1842, entitled <i>Marines</i>. George + Sand adopted him. He was the demonstration of her theory, the example + which illustrated her dream. She congratulated him and encouraged him. + "You are a great poet," she said to him, and she thereupon speaks of him + to all her friends. "Have you read Baruch?" she asks them. "Have you read + Poncy, a poet bricklayer of twenty years of age?" She tells every one + about his book, dwells on its beauties, and asks people to speak of it. + </p> + <p> + As a friend of George Sand, I have examined the poems by Poncy of which + she specially speaks. The first one is entitled <i>Meditation sur les + toits</i>. The poet has been obliged to stay on the roof to complete his + work, and while there he meditates. + </p> + <p> + <i>"Le travail me retient bien tard sur ces toitures</i>. . . ." + </p> + <p> + He then begins to wonder what he would see if, like Asmodee in the <i>Diable + boiteux</i>, he could have the roof taken off, so that the various rooms + could be exposed to view. Alas! he would not always find the concord of + the Golden Age. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Que de fois contemolant cet amas de maisons + Quetreignent nos remparts couronnes de gazons, + Et ces faubourgs naissants que la ville trop pleine + Pour ses enfants nouveaux eleve dans la plaine. + Immobiles troufieaux ou notre clocher gris + Semble un patre au milieu de ses blanches brebis, + Jai pense que, malgre notre angoisse et nos peines, + Sous ces toits paternels il existait des haines, + Et que des murs plus forts que ces murs mitoyens + Separent ici-bas les coeurs des citoyens.</i> +</pre> + <p> + This was an appeal to concord, and all brothers of humanity were invited + to rally to the watchword. + </p> + <p> + The intention was no doubt very good. Then, too, <i>murs mitoyens</i> was + an extremely rich and unexpected rhyme for <i>citoyens</i>. This was + worthy indeed of a man of that party. + </p> + <p> + Another of the poems greatly admired by George Sand was <i>Le Forcat</i>. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Regarder le forcat sur la poutre equarrie + Poser son sein hale que le remords carie</i>. . . +</pre> + <p> + Certainly if Banville were to lay claim to having invented rhymes that are + puns, we could only say that he was a plagiarist after reading Charles + Poncy. + </p> + <p> + In another poem addressed to the rich, entitled <i>L'hiver</i>, the poet + notices with grief that the winter + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + . . . <i>qui remplit les salons, les Watres, + Remplit aussi la Morgue et les amphitheatres.</i> +</pre> + <p> + He is afraid that the people will, in the end, lose their patience, and so + he gives to the happy mortals on this earth the following counsel: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Riches, a vos plaisirs faites participer + L'homme que les malheurs s'acharnent a frapper + Oh, faites travailler le pere de famille, + Pour qu'il puisse arbiter la pudeur de sa fille, + Pourqu'aux petits enfants maigris par les douleurs + Il rapporte, le soir, le pain et non des pleurs, + Afin que son epouse, au desespoir en proie, + Se ranime a sa vue et l'embrasse avec joie, + Afin qua l'Eternel, a l'heure de sa mort. + Vous n'offriez pas un coeur carie de remords</i>. +</pre> + <p> + The expression certainly leaves much to be desired in these poems, but + they are not lacking in eloquence. We had already had something of this + kind, though, written by a poet who was not a bricklayer. He, too, had + asked the rich the question following: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + <i>Dans vos fetes d'hiver, riches, heureux du monde, + Quand le bal tournoyant de ses feux vous inonde. . . + Songez-vous qu'il est la, sous le givre et la neige, + Ce pere sans travail que la famine assiege?</i> +</pre> + <p> + He advises them to practise charity, the sister of prayer. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "<i>Donnez afin qu'un jour, a votre derniere heure, + Contre tous vos peches vous ayez la Priere + D'un mendiant puissant au ciel</i>." +</pre> + <p> + We cannot, certainly, expect Poncy to be a Victor Hugo. But as we had + Victor Hugo's verses, of what use was it for them to be rewritten by + Poncy? My reason for quoting a few of the fine lines from <i>Feuilles + d'automne</i> is that I felt an urgent need of clearing away all these + platitudes. Poncy was not the only working-man poet. Other trades produced + their poets too. The first poem in <i>Marines</i> is addressed to Durand, + a poet carpenter, who introduces himself as "<i>Enfant de la foret qui + ceint Fontainebleau</i>." + </p> + <p> + This man handled the plane and the lyre, just as Poncy did the trowel and + the lyre. + </p> + <p> + This poetry of the working-classes was to give its admirers plenty of + disappointment. George Sand advised Poncy to treat the things connected + with his trade, in his poetry. "Do not try to put on other men's clothes, + but let us see you in literature with the plaster on your hands which is + natural to you and which interests us," she said to him. + </p> + <p> + Proud of his success with the ladies of Paris, Poncy wanted to wash his + hands, put on a coat, and go into society. It was all in vain that George + Sand beseeched Poncy to remain the poet of humanity. She exposed to him + the dogma of impersonality in such fine terms, that more than one <i>bourgeois</i> + poet might profit by what she said. + </p> + <p> + "An individual," she said, "who poses as a poet, as a pure artist, as a + god like most of our great men do, whether they be <i>bourgeois</i> or + aristocrats, soon tires us with his personality. . . . Men are only + interested in a man when that man is interested in humanity." + </p> + <p> + This was all of no use, though, for Poncy was most anxious to treat other + subjects rather more lively and—slightly libertine. His literary + godmother admonished him. + </p> + <p> + "You are dedicating to <i>Juana l'Espagnole</i> and to various other + fantastical beauties verses that I do not approve. Are you a <i>bourgeois</i> + poet or a poet of the people? If the former, you can sing in honour of all + the voluptuousness and all the sirens of the universe, without ever having + known either. You can sup with the most delicious houris or with all the + street-walkers, in your poems, without ever leaving your fireside or + having seen any greater beauty than the nose of your hall-porter. These + gentlemen write their poetry in this way, and their rhyming is none the + worse for it. But if you are a child of the people and the poet of the + people, you ought not to leave the chaste breast of Desiree, in order to + run about after dancing-girls and sing about their voluptuous arms."(38) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (38) See the letters addressed to Charles Poncy in the + <i>Correspondance.</i> +</pre> + <p> + It is to be hoped that Poncy returned to the chaste Desiree. But why + should he not read to the young woman the works of Pierre Leroux? We need + a little gaiety in our life. In George Sand's published <i>Correspondance</i>, + we only have a few of her letters to Charles Poncy. They are all in + excellent taste. There is an immense correspondence which M. Rocheblave + will publish later on. This will be a treat for us, and it will no doubt + prove that there was a depth of immense candour in the celebrated + authoress. + </p> + <p> + It does not seem to me that the writings of the working-men poets have + greatly enriched French literature. Fortunately George Sand's sympathy + with the people found its way into literature in another way, and this + time in a singularly interesting way. She did not get the books written by + the people themselves, but she put the people into books. This was the + plan announced by George Sand in her preface to the <i>Compagnon du tour + de France</i>. There is an entirely fresh literature to create, she + writes, "with the habits and customs of the people, as these are so little + known by the other classes." The <i>Compagnon du tour de France</i> was + the first attempt at this new literature of the people. George Sand had + obtained her documents for this book from a little work which had greatly + struck her, entitled <i>Livre du compagnonnage</i>, written by Agricol + Perdiguier, surnamed Avignonnais-la-Vertu, who was a <i>compagnon</i> + carpenter. Agricol Perdiguier informs us that the <i>Compagnons</i> were + divided into three chief categories: the <i>Gavots</i>, the <i>Devorants</i> + and the <i>Drilles</i>, or the <i>Enfants de Salomon</i>, the <i>Enlants + de Maitre Jacques</i> and the <i>Enfants du</i> <i>Pere Soubise</i>. He + then describes the rites of this order. When two <i>Compagnons</i> met, + their watchword was "<i>Tope</i>." After this they asked each other's + trade, and then they went to drink a glass together. If a <i>Compagnon</i> + who was generally respected left the town, the others gave him what was + termed a "conduite en regle." If it was thought that he did not deserve + this, he had a "conduite de Grenoble." Each <i>Compagnon</i> had a + surname, and among such surnames we find <i>The Prudence of Draguignan</i>, + <i>The Flower of Bagnolet</i> and <i>The Liberty of Chateauneuf</i>. The + unfortunate part was that among the different societies, instead of the + union that ought to have reigned, there were rivalries, quarrels, fights, + and sometimes all this led to serious skirmishes; Agricol Perdiguier + undertook to preach to the different societies peace and tolerance. He + went about travelling through France with this object in view. His second + expedition was-at George Sand's expense. + </p> + <p> + A fresh edition of his book contained the letters of approval addressed to + him by those who approved his campaign. Among these signatures are the + following: Nantais-Pret-a-bien-faire, Bourgignonla-Felicite, + Decide-le-Briard. All this is a curious history of the syndicates of the + nineteenth century. Agricol Perdiguier may have seen the <i>Confederation + du Travail</i> dawning in the horizon. + </p> + <p> + In the <i>Compagnon du Tour de France</i>, Pierre Huguenin, a carpenter, + travels about among all these different societies of the <i>Compagnonnage</i>, + and lets us see something of their competition, rivalries, battles, etc. + He is then sent for to the Villepreux Chateau, to do some work. The noble + Yseult falls in love with this fine-talking carpenter, and at once begs + him to make her happy by marrying her. + </p> + <p> + In the <i>Meunier d'Angibault</i> it is a working locksmith, Henri Lemor, + who falls in love with Marcelle de Blanchemont. Born to wealth, she + regrets that she is not the daughter or the mother of workingmen. Finally, + however, she loses her fortune, and rejoices in this event. The personage + who stands out in relief in this novel is the miller, Grand Louis. He is + always gay and contented, with a smile on his lips, singing lively songs + and giving advice to every one. + </p> + <p> + In the <i>Peche de M. Antoine</i>, the <i>role</i> of Grand Louis falls to + Jean the carpenter. In this story all the people are communists, with the + exception of the owner of the factory, who, in consequence, is treated + with contempt. His son Emile marries the daughter of Monsieur Antoine. Her + name is Gilberte, and a silly old man, the Marquis de Boisguilbaut, leaves + her all his money, on condition that the young couple found a colony of + agriculturists in which there shall be absolute communism. All these + stories, full of eloquence and dissertations on the misfortune of being + rich and the corrupting influence of wealth, would be insufferable, if it + were not for the fact that the Angibault mill were in the Black Valley, + and the crumbling chateau, belonging to Monsieur Antoine, on the banks of + the Creuse. + </p> + <p> + They are very poor novels, and it would be a waste of time to attempt to + defend them. They are not to be despised, though, as regards their + influence on the rest of George Sand's work, and also as regards the + history of the French novel. They rendered great service to George Sand, + inasmuch as they helped her to come out of herself and to turn her + attention to the miseries of other people, instead of dwelling all the + time on her own. The miseries she now saw were more general ones, and + consequently more worthy of interest. In the history of the novel they are + of capital importance, as they are the first ones to bring into notice, by + making them play a part, people of whom novelists had never spoken. Before + Eugene Sue and before Victor Hugo, George Sand gives a <i>role</i> to a + mason, a carpenter and a joiner. We see the working-class come into + literature in these novels, and this marks an era. + </p> + <p> + As to their socialistic influence, it is supposed by many people that they + had none. The kind of socialism that consists of making tinkers marry + marchionesses, and duchesses marry zinc-workers, seems very childish and + very feminine. It is just an attempt at bringing about the marriage of + classes. This socialistic preaching, by means of literature, cannot be + treated so lightly, though, as it is by no means harmless. It is, on the + contrary, a powerful means of diffusing doctrines to which it lends the + colouring of imagination, and for which it appeals to the feelings. George + Sand propagated the humanitarian dream among a whole category of men and + women who read her books. But for her, they would probably have turned a + deaf ear to the inducements held out to them with regard to this Utopia. + Lamartine with his <i>Girondins</i> reconciled the <i>bourgeois</i> + classes to the idea of the Revolution. In both cases the effect was the + same, and it is just this which literature does in affairs of this kind. + Its <i>role</i> consists here in creating a sort of snobbism, and this + snobbism, created by literature in favour of all the elements of social + destruction, continues to rage at present. We still see men smiling + indulgently and stupidly at doctrines of revolt and anarchy, which they + ought to repudiate, not because of their own interest, but because it is + their duty to repudiate them with all the strength of their own common + sense and rectitude. Instead of any arguments, we have facts to offer. All + this was in 1846, and the time was now drawing near when George Sand was + to see those novels of hers actually taking place in the street, so that + she could throw down to the rioters the bulletins that she wrote in their + honour. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII + </h2> + <h3> + 1848 + </h3> + <p> + GEORGE SAND AND THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT—HER PASTORAL NOVELS + </p> + <p> + IN 1846, George Sand published <i>Le Peche de M. Antoine</i>. It was a + very dull story of a sin, for sins are not always amusing. The same year, + though, she published <i>La Mare au Diable</i>. People are apt to say, + when comparing the socialistic novels and the pastoral novels by George + Sand, that the latter are superb, because they are the result of a + conception of art that was quite disinterested, as the author had given up + her preaching mania, and devoted herself to depicting people that she knew + and things that she liked, without any other care than that of painting + them well. Personally, I think that this was not so. George Sand's + pastoral style is not essentially different from her socialistic style. + The difference is only in the success of the execution, but the ideas and + the intentions are the same. George Sand is continuing her mission in + them, she is going on with her humanitarian dream, that dream which she + dreamed when awake. + </p> + <p> + We have a proof of this in the preface of the author to the reader with + which the <i>Mare au Diable</i> begins. This preface would be + disconcerting to any one who does not remember the intellectual atmosphere + in which it was written. + </p> + <p> + People have wondered by what fit of imagination George Sand, when telling + such a wholesome story of country life, should evoke the ghastly vision of + Holbein's Dance of Death. It is the close of day, the horses are thin and + exhausted, there is an old peasant, and, skipping about in the furrows + near the team, is Death, the only lively, careless, nimble being in this + scene of "sweat and weariness." She gives us the explanation of it + herself. She wanted to show up the ideal of the new order of things, as + opposed to the old ideal, as translated by the ghastly dance. + </p> + <p> + "We have nothing more to do with death," she writes, "but with life. We no + longer believe in the <i>neant</i> of the tomb, nor in salvation bought by + enforced renunciation. We want life to be good, because we want it to be + fertile. . . . Every one must be happy, so that the happiness of a few may + not be criminal and cursed by God." This note we recognize as the common + feature of all the socialistic Utopias. It consists in taking the opposite + basis to that on which the Christian idea is founded. Whilst Christianity + puts off, until after death, the possession of happiness, transfiguring + death by its eternal hopes, Socialism places its Paradise on earth. It + thus runs the risk of leaving all those without any recourse who do not + find this earth a paradise, and it has no answer to give to the + lamentations of incurable human misery. + </p> + <p> + George Sand goes on to expose to us the object of art, as she understands + it. She believes that it is for pleading the cause of the people. + </p> + <p> + She does not consider that her <i>confreres</i> in novel-writing and in + Socialism set about their work in the best way. They paint poverty that is + ugly and vile, and sometimes even vicious and criminal. How is it to be + expected that the bad, rich man will take pity on the sorrows of the poor + man, if this poor man is always presented to him as an escaped convict or + a night loafer? It is very evident that the people, as presented to us in + the <i>Mysteres de Paris</i>, are not particularly congenial to us, and we + should have no wish to make the acquaintance of the "Chourineur." In order + to bring about conversions, George Sand has more faith in gentle, + agreeable people, and, in conclusion, she tells us: "We believe that the + mission of art is a mission of sentiment and of love, and that the novel + of to-day ought to take the place of the parable and the apologue of more + primitive times." The object of the artist, she tells us, "is to make + people appreciate what he presents to them." With that end in view, he has + a right to embellish his subjects a little. "Art," we are told, "is not a + study of positive reality; it is the seeking for ideal truth." Such is the + point of view of the author of <i>La Mare au Diable</i>, which we are + invited to consider as a parable and an apologue. + </p> + <p> + The parable is clear enough, and the apologue is eloquent. The novel + commences with that fine picture of the ploughing of the fields, so rich + in description and so broadly treated that there seems to be nothing in + French literature to compare with it except the episode of the Labourers + in <i>Jocelyn</i>. When <i>Jocelyn</i> was published, George Sand was + severe in her criticism of it, treating it as poor work, false in + sentiment and careless in style. "In the midst of all this, though," she + adds, "there are certain pages and chapters such as do not exist in any + language, pages that I read seven times over, crying all the time like a + donkey." I fancy that she must have cried over the episode of the <i>Labourers</i>. + Whether she remembered it or not when writing her own book little matters. + My only reason for mentioning it is to point out the affinity of genius + between Lamartine and George Sand, both of them so admirable in imagining + idylls and in throwing the colours of their idyllic imagination on to + reality. + </p> + <p> + I have ventured, to analyze the <i>Comtesse de Rudolstadt</i> and even <i>Consuelo</i>, + but I shall not be guilty of the bad taste of telling the story of <i>La + Mare au Diable</i>, as all the people of that neighbourhood are well known + to us, and have been our friends for a long time. We are all acquainted + with Germain, the clever farm-labourer, with Marie, the shepherdess, and + with little Pierre. We remember how they climbed the <i>Grise</i>, lost + their way in the mist, and were obliged to spend the night under the great + oak-trees. When we were only about fifteen years of age, with what delight + we read this book, and how we loved that sweet Marie for her simple grace + and her affection, which all seemed so maternal. How much better we liked + her than the Widow Guerin, who was so snobbish with her three lovers. And + how glad we were to be present at that wedding, celebrated according to + the custom in Berry from time immemorial. + </p> + <p> + It is easy to see the meaning of all these things. They show us how + natural kindliness is to the heart of man. If we try to find out why + Germain and Marie appear so delightful to us, we shall discover that it is + because they are simple-hearted, and follow the dictates of Nature. Nature + must not be deformed, therefore, by constraint nor transformed by + convention, as it leads straight to virtue. + </p> + <p> + We have heard the tune of this song before, and we have seen the + blossoming of some very fine pastoral poems and a veritable invasion of + sentimental literature. In those days tears were shed plentifully over + poetry, novels and plays. We have had Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Sedaine, + Florian and Berquin. The Revolution, brutal and sanguinary as it was, did + not interrupt the course of these romantic effusions. Never were so many + tender epithets used as during the years of the Reign of Terror, and in + official processions Robespierre was adorned with flowers like a village + bride. + </p> + <p> + This taste for pastoral things, at the time of the Revolution, was not a + mere coincidence. The same principles led up to the idyll in literature + and to the Revolution in history. Man was supposed to be naturally good, + and the idea was to take away from him all the restraints which had been + invented for curbing his nature. Political and religious authority, moral + discipline and the prestige of tradition had all formed a kind of network + of impediments, by which man had been imprisoned by legislators who were + inclined to pessimism. By doing away with all these fetters, the Golden + Age was to be restored and universal happiness was to be established. Such + was the faith of the believers in the millennium of 1789, and of 1848. The + same dream began over and over again, from Diderot to Lamartine and from + Jean-Jacques to George Sand. The same state of mind which we see reflected + in <i>La Mare au Diable</i> was to make of George Sand the revolutionary + writer of 1848. We can now understand the <i>role</i> which the novelist + played in the second Republic. It is one of the most surprising pages in + the history of this extraordinary character. + </p> + <p> + The joy with which George Sand welcomed the Republic can readily be + imagined. She had been a Republican ever since the days of Michel of + Bourges, and a democrat since the time when, as a little girl, she took + the side of her plebeian mother against "the old Countesses." For a long + time she had been wishing for and expecting a change of government. She + would not have been satisfied with less than this. She was not much moved + by the Thiers-Guizot duel, and it would have given her no pleasure to be + killed for the sake of Odilon Barrot. She was a disciple of Romanticism, + and she wanted a storm. When the storm broke, carrying all before it, a + throne, a whole society with its institutions, she hurried away from her + peaceful Nohant. She wanted to breathe the atmosphere of a revolution, and + she was soon intoxicated by it. + </p> + <p> + "Long live the Republic," she wrote in her letters. "What a dream and what + enthusiasm, and then, too, what behaviour, what order in Paris. I have + just arrived, and I saw the last of the barricades. The people are great, + sublime, simple and generous, the most admirable people in the universe. I + spent nights without any sleep and days without sitting down. Every one + was wild and intoxicated with delight, for after going to sleep in the + mire they have awakened in heaven."(39) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (39) <i>Correspondance: </i> To Ch. Poncy, March 9, 1848. +</pre> + <p> + She goes on dreaming thus of the stars. Everything she hears, everything + she sees enchants her. The most absurd measures delight her. She either + thinks they are most noble, liberal steps to have taken, or else they are + very good jokes. + </p> + <p> + "Rothschild," she writes, "expresses very fine sentiments about liberty at + present. The Provisional Government is keeping him in sight, as it does + not wish him to make off with his money, and so will put some of the + troops on his track. The most amusing things are happening." A little + later on she writes: "The Government and the people expect to have bad + deputies, but they have agreed to put them through the window. You must + come, and we will go and see all this and have fun."(40) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (40) <i>Correspondance:</i> To Maurice Sand, March 24, 1848. +</pre> + <p> + She was thoroughly entertained, and that is very significant. We must not + forget the famous phrase that sounded the death-knell of the July + monarchy, "La France s'ennuie." France had gone in for a revolution by way + of being entertained. + </p> + <p> + George Sand was entertained, then, by what was taking place. She went down + into the street where there was plenty to see. In the mornings there were + the various coloured posters to be read. These had been put up in the + night, and they were in prose and in verse. + </p> + <p> + Processions were also organized, and men, women and children, with banners + unfurled, marched along to music to the Hotel de Ville, carrying baskets + decorated with ribbons and flowers. Every corporation and every profession + considered itself bound in honour to congratulate the Government and to + encourage it in its well-doing. One day the procession would be of the + women who made waistcoats or breeches, another day of the water-carriers, + or of those who had been decorated in July or wounded in February; then + there were the pavement-layers, the washerwomen, the delegates from the + Paris night-soil men. There were delegates, too, from the Germans, + Italians, Poles, and most of the inhabitants of Montmartre and of + Batignolles. We must not forget the trees of Liberty, as George Sand + speaks of meeting with three of these in one day. "Immense pines," she + writes, "carried on the shoulders of fifty working-men. A drum went first, + then the flag, followed by bands of these fine tillers of the ground, + strong-looking, serious men with wreaths of leaves on their head, and a + spade, pick-axe or hatchet over their shoulder. It was magnificent; finer + than all the <i>Roberts</i> in the world."(41) Such was the tone of her + letters. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (41) <i>Correspondance.</i> +</pre> + <p> + She had the Opera from her windows and an Olympic circus at every + cross-road. Paris was certainly <i>en fete</i>. In the evenings it was + just as lively. There were the Clubs, and there were no less than three + hundred of these. Society women could go to them and hear orators in + blouses proposing incendiary movements, which made them shudder + deliciously. Then there were the theatres. Rachel, draped in antique + style, looking like a Nemesis, declaimed the <i>Marseillaise</i>. And all + night long the excitement continued. The young men organized torchlight + processions, with fireworks, and insisted on peaceably-inclined citizens + illuminating. It was like a National Fete day, or the Carnival, continuing + all the week. + </p> + <p> + All this was the common, everyday aspect of Paris, but there were the + special days as well to break the monotony of all this. There were the + manifestations, which had the great advantage of provoking + counter-manifestations. On the 16th of March, there was the manifestation + of the National Guard, who were tranquil members of society, but on the + 17th there was a counter-manifestation of the Clubs and workingmen. On + such days the meeting-place would be at the Bastille, and from morning to + night groups, consisting of several hundred thousand men, would march + about Paris, sometimes in favour of the Assembly against the Provisional + Government, and sometimes in favour of the Provisional Government against + the Assembly. On the 17th of April, George Sand was in the midst of the + crowd, in front of the Hotel de Ville, in order to see better. On the 15th + of May, as the populace was directing its efforts against the Palais + Bourbon, she was in the Rue de Bourgogne, in her eagerness not to miss + anything. As she was passing in front of a <i>cafe</i>, she saw a woman + haranguing the crowd in a very animated way from one of the windows. She + was told that this woman was George Sand. Women were extremely active in + this Revolution. They organized a Legion for themselves, and were styled + <i>"Les Vesuviennes</i>." They had their clubs, their banquets and their + newspapers. George Sand was far from approving all this feminine + agitation, but she did not condemn it altogether. She considered that + "women and children, disinterested as they are in all political questions, + are in more direct intercourse with the spirit that breathes from above + over the agitations of this world."(42) It was for them, therefore, to be + the inspirers of politics. George Sand was one of these inspirers. In + order to judge what counsels this Egeria gave, we have only to read some + of her letters. On the 4th of March, she wrote as follows to her friend + Girerd: "Act vigorously, my dear brother. In our present situation, we + must have even more than devotion and loyalty; we must have fanaticism if + necessary." In conclusion, she says that he is not to hesitate "in + sweeping away all that is of a <i>bourgeois</i> nature." In April she + wrote to Lamartine, reproaching him with his moderation and endeavouring + to excite his revolutionary spirit. Later on, although she was not of a + very warlike disposition, she regretted that they had not, like their + ancestors of 1793, cemented their Revolution at home by a war with the + nations. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (42) <i>Correspondance:</i> To the Citizen Thore, May 28, 1848. +</pre> + <p> + "If, instead of following Lamartine's stupid, insipid policy," she then + wrote, "we had challenged all absolute monarchies, we should have had war + outside, but union at home, and strength, in consequence of this, it home + and abroad."(43) Like the great ancestors, she declared that the + revolutionary idea is neither that of a sect nor of a party. "It is a + religion," she says, "that we want to proclaim." All this zeal, this + passion and this persistency in a woman is not surprising, but one does + not feel much confidence in a certain kind of inspiration for politics + after all this. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (43) <i>Correspondance:</i> To Mazzini, October 10, 1849. +</pre> + <p> + My reason for dwelling on the subject is that George Sand did not content + herself with merely looking on at the events that were taking place, or + even with talking about them with her friends. She took part in the + events, by means of her pen. She scattered abroad all kinds of + revolutionary writings. On the 7th of March, she published her first <i>Letter + to the People</i>, at the price of a penny, the profits of which were to + be distributed among working-men without employment. After congratulating + these great and good people on their noble victory, she tells them they + are all going to seek together for the truth of things. That was exactly + the state of the case. They did not yet know what they wanted, but, in the + mean time, while they were considering, they had at any rate begun with a + revolution. There was a second <i>Letter to the People</i>, and then these + ceased. Publications in those days were very short-lived. They came to + life again, though, sometimes from their ashes. In April a newspaper was + started, entitled <i>The Cause of the People</i>. This was edited almost + entirely by George Sand. She wrote the leading article: <i>Sovereignty is + Equality</i>. She reproduced her first <i>Letter to the People</i>, gave + an article on the aspect of the streets of Paris, and another on + theatrical events. She left to her collaborator, Victor Borie, the task of + explaining that the increase of taxes was an eminently republican measure, + and an agreeable surprise for the person who had to pay them. The third + number of this paper contained a one-act play by George Sand, entitled <i>Le + Roi attend</i>. This had just been given at the Comedie-Francaise, or at + the Theatre de la Republique, as it was then called. It had been a gratis + performance, given on the 9th of April, 1848, as a first national + representation. The actors at that time were Samson, Geffroy, Regnier, + Anais, Augustine Brohan and Rachel. There were not many of them, but they + had some fine things to interpret. + </p> + <p> + In George Sand's piece, Moliere was at work with his servant, Laforet, who + could not read, but without whom, it appears, he could not have written a + line. He has not finished his play, the actors have not learnt their + parts, and the king is impatient at being kept waiting. Moliere is + perplexed, and, not knowing what to do, he decides to go to sleep. The + Muse appears to him, styles him "the light of the people," and brings to + him all the ghosts of the great poets before him. AEschylus, Sophocles, + Euripides and Shakespeare all declare to him that, in their time, they had + all worked towards preparing the Revolution of 1848. Moliere then wakes + up, and goes on to the stage to pay his respects to the king. The king has + been changed, though. "I see a king," says Moliere, "but his name is not + Louis XIV. It is the people, the sovereign people. That is a word I did + not know, a word as great as eternity." + </p> + <p> + We recognize the democrat in all this. <i>Le Roi</i> <i>attend</i> may be + considered as an authentic curiosity of revolutionary art. The newspaper + announced to its readers that subscriptions could be paid in the Rue + Richelieu. Subscribers were probably not forthcoming, as the paper died a + natural death after the third number. + </p> + <p> + George Sand did much more than this, though.(44) We must not forget that + she was an official publicist in 1848. She had volunteered her services to + Ledru-Rollin, and he had accepted them. "I am as busy as a statesman," she + wrote at this time. "I have already written two Government circulars."(45) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (44) With regard to George Sand's <i>role</i>, see <i>La Revolution + de</i> 1848, by Daniel Stern (Madame d'Agoult). + + (45) <i>Correspondance:</i> To Maurice Sand, March 24, 1848. +</pre> + <p> + With George Sand's collaboration, the <i>Bulletin de la Republique</i> + became unexpectedly interesting. This paper was published every other day, + by order of Ledru-Rollin, and was intended to establish a constant + interchange of ideas and sentiments between the Government and the people. + "It was specially addressed to the people of rural districts, and was in + the form of a poster that the mayor of the place could have put up on the + walls, and also distribute to the postmen to be given away. The <i>Bulletins</i> + were anonymous, but several of them were certainly written by George Sand. + The seventh is one of these, and also the twelfth. The latter was written + with a view to drawing the attention of the public to the wretched lot of + the women and girls of the lower classes, who were reduced to prostitution + by the lowness of their wages. Their virginity is an object of traffic," + we are told, "quoted on the exchange of infamy." The sixteenth <i>Bulletin</i> + was simply an appeal for revolt. George Sand was looking ahead to what + ought to take place, in case the elections did not lead to the triumph of + social truth. "The people," she hoped, "would know their duty. There + would, in that case, be only one way of salvation for the people who had + erected barricades, and that would be to manifest their will a second + time, and so adjourn the decisions of a representation that was not + national." This was nothing more nor less than the language of another + Fructidor. And we know what was the result of words in those days. The <i>Bulletin</i> + was dated the 15th, and on the 17th the people were on the way to the + Hotel de Ville. These popular movements cannot always be trusted, though, + as they frequently take an unexpected turn, and even change their + direction when on the way. It happened this time that the manifestation + turned against those who were its instigators. Shouts were heard that day + in Paris of <i>"Death to the Communists"</i> and <i>"Down with Cabet</i>." + George Sand could not understand things at all. This was not in the + programme, and she began to have her doubts about the future of the + Republic—the real one, that of her friends. + </p> + <p> + It was much worse on the 15th of May, the day which was so fatal to + Barbes, for he played the part of hero and of dupe on that eventful day. + Barbes was George Sand's idol at that time. + </p> + <p> + It was impossible for her to be without one, although, with her vivid + imagination, she changed her idols frequently. With her idealism, she was + always incarnating in some individual the perfections that she was + constantly imagining. It seems as though she exteriorized the needs of her + own mind and put them into an individual who seemed suitable to her for + the particular requirements of that moment. At the time of the monarchy, + Michel of Bourges and Pierre Leroux had been able to play the part, the + former of a radical theorician and the latter of the mystical forerunner + of the new times. At present Barbes had come on to the scene. + </p> + <p> + He was a born conspirator, the very man for secret societies. He had made + his career by means of prisons, or rather he had made prison his career, + In 1835, he had commenced by helping thirty of the prisoners of April to + escape from Sainte-Pelagie. At that time he was affiliated to the <i>Societe + des Familles</i>. The police discovered a whole arsenal of powder and + ammunition at the house in the Rue de Lourcine, and Barbes was condemned + to prison for a year and sent to Carcassonne, where he had relatives. When + he left prison, the <i>Societe des Saisons</i> had taken the place of the + <i>Societe des Familles</i>. With Blanqui's approval, Barbes organized the + insurrection of May 12 and 13, 1830. This time blood was shed. In front of + the Palais de Justice, the men, commanded by Barbes, had invited + Lieutenant Droulneau to let them enter. The officer replied that he would + die first. He was immediately shot, but Barbes was sentenced to death for + this. Thanks to the intervention of Lamartine and Victor Hugo, his life + was spared, but he was imprisoned at Mont Saint-Michel until 1843, and + afterwards at Nimes. On the 28th of February, 1848, the Governor of Nimes + prison informed him that he was free. He was more surprised and + embarrassed than pleased by this news. + </p> + <p> + "I was quite bewildered," he owned later on, "by this idea of leaving + prison. I looked at my prison bed, to which I had grown so accustomed. I + looked at my blanket and at my pillow and at all my belongings, hung so + carefully at the foot of my bed." He asked permission to stay there + another day. He had become accustomed to everything, and when once he was + out again, and free, he was like a man who feels ill at ease. + </p> + <p> + He took part in the affair of the 15th of May, and this is what gives a + tragic, and at the same time comic, character to the episode. Under + pretext of manifesting in favour of Poland, the National Assembly was to + be invaded. Barbes did not approve of this manifestation, and had decided + to keep out of it. Some people cannot be present at a revolutionary scene + without taking part in it, and without soon wanting to play the chief part + in it. The excitement goes to their head. Barbes seems to have been + obeying in instinct over which he had no control, for, together with a + workman named Albert, he headed the procession which was to march from the + Chamber of Deputies to the Hotel de Ville and establish a fresh + Provisional Government. He had already commenced composing the + proclamations to be thrown through the windows to the people, after the + manner of the times, when suddenly Lamartine appeared on the scene with + Ledru-Rollin and a captain in the artillery. The following dialogue then + took place: + </p> + <p> + "Who are you?" + </p> + <p> + "A member of the Provisional Government." + </p> + <p> + "Of the Government of yesterday or of to-day?" + </p> + <p> + "Of the one of to-day." + </p> + <p> + "In that case I arrest you." + </p> + <p> + Barbes was taken to Vincennes. He had been free rather less than three + months, when he returned to prison as though it were his natural + dwelling-place. + </p> + <p> + George Sand admired him just as much after this as before. For her, the + great man of the Revolution was neither Ledru-Rollin, Lamartine, nor even + Louis-Blanc; it was Barbes. She compared him to Joan of Arc and to + Robespierre. To her, he was much more than a mere statesman, this man of + conspiracies and dungeons, ever mysterious and unfortunate, always ready + for a drama or a romance. In her heart she kept an altar for this martyr, + and never thought of wondering whether, after all, this idol and hero were + not a mere puppet. + </p> + <p> + The skirmish of May 15 undeceived George Sand very considerably. The June + insurrection and the civil war, with blood flowing in the Paris streets, + those streets which were formerly so lively and amusing, caused her + terrible grief. From henceforth her letters were full of her sadness and + discouragement. The most gloomy depression took the place of her former + enthusiasm. It had only required a few weeks for this change to take + place. In February she had been so proud of France, and now she felt that + she was to be pitied for being a Frenchwoman. It was all so sad, and she + was so ashamed. There was no one to count upon now. Lamartine was a + chatterer; Ledru-Rollin was like a woman; the people were ignorant and + ungrateful, so that the mission of literary people was over. She therefore + took refuge in fiction, and buried herself in her dreams of art. We are + not sorry to follow her there. + </p> + <p> + <i>Francois le Champi</i> appeared as a serial in the <i>Journal des + Debats</i>. The <i>denouement</i> was delayed by another <i>denouement</i>, + which the public found still more interesting. This was nothing less than + the catastrophe of the July Monarchy, in February, 1848. + </p> + <p> + After the terrible June troubles, George Sand had been heartbroken, and + had turned once more to literature for consolation. She wrote <i>La Petite + Fadette</i>, so that the pastoral romances and the Revolution are closely + connected with each other. Beside the novels of this kind which we have + already mentioned, we must add <i>Jeanne</i>, which dates from 1844, and + the <i>Maitres Sonneurs</i>, written in 1853. This, then, completes the + incomparable series, which was the author's <i>chef-d'oeuvre</i>, and one + of the finest gems of French literature. This was George Sand's real + style, and the note in literature which was peculiarly her own. She was + well fitted for such writing, both by her natural disposition and by + circumstances. She had lived nearly all her life in the country, and it + was there only that she lived to the full. She made great efforts, but + Paris certainly made her homesick for her beloved Berry. She could not + help sighing when she thought of the ploughed fields, of the walnut-trees, + and of the oxen answering to the voice of the labourers. + </p> + <p> + "It is no use," she wrote about the same time, "if you are born a country + person, you cannot get used to the noise of cities. It always seems to me + that our mud is beautiful mud, whilst that here makes me feel sick. I very + much prefer my keeper's wit to that of certain of the visitors here. It + seems to me that I am livelier when I have eaten some of Nannette's + wheat-cake than I am after my coffee in Paris. In short, it appears to me + that we are all perfect and charming, that no one could be more agreeable + than we are, and that Parisians are all clowns."(46) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (46) <i>Correspondance:</i> To. Ch. Duvernet, November 12, 1842. +</pre> + <p> + This was said in all sincerity. George Sand was quite indifferent about + all the great events of Parisian life, about social tittle-tattle and + Boulevard gossip. She knew the importance, though, of every episode of + country life, of a sudden fog or of the overflowing of the river. She knew + the place well, too, as she had visited every nook and corner in all + weathers and in every season. She knew all the people; there was not a + house she had not entered, either to visit the sick or to clear up some + piece of business for the inmates. Not only did she like the country and + the country people because she was accustomed to everything there, but she + had something of the nature of these people within her. She had a certain + turn of mind that was peasant-like, her slowness to take things in, her + dislike of speech when thinking, her thoughts taking the form of "a series + of reveries which gave her a sort of tranquil ecstasy, whether awake or + asleep."(47) It does not seem as though there has ever been such an <i>ensemble</i> + of favourable conditions. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (47) See in <i>Jeanne</i> a very fine page on the peasant soul. +</pre> + <p> + She did not succeed in her first attempt. In several of her novels, ever + since <i>Valentine</i>, she had given us peasants among her characters. + She had tried labourers, mole-catchers, fortune-tellers and beggars, but + all these were episodic characters. <i>Jeanne</i> is the first novel in + which the heroine is a peasant. Everything connected with Jeanne herself + in the novel is exquisite. We have all seen peasant women of this kind, + women with serious faces and clearly-cut features, with a dreamy look in + their eyes that makes us think of the maid of Lorraine. It is one of these + exceptional creatures that George Sand has depicted. She has made an + ecstatic being of her, who welcomes all that is supernatural, utterly + regardless of dates or epochs. To her all wonderful beings appeal, the + Virgin Mary and fairies, Druidesses, Joan of Arc and Napoleon. But Jeanne, + the Virgin of Ep Nell, the Velleda of the Jomatres stones, the mystical + sister of the Great Shepherdess, was very poorly supported. This remark + does not refer to her cousin Claudie, although this individual's conduct + was not blameless. Jeanne had gone into service at Boussac, and she was + surrounded by a group of middle-class people, among whom was Sir Arthur——, + a wealthy Englishman, who wanted to marry her. This mixture of peasants + and <i>bourgeois</i> is not a happy one. Neither is the mixture of <i>patois</i> + with a more Christian way of talking, or rather with a written style. The + author was experimenting and feeling her way. + </p> + <p> + When she wrote <i>La Mare au Diable</i> she had found it, for in this work + we have unity of tone, harmony of the characters with their setting, of + sentiment with the various adventures, and, above all, absolute + simplicity. + </p> + <p> + In <i>Francois le Champi</i> there is much that is graceful, and there is + real feeling mingled with a touch of sentimentality. Madeleine Blanchet is + rather old for Champi, whom she had brought up like her own child. In the + country, though, where difference of age is soon less apparent, the + disproportion does not seem as objectionable as it would in city life. The + novel is not a study of maternal affection in love, as it is not + Madeleine's feelings that are analyzed, but those of Francois. For a long + time he had been in love without knowing it, and he is only aware of it + when this love, instead of being a sort of agreeable dream and melancholy + pleasure, is transformed into suffering. + </p> + <p> + The subject of <i>La Petite Fadette</i> is another analysis of a love + which has been silent for a long time. It is difficult to say which is the + best of these delightful stories, but perhaps, on the whole, this last one + is generally preferred, on account of the curious and charming figure of + little Fadette herself. We can see the thin, slender girl, suddenly + appearing on the road, emerging from a thicket. She seems to be part of + the scenery, and can scarcely be distinguished from the objects around + her. The little wild country girl is like the spirit of the fields, woods, + rivers and precipices. She is a being very near to Nature. Inquisitive and + mischievous, she is bold in her speech, because she is treated as a + reprobate. She jeers, because she knows that she is detested, and she + scratches, because she suffers. The day comes when she feels some of that + affection which makes the atmosphere breathable for human beings. She + feels her heart beating faster in her bosom, thanks to this affection, and + from that minute a transformation takes place within her. Landry, who has + been observing her, is of opinion that she must be something of a witch. + Landry is very simple-minded. There is no witchcraft here except that of + love, and it was not difficult for that to work the metamorphosis. It has + worked many others in this world. + </p> + <p> + The <i>Maitres Soneurs</i> initiates us into forest life, so full of + mysterious visions. In opposition to the sedentary, stay-at-home life of + the inhabitant of plains, with his indolent mind, we have the + free-and-easy humour of the handsome and adventurous muleteer, Huriel, + with his love of the road and of all that is unexpected. He is a <i>cheminau</i> + before the days of M. Richepin. + </p> + <p> + I do not know any stories more finished than these. They certainly prove + that George Sand had the artistic sense, a quality which has frequently + been denied her. The characters in these stories are living and active, + and at the same time their psychology is not insisted upon, and they do + not stand out in such relief as to turn our attention from things, which, + as we know, are more important than people in the country. We are + surrounded on all sides by the country, and bathed, as it were, in its + atmosphere. And yet, in spite of all this, the country is not once + described. There is not one of those descriptions so dear to the heart of + those who are considered masters in the art of word-painting. We do not + describe those things with which we live. We are content to have them ever + present in our mind and to be in constant communion with them. Style is, + perhaps, the sovereign quality in these stories. Words peculiar to the + district are introduced just sufficiently to give an accent. Somewhat + old-fashioned expressions are employed, and these prove the survival of + by-gone days, which, in the country, are respected more than elsewhere. + Without any apparent effort, the narrative takes that epic form so natural + to those who, as <i>aedes</i> of primitive epochs, or story-tellers by + country firesides, give their testimony about things of the past. + </p> + <p> + I am aware that George Sand has been accused of tracing portraits of her + peasants which were not like them. This is so absurd that I do not + consider it worth while to spend time in discussing it. It would be so + easy to show that in her types of peasants there is more variety, and also + more reality, than in Balzac's more realistic ones. Without being + untruthful portraits, it may be that they are somewhat flattered, and that + we have more honest, delicate and religious peasants in these stories than + in reality. This may be so, and George Sand warns us of this herself. It + was her intention to depict them thus. + </p> + <p> + It was not absolute reality and the everyday details of the peasants' + habits and customs that she wanted to show us, but the poetry of the + country, the reflection of the great sights of Nature in the soul of those + who, thanks to their daily work, are the constant witnesses of them. The + peasant certainly has no exact notion of the poetry of Nature, nor is he + always conscious of it. He feels it, though, within his soul in a vague + way. At certain moments he has glimpses of it, perhaps, when love causes + him emotion, or perhaps when he is absent from the part of the world, + where he has always lived. His homesickness then gives him a keener + perception. This poetry is perhaps never clearly revealed to any + individual, not to the labourer who traces out his furrows tranquilly in + the early morning, nor to the shepherd who spends whole weeks alone in the + mountains, face to face with the stars. It dwells, though, in the inner + conscience of the race. The generations which come and go have it within + them, and they do not fall to express it. It is this poetry which we find + in certain customs and beliefs, in the various legends and songs. When Le + Champi returns to his native place, he finds the whole country murmuring + with the twitter of birds which he knew so well. + </p> + <p> + "And all this reminded him of a very old song with which his mother + Zabelli used to sing him to sleep. It was a song with words such as people + used to employ in olden times." + </p> + <p> + In George Sand's pastoral novels we have some of these old words. They + come to us from afar, and are like a supreme blossoming of old traditions. + </p> + <p> + It is all this which characterizes these books, and assigns to them their + place in our literature. We must not compare them with the rugged studies + of Balzac, nor with the insipid compositions of the bucolic writer, nor + even with Bernadin de Saint-Pierre's masterpiece, as there are too many + cocoanut trees in that. They prevent us seeing the French landscapes. Very + few people know the country in France and the humble people who dwell + there. Very few writers have loved the country well enough to be able to + depict its hidden charms. + </p> + <p> + La Fontaine has done it in his fables and Perrault in his tales. George + Sand has her place, in this race of writers, among the French Homers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX + </h2> + <p> + THE 'BONNE DAME' OF NOHANT THE THEATRE—ALEXANDRE DUMAS FILS—LIFE + AT NOHANT + </p> + <p> + Novelists are given to speaking of the theatre somewhat disdainfully. They + say that there is too much convention, that an author is too much the + slave of material conditions, and is obliged to consider the taste of the + crowd, whilst a book appeals to the lover of literature, who can read it + by his own fireside, and to the society woman, who loses herself in its + pages. As soon, though, as one of their novels has had more success than + its predecessors, they do not hesitate to cut it up into slices, according + to the requirements of the publishing house, so that it may go beyond the + little circle of lovers of literature and society women and reach the + crowd—the largest crowd possible. + </p> + <p> + George Sand never pretended to have this immense disdain for the theatre + which is professed by ultra-refined writers. She had always loved the + theatre, and she bore it no grudge, although her pieces had been hissed. + In those days plays that did not find favour were hissed. At present they + are not hissed, either because there are no more poor plays, or because + the public has seen so many bad ones that it has become philosophical, and + does not take the trouble to show its displeasure. George Sand's first + piece, <i>Cosima</i>, was a noted failure. About the year 1850, she turned + to the theatre once more, hoping to find a new form of expression for her + energy and talent. <i>Francois le Champi</i> was a great success. In + January, 1851, she wrote as follows, after the performance of <i>Claudie:</i> + "A tearful success and a financial one. The house is full every day; not a + ticket given away, and not even a seat for Maurice. The piece is played + admirably; Bocage is magnificent. The public weeps and blows its nose, as + though it were in church. I am told that never in the memory of man has + there been such a first night. I was not present myself." + </p> + <p> + There may be a slight exaggeration in the words "never in the memory of + man," but the success was really great. <i>Claudie</i> is still given, and + I remember seeing Paul Mounet interpret the part of Remy admirably at the + Odeon Theatre. As to the <i>Mariage de Victorine</i>, it figures every + year on the programme of the Conservatoire competitions. It is the typical + piece for would-be <i>ingenues.</i> + </p> + <p> + <i>Francois le Champi, Claudie</i> and the <i>Mariage de Victorine</i> may + be considered as the series representing George Sand's dramatic writings. + These pieces were all her own, and, in her own opinion, that was their + principal merit. The dramatic author is frequently obliged to accept the + collaboration of persons who know nothing of literature. + </p> + <p> + "Your characters say this," observes the manager; "it is all very well, + but, believe me, it will be better for him to say just the opposite. The + piece will run at least sixty nights longer." There was a manager at the + Gymnase Theatre in those days named Montigny. He was a very clever + manager, and knew exactly what the characters ought to say for making the + piece run. George Sand complained of his mania for changing every play, + and she added: "Every piece that I did not change, such, for instance, as + <i>Champi</i>, <i>Claudie</i>, <i>Victorine, Le Demon du foyer</i> and <i>Le + Pressoir</i>, was a success, whilst all the others were either failures or + they had a very short run."(48) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (48) <i>Correspondance:</i> To Maurice Sand, February 24, 1855. +</pre> + <p> + It was in these pieces that George Sand carried out her own idea of what + was required for the theatre. Her idea was very simple. She gives it in + two or three words: "I like pieces that make me cry." She adds: "I like + drama better than comedy, and, like a woman, I must be infatuated by one + of the characters." This character is the congenial one. The public is + with him always and trembles for him, and the trembling is all the more + agreeable, because the public knows perfectly well that all will end well + for this character. It can even go as far as weeping the traditional six + tears, as Madame de Sevigne did for Andromaque. Tears at the theatre are + all the sweeter, because they are all in vain. When, in a play, we have a + congenial character who is there from the beginning to the end, the play + is a success. Let us take <i>Cyraino de Bergerac</i>, for instance, which + is one of the greatest successes in the history of the theatre. + </p> + <p> + Francois le Champi is eminently a congenial character, for he is a man who + always sets wrong things right. We are such believers in justice and in + the interference of Providence. When good, straightforward people are + persecuted by fate, we always expect to see a man appear upon the scene + who will be the champion of innocence, who will put evil-doers to rights, + and find the proper thing to do and say in every circumstance. + </p> + <p> + Francois appears at the house of Madeleine Blanchet, who is a widow and + very sad and ill. He takes her part and defends her from the results of La + Severe's intrigues. He is hard on the latter, and he disdains another + woman, Mariette, but both La Severe and Mariette love him, so true is it + that women have a weakness for conquerors. Francois only cares for + Madeleine, though. On the stage, we like a man to be adored by all women, + as this seems to us a guarantee that he will only care for one of them. + </p> + <p> + "Champi" is a word peculiar to a certain district, meaning "natural son." + Dumas <i>fils</i> wrote a play entitled <i>Le Fils naturel</i>. The hero + is also a superior man, who plays the part of Providence to the family + which has refused to recognize him. + </p> + <p> + In <i>Claudie</i>, as in <i>Francois le Champi</i>, the rural setting is + one of the great charms of the play. The first act is one of the most + picturesque scenes on the stage. It takes place in a farmyard, the day + when the reapers have finished their task, which is just as awe-inspiring + as that of the sowers. A cart, drawn by oxen, enters the yard, bringing a + sheaf all adorned with ribbons and flowers. The oldest of the labourers, + Pere Remy, addresses a fine couplet to the sheaf of corn which has cost so + much labour, but which is destined to keep life in them all. Claudie is + one of those young peasant girls, whom we met with in the novel entitled + <i>Jeanne</i>. She had been unfortunate, but Jeanne, although virtuous and + pure herself, did not despise her, for in the country there is great + latitude in certain matters. This is just the plain story, but on the + stage everything becomes more dramatic and is treated in a more detailed + and solemn fashion. Claudie's misfortune causes her to become a sort of + personage apart, and it raises her very high in her own esteem. + </p> + <p> + "I am not afraid of anything that can be said about me," observes Claudie, + "for, on knowing the truth, kind-hearted, upright people will acknowledge + that I do not deserve to be insulted." Her old grandfather, Remy, has + completely absolved her. + </p> + <p> + "You have repented and suffered enough, and you have worked and wept and + expiated enough, too, my poor Claudie," he says. Through all this she has + become worthy to make an excellent marriage. It is a case of that special + moral code by which, after free love, the fault must be recompensed. + </p> + <p> + Claudie is later on the Jeannine of the <i>Idees de Madame Aubray</i>, the + Denise of Alexandre Dumas. She is the unmarried mother, whose misfortunes + have not crushed her pride, who, after being outraged, has a right now to + a double share of respect. The first good young man is called upon to + accept her past life, for there is a law of solidarity in the world. The + human species is divided into two categories, the one is always busy doing + harm, and the other is naturally obliged to give itself up to making good + the harm done. + </p> + <p> + <i>The Mariage de Victorine</i> belongs to a well-known kind of literary + exercise, which was formerly very much in honour in the colleges. This + consists in taking a celebrated work at the place where the author has + left it and in imagining the "sequel." For instance, after the <i>Cid</i>, + there would be the marriage of Rodrigue and Chimene for us. As a + continuation of <i>L'Ecole des Femmes</i>, there is the result of the + marriage of the young Horace with the tiresome little Agnes. Corneille + gave a sequel to the <i>Menteur</i> himself. Fabre d'Eglantine wrote the + sequel to <i>Le Misanthrope</i>, and called it <i>Le Philinte de Moliere</i>. + George Sand gives us here the sequel of Sedaine's <i>chef-d'oeuvre</i> + (that is, a <i>chef-d'oeuvre</i> for Sedaine), <i>Le Philosophe sans le + savor.</i> + </p> + <p> + In <i>Le Philosophe sans le savoir</i> Monsieur Vanderke is a nobleman, + who has become a merchant in order to be in accordance with the ideas of + the times. He is a Frenchman, but he has taken a Dutch name out of + snobbishness. He has a clerk or a confidential servant named Antoine. + Victorine is Antoine's daughter. Vanderke's son is to fight a duel, and + from Victorine's emotion, whilst awaiting the result of this duel, it is + easy to see that she is in love with this young man. George Sand's play + turns on the question of what is to be done when the day comes for + Victorine to marry. An excellent husband is found for her, a certain + Fulgence, one of Monsieur Vanderke's clerks. He belongs to her own class, + and this is considered one of the indispensable conditions for happiness + in marriage. He loves her, so that everything seems to favour Victorine. + We are delighted, and she, too, seems to be in good spirits, but, all the + time that she is receiving congratulations and presents, we begin to see + that she has some great trouble. + </p> + <p> + "Silk and pearls!" she exclaims; "oh, how heavy they are, but I am sure + that they are very fine. Lace, too, and silver; oh, such a quantity of + silver. How rich and fine and happy I shall be. And then Fulgence is so + fond of me." (She gets sadder and sadder.) "And father is so pleased. How + strange. I feel stifled." (She sits down in Antoine's chair.) "Is this + joy? . . . I feel . . . Ah, it hurts to be as happy as this. . . ." She + bursts into tears. This suppressed emotion to which she finally gives + vent, and this forced smile which ends in sobs are very effective on the + stage. The question is, how can Victorine's tears be dried? She wants to + marry young Vanderke, the son of her father's employer, instead of the + clerk. The only thing is, then, to arrange this marriage. + </p> + <p> + "Is it a crime, then, for my brother to love Victorine?" asks Sophie, "and + is it mad of me to think that you will give your consent?" + </p> + <p> + "My dear Sophie," replies Monsieur Vanderke, "there are no unequal + marriages in the sight of God. A servitor like Antoine is a friend, and I + have always brought you up to consider Victorine as your companion and + equal." + </p> + <p> + This is the way the father of the family speaks. Personally, I consider + him rather imprudent. + </p> + <p> + As this play is already a sequel to another one, I do not wish to propose + a sequel to <i>Le Mariage de Victorine</i>, but I cannot help wondering + what will happen when Vanderke's son finds himself the son-in-law of an + old servant-man, and also what will occur if he should take his wife to + call on some of his sister's friends. It seems to me that he would then + find out he had, made a mistake. Among the various personages, only one + appears to me quite worthy of interest, and that is poor Fulgence, who was + so straightforward and honest, and who is treated so badly. + </p> + <p> + But how deep Victorine was! Even if we admit that she did not deliberately + scheme and plot to get herself married by the son of the family, she did + instinctively all that had to be done for that. She was very deep in an + innocent way, and I have come to the conclusion that such deepness is the + most to be feared. + </p> + <p> + I see quite well all that is lacking in these pieces, and that they are + not very great, but all the same they form a "theatre" apart. There is + unity in this theatrical work of George Sand. Whether it makes a hero of + the natural son, rehabilitates the seduced girl, or cries down the idea of + <i>mesalliances</i>, it is always the same fight in which it is engaged; + it is always fighting against the same enemies, prejudice and + narrow-mindedness. On the stage, we call every opinion contrary to our own + prejudice or narrow-mindedness. The theatre lives by fighting. It matters + little what the author is attacking. He may wage war with principles, + prejudices, giants, or windmills. Provided that there be a battle, there + will be a theatre for it. + </p> + <p> + The fact that George Sand's theatre was the forerunner of the theatre of + Dumas <i>fils</i> gives it additional value. We have already noticed the + analogy of situations and the kinship of theories contained in George + Sand's best plays and in the most noted ones by Dumas. I have no doubt + that Dumas owed a great deal to George Sand. We shall see that he paid his + debt as only he could have done. He knew the novelist when he was quite + young, as Dumas <i>pere</i> and George Sand were on very friendly terms. + In her letter telling Sainte-Beuve not to take Musset to call on her, as + she thought him impertinent, she tells him to bring Dumas <i>pere</i>, + whom she evidently considered well bred. As she was a friend of his + father's, she was like a mother for the son. The first letter to him in + the <i>Correspondance</i> is dated 1850. Dumas <i>fils</i> was then + twenty-six years of age, and she calls him "my son." + </p> + <p> + He had not written <i>La Dame aux Camelias</i> then. It was performed for + the first time in February, 1852. He was merely the author of a few + second-rate novels and of a volume of execrable poetry. He had not found + out his capabilities at that time. There is no doubt that he was greatly + struck by George Sand's plays, imbued as they were with the ideas we have + just pointed out. + </p> + <p> + All this is worthy of note, as it is essential for understanding the work + of Alexandre Dumas <i>fils</i>. He, too, was a natural son, and his + illegitimate birth had caused him much suffering. He was sent to the + Pension Goubaux, and for several years he endured the torture he describes + with such harshness at the beginning of <i>L'Affaire Clemenceau</i>. He + was exposed to all kinds of insults and blows. His first contact with + society taught him that this society was unjust, and that it made the + innocent suffer. The first experience he had was that of the cruelty and + cowardice of men. His mind was deeply impressed by this, and he never lost + the impression. He did not forgive, but made it his mission to denounce + the pharisaical attitude of society. His idea was to treat men according + to their merits, and to pay them back for the blows he had received as a + child.(49) It is easy, therefore, to understand how the private grievances + of Dumas <i>fils</i> had prepared his mind to welcome a theatre which took + the part of the oppressed and waged war with social prejudices. I am fully + aware of the difference in temperament of the two writers. Dumas <i>fils</i>, + with his keen observation, was a pessimist. He despised woman, and he + advises us to kill her, under the pretext that she has always remained + "the strumpet of the land of No." although she may be dressed in a Worth + costume and wear a Reboux hat. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (49) See our study of Dumas <i>fils</i> in a volume entitled <i>Portraits + d'ecrivains.</i> +</pre> + <p> + As a dramatic author, Alexandre Dumas <i>fils</i> had just what George + Sand lacked. He was vigorous, he had the art of brevity and brilliant + dialogue. It is thanks to all this that we have one of the masterpieces of + the French theatre, <i>Le Marquis de Villemer</i>, as a result of their + collaboration. + </p> + <p> + We know from George Sand's letters the share that Dumas <i>fils</i> had in + this work. He helped her to take the play from her novel, and to write the + scenario. After this, when once the play was written, he touched up the + dialogue, putting in more emphasis and brilliancy. It was Dumas, + therefore, who constructed the play. We all know how careless George Sand + was with her composition. She wrote with scarcely any plan in her mind + beforehand, and let herself be carried away by events. Dumas' idea was + that the <i>denouement</i> is a mathematical total, and that before + writing the first word of a piece the author must know the end and have + decided the action. Theatrical managers complained of the sadness of + George Sand's plays. It is to Dumas that we owe the gaiety of the Duc + d'Aleria's <i>role</i>. It is one continual flow of amusing speeches, and + it saves the piece from the danger of falling into tearful drama. George + Sand had no wit, and Dumas <i>fils</i> was full of it. It was he who put + into the dialogue those little sayings which are so easily recognized as + his. + </p> + <p> + "What do the doctors say?" is asked, and the reply comes: + </p> + <p> + "What do the doctors say? Well, they say just what they know: they say + nothing." + </p> + <p> + "My brother declares that the air of Paris is the only air he can + breathe," says another character. + </p> + <p> + "Congratulate him for me on his lungs," remarks his interlocutor. + </p> + <p> + "Her husband was a baron . . ." remarks some one. + </p> + <p> + "Who is not a baron at present?" answers another person. + </p> + <p> + A certain elderly governess is being discussed. + </p> + <p> + "Did you not know her?" + </p> + <p> + "Mademoiselle Artemise? No, monsieur." + </p> + <p> + "Have you ever seen an albatross?" + </p> + <p> + "No, never." + </p> + <p> + "Not even stuffed? Oh, you should go to the Zoo. It is a curious creature, + with its great beak ending in a hook. . . . It eats all day long. . . . + Well, Mademoiselle Artemise, etc. . . ." + </p> + <p> + The <i>Marquis de Villemer</i> is in its place in the series of George + Sand's plays, and is quite in accordance with the general tone of her + theatre. It is like the <i>Mariage de Victorine</i> over again. This time + Victorine is a reader, who gets herself married by a Marquis named Urbain. + He is of a gloomy disposition, so that she will not enjoy his society + much, but she will be a Marquise. Victorine and Caroline are both persons + who know how to make their way in the world. When they have a son, I + should be very much surprised if they allowed him to make a <i>mesalliance</i>. + </p> + <p> + George Sand was one of the persons f or whom Dumas <i>fils</i> had the + greatest admiration. As a proof of this, a voluminous correspondence + between them exists. It has not yet been published, but there is a + possibility that it may be some day. I remember, when talking with Dumas + <i>fils</i>, the terms in which he always spoke of "la mere Sand," as he + called her in a familiar but filial way. He compared her to his father, + and that was great praise indeed from him. He admired in her, too, as he + admired in his father, that wealth of creative power and immense capacity + for uninterrupted work. As a proof of this admiration, we have only to + turn to the preface to <i>Le Fils naturel</i>, in which Dumas is so + furious with the inhabitants of Palaiseau. George Sand had taken up her + abode at Palaiseau, and Dumas had been trying in vain to discover her + address in the district, when he came across one of the natives, who + replied as follows: "George Sand? Wait a minute. Isn't it a lady with + papers?" "So much for the glory," concludes Dumas, "of those of us with + papers." According to him, no woman had ever had more talent or as much + genius. "She thinks like Montaigne," he says, "she dreams like Ossian and + she writes like Jean-Jacques. Leonardo sketches her phrases for her, and + Mozart sings them. Madame de Sevigne kisses her hands, and Madame de Stael + kneels down to her as she passes." We can scarcely imagine Madame de Stael + in this humble posture, but one of the charms of Dumas was his generous + nature, which spared no praise and was lavish in enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + At the epoch at which we have now arrived, George Sand had commenced that + period of tranquillity and calm in which she was to spend the rest of her + life. She had given up politics, for, as we have seen, she was quickly + undeceived with regard to them, and cured of her illusions. When the <i>coup + d'etat</i> of December, 1851, took place, George Sand, who had been + Ledru-Rollin's collaborator and a friend of Barbes, soon made up her mind + what to do. As the daughter of Murat's <i>aide-de-camp</i>, she naturally + had a certain sympathy with the Bonapartists. Napoleon III was a + socialist, so that it was possible to come to an understanding. When the + prince had been a prisoner at Ham, he had sent the novelist his study + entitled <i>L'Extinction du pauperisme</i>. George Sand took advantage of + her former intercourse with him to beg for his indulgrence in favour of + some of her friends. This time she was in her proper <i>role</i>, the <i>role</i> + of a woman. The "tyrant" granted the favours she asked, and George Sand + then came to the conclusion that he was a good sort of tyrant. She was + accused of treason, but she nevertheless continued to speak of him with + gratitude. She remained on good terms with the Imperial family, + particularly with Prince Jerome, as she appreciated his intellect. She + used to talk with him on literary and philosophical questions. She sent + him two tapestry ottomans one year, which she had worked for him. Her son + Maurice went for a cruise to America on Prince Jerome's yacht, and he was + the godfather of George Sand's little grandchildren who were baptized as + Protestants. + </p> + <p> + George Sand deserves special mention for her science in the art of growing + old. It is not a science easy to master, and personally this is one of my + reasons for admiring her. She understood what a charm there is in that + time of life when the voice of the passions is no longer heard, so that we + can listen to the voice of things and examine the lesson of life, that + time when our reason makes us more indulgent, when the sadness of earthly + separations is softened by the thought that we shall soon go ourselves to + join those who have left us. We then begin to have a foretaste of the + calmness of that Great Sleep which is to console us at the end of all our + sufferings and grief. George Sand was fully aware of the change that had + taken place within her. She said, several times over, that the age of + impersonality had arrived for her. She was delighted at having escaped + from herself and at being free from egoism. From henceforth she could give + herself up to the sentiments which, in pedantic and barbarous jargon, are + called altruistic sentiments. By this we mean motherly and grandmotherly + affection, devotion to her family, and enthusiasm for all that is + beautiful and noble. She was delighted when she was told of a generous + deed, and charmed by a book in which she discovered talent. It seemed to + her as though she were in some way joint author of it. + </p> + <p> + "My heart goes out to all that I see dawning or growing . . ." she wrote, + at this time. "When we see or read anything beautiful, does it not seem as + though it belongs to us in a way, that it is neither yours nor mine, but + that it belongs to all who drink from it and are strengthened by it?"(50) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (50) <i>Correspondance:</i> To Octave Feuillet, February 27, 1859. +</pre> + <p> + This is a noble sentiment, and less rare than is generally believed. The + public little thinks that it is one of the great joys of the writer, when + he has reached a certain age, to admire the works of his fellow-writers. + George Sand encouraged her young <i>confreres</i>, Dumas <i>fils</i>, + Feuillet and Flaubert, at the beginning of their career, and helped them + with her advice. + </p> + <p> + We have plenty of information about her at this epoch. Her intimate + friends, inquisitive people and persons passing through Paris, have + described their visits to her over and over again. We have the impressions + noted down by the Goncourt brothers in their <i>Journal</i>. We all know + how much to trust to this diary. Whenever the Goncourts give us an idea, + an opinion, or a doctrine, it is as well to be wary in accepting it. They + were not very intelligent. I do not wish, in saying this, to detract from + them, but merely to define them. On the other hand, what they saw, they + saw thoroughly, and they noted the general look, the attitude or gesture + with great care. + </p> + <p> + We give their impressions of George Sand. In March, 1862, they went to + call on her. She was then living in Paris, in the Rue Racine. They give an + account of this visit in their diary. + </p> + <p> + "<i>March</i> 30, 1862. + </p> + <p> + "On the fourth floor, No. 2, Rue Racine. A little gentleman, very much + like every one else, opened the door to us. He smiled, and said: + 'Messieurs de Goncourt!' and then, opening another door, showed us into a + very large room, a kind of studio. + </p> + <p> + "There was a window at the far end, and the light was getting dim, for it + was about five o'clock. We could see a grey shadow against the pale light. + It was a woman, who did not attempt to rise, but who remained impassive to + our bow and our words. This seated shadow, looking so drowsy, was Madame + Sand, and the man who opened the door was the engraver Manceau. Madame + Sand is like an automatic machine. She talks in a monotonous, mechanical + voice which she neither raises nor lowers, and which is never animated. In + her whole attitude there is a sort of gravity and placidness, something of + the half-asleep air of a person ruminating. She has very slow gestures, + the gestures of a somnambulist. With a mechanical movement she strikes a + wax match, which gives a flicker, and lights the cigar she is holding + between her lips. + </p> + <p> + "Madame Sand was extremely pleasant; she praised us a great deal, but with + a childishness of ideas, a platitude of expression and a mournful + good-naturedness that was as chilling as the bare wall of a room. Manceau + endeavoured to enliven the dialogue. We talked of her theatre at Nohant, + where they act for her and for her maid until four in the morning. . . . + We then talked of her prodigious faculty for work. She told us that there + was nothing meritorious in that, as she had always worked so easily. She + writes every night from one o'clock until four in the morning, and she + writes again for about two hours during the day. Manceau explains + everything, rather like an exhibitor of phenomena. 'It is all the same to + her,' he told us, 'if she is disturbed. Suppose you turn on a tap at your + house, and some one comes in the room. You simply turn the tap off. It is + like that with Madame Sand.'" + </p> + <p> + The Goncourt brothers were extremely clever in detracting from the merits + of the people about whom they spoke. They tell us that George Sand had "a + childishness in her ideas and a platitude of expression." They were unkind + without endeavouring to be so. They ran down people instinctively. They + were eminently literary men. They were also artistic writers, and had even + invented "artistic writing," but they had very little in common with + George Sand's attitude of mind. To her the theory of art for the sake of + art had always seemed a very hollow theory. She wrote as well as she + could, but she never dreamed of the profession of writing having anything + in common with an acrobatic display. + </p> + <p> + In September, 1863, the Goncourt brothers again speak of George Sand, + telling us about her life at Nohant, or rather putting the account they + give into the mouth of Theophile Gautier. He had just returned from + Nohant, and he was asked if it was amusing at George Sand's. + </p> + <p> + "Just as amusing as a monastery of the Moravian brotherhood," he replies. + "I arrived there in the evening, and the house is a long way from the + station. My trunk was put into a thicket, and on arriving I entered by the + farm in the midst of all the dogs, which gave me a fright. . . ." + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact, Gautier's arrival at Nohant had been quite a dramatic + poem, half tragic and half comic. Absolute freedom was the rule of Nohant. + Every one there read, wrote, or went to sleep according to his own will + and pleasure. Gautier arrived in that frame of mind peculiar to the + Parisian of former days. He considered that he had given a proof of + heroism in venturing outside the walls of Paris. He therefore expected a + hearty welcome. He was very much annoyed at his reception, and was about + to start back again immediately, when George Sand was informed of his + arrival. She was extremely vexed at what had happened, and exclaimed, "But + had not any one told him how stupid I am!" + </p> + <p> + The Goncourt brothers asked Gautier what life at Nohant was like. + </p> + <p> + "Luncheon is at ten," he replied, "and when the finger was on the hour, we + all took our seats. Madame Sand arrived, looking like a somnambulist, and + remained half asleep all through the meal. After luncheon we went into the + garden and played at <i>cochonnet</i>. This roused her, and she would then + sit down and begin to talk." + </p> + <p> + It would have been more exact to say that she listened, as she was not a + great talker herself. She had a horror of a certain kind of conversation, + of that futile, paradoxical and spasmodic kind which is the speciality of + "brilliant talkers." Sparkling conversation of this sort disconcerted her + and made her feel ill at ease. She did not like the topic to be the + literary profession either. This exasperated Gautier, who would not admit + of there being anything else in the world but literature. + </p> + <p> + "At three o'clock," he continued, "Madame Sand went away to write until + six. We then dined, but we had to dine quickly, so that Marie Caillot + would have time to dine. Marie Caillot is the servant, a sort of little + Fadette whom Madame Sand had discovered in the neighbourhood for playing + her pieces. This Marie Caillot used to come into the drawing-room in the + evening. After dinner Madame Sand would play patience, without uttering a + word, until midnight. . . . At midnight she began to write again until + four o'clock. . . . You know what happened once. Something monstrous. She + finished a novel at one o'clock in the morning, and began another during + the night. . . . To make copy is a function with Madame Sand." + </p> + <p> + The marionette theatre was one of the Nohant amusements. One of the joys + of the family, and also one of the delights of <i>dilettanti</i>,(51) was + the painting of the scenery, the manufacturing of costumes, the working + out of scenarios, dressing dolls and making them talk. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (51) "The individual named George Sand is very well. He is + enjoying the wonderful winter which reigns in Berry; he + gathers flowers, points out any interesting botanical + anomalies, sews dresses and mantles for his daughter-in-law, + and costumes for the marionettes, cuts out stage scenery, + dresses dolls and reads music. . .."—<i>Correspondance:</i> To + Flaubert, January 17, 1869. +</pre> + <p> + In one of her novels, published in 1857, George Sand introduces to us a + certain Christian Waldo, who has a marionette show. He explains the + attraction of this kind of theatre and the fascination of these <i>burattini</i>, + which were living beings to him. Those among us who, some fifteen years + ago, were infatuated by a similar show, are not surprised at Waldo's + words. The marionettes to which we refer were to be seen in the Passage + Vivienne. Sacred plays in verse were given, and the managers were Monsieur + Richepin and Monsieur Bouchor. For such plays we preferred actors made of + wood to actors of flesh and blood, as there is always a certain + desecration otherwise in acting such pieces. + </p> + <p> + George Sand rarely left Nohant now except for her little flat in Paris. In + the spring of 1855, she went to Rome for a short time, but did not enjoy + this visit much. She sums up her impressions in the following words: "Rome + is a regular see-saw." The ruins did not interest her much. + </p> + <p> + "After spending several days in visiting urns, tombs, crypts and columns, + one feels the need of getting out of all this a little and of seeing + Nature." + </p> + <p> + Nature, however, did not compensate her sufficiently for her + disappointment in the ruins. + </p> + <p> + "The Roman Campagna, which has been so much vaunted, is certainly + singularly immense, but it is so bare, flat and deserted, so monotonous + and sad, miles and miles of meadow-land in every direction, that the + little brain one has left, after seeing the city, is almost overpowered by + it all." + </p> + <p> + This journey inspired her with one of the weakest of her novels, <i>La + Daniella</i>. It is the diary of a painter named Jean Valreg, who married + a laundry-girl. In 1861, after an illness, she went to Tamaris, in the + south of France. This name is the title of one of her novels. She does not + care for this place either. She considers that there is too much wind, too + much dust, and that there are too many olive-trees in the south of France. + </p> + <p> + I am convinced that at an earlier time in her life she would, have been + won over by the fascination of Rome. She had comprehended the charm of + Venice so admirably. At an earlier date, too, she would not have been + indifferent to the beauties of Provence, as she had delighted in + meridional Nature when in Majorca. + </p> + <p> + The years were over, though, for her to enjoy the variety of outside shows + with all their phantasmagoria. A time comes in life, and it had already + come for her, when we discover that Nature, which has seemed so varied, is + the same everywhere, that we have quite near us all that we have been so + far away to seek, a little of this earth, a little water and a little sky. + We find, too, that we have neither the time nor the inclination to go away + in search of all this when our hours are counted and we feel the end near. + The essential thing then is to reserve for ourselves a little space for + our meditations, between the agitations of life and that moment which + alone decides everything for us. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X + </h2> + <h3> + THE GENIUS OF THE WRITER + </h3> + <p> + CORRESPONDENCE WITH FLAUBERT—LAST NOVELS + </p> + <p> + With that maternal instinct which was so strong within her, George Sand + could not do without having a child to scold, direct and take to task. The + one to whom she was to devote the last ten years of her life, who needed + her beneficent affection more than any of those she had adopted, was a + kind of giant with hair turned back from his forehead and a thick + moustache like a Norman of the heroic ages. He was just such a man as we + can imagine the pirates in Duc Rollo's boats. This descendant of the + Vikings had been born in times of peace, and his sole occupation was to + endeavour to form harmonious phrases by avoiding assonances. + </p> + <p> + I do not think there have been two individuals more different from each + other than George Sand and Gustave Flaubert. He was an artist, and she in + many respects was <i>bourgeoise</i>. He saw all things at their worst; she + saw them better than they were. Flaubert wrote to her in surprise as + follows: "In spite of your large sphinx eyes, you have seen the world + through gold colour." + </p> + <p> + She loved the lower classes; he thought them detestable, and qualified + universal suffrage as "a disgrace to the human mind." She preached + concord, the union of classes, whilst he gave his opinion as follows: + </p> + <p> + "I believe that the poor hate the rich, and that the rich are afraid of + the poor. It will be like this eternally." + </p> + <p> + It was always thus. On every subject the opinion of the one was sure to be + the direct opposite of the opinion of the other. This was just what had + attracted them. + </p> + <p> + "I should not be interested in myself," George Sand said, "if I had the + honour of meeting myself." She was interested in Flaubert, as she had + divined that he was her antithesis. + </p> + <p> + "The man who is Just passing," says Fantasio, "is charming. There are all + sorts of ideas in his mind which would be quite new to me." + </p> + <p> + George Sand wanted to know something of these ideas which were new to her. + She admired Flaubert on account of all sorts of qualities which she did + not possess herself. She liked him, too, as she felt that he was unhappy. + </p> + <p> + She went to see him during the summer of 1866. They visited the historic + streets and old parts of Rouen together. She was both charmed and + surprised. She could not believe her eyes, as she had never imagined that + all that existed, and so near Paris, too. She stayed in that house at + Croisset in which Flaubert's whole life was spent. It was a house with + wide windows and a view over the Seine. The hoarse, monotonous sound of + the chain towing the heavy boats along could be heard distinctly within + the rooms. Flaubert lived there with his mother and niece. To George Sand + everything there seemed to breathe of tranquillity and comfort, but at the + same time she brought away with her an impression of sadness. She + attributed this to the vicinity of the Seine, coming and going as it does + according to the bar. + </p> + <p> + "The willows of the islets are always being covered and uncovered," she + writes; "it all looks very cold and sad."(52) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (52) <i>Correspondance:</i> To Maurice Sand, August 10, 1866. +</pre> + <p> + She was not really duped, though, by her own explanation. She knew + perfectly well that what makes a house sad or gay, warm or icy-cold is not + the outlook on to the surrounding country, but the soul of those who + inhabit it and who have fashioned it in their own image. She had just been + staying in the house of the misanthropist. + </p> + <p> + When Moliere put the misanthropist on the stage with his wretched-looking + face, he gave him some of the features which remind us so strongly of + Flaubert. The most ordinary and everyday events were always enough to put + Alceste into a rage. It was just the same with Flaubert. Everyday things + which we are philosophical enough to accept took his breath away. He was + angry, and he wanted to be angry. He was irritated with every one and with + everything, and he cultivated this irritation. He kept himself in a + continual state of exasperation, and this was his normal state. In his + letters he described himself as "worried with life," "disgusted with + everything," "always agitated and always indignant." He spells <i>hhhindignant</i> + with several h's. He signs his letters, "The Reverend Father Cruchard of + the Barnabite Order, director of the Ladies of Disenchantment." Added to + all this, although there may have been a certain amount of pose in his + attitude, he was sincere. He "roared" in his own study, when he was quite + alone and there was no one to be affected by his roaring. He was organized + in a remarkable way for suffering. He was both romantic and realistic, a + keen observer and an imaginative man. He borrowed some of the most pitiful + traits from reality, and recomposed them into a regular nightmare. We + agree with Flaubert that injustice and nonsense do exist in life. But he + gives us Nonsense itself, the seven-headed and ten-horned beast of the + Apocalypse. He sees this beast everywhere, it haunts him and blocks up + every avenue for him, so that he cannot see the sublime beauties of the + creation nor the splendour of human intelligence. + </p> + <p> + In reply to all his wild harangues, George Sand gives wise answers, + smiling as she gives them, and using her common sense with which to + protect herself against the trickery of words. What has he to complain of, + this grown-up child who is too naive and who expects too much? By what + extraordinary misfortune has he such an exceptionally unhappy lot? He is + fairly well off and he has great talent. How many people would envy him! + He complains of life, such as it is for every one, and of the present + conditions of life, which had never been better for any one at any epoch. + What is the use of getting irritated with life, since we do not wish to + die? Humanity seemed despicable to him, and he hated it. Was he not a part + of this humanity himself? Instead of cursing our fellow-men for a whole + crowd of imperfections inherent to their nature, would it not be more just + to pity them for such imperfections? As to stupidity and nonsense, if he + objected to them, it would be better to pay no attention to them, instead + of watching out for them all the time. Beside all this, is there not more + reason than we imagine for every one of us to be indulgent towards the + stupidity of other people? + </p> + <p> + "That poor stupidity of which we hear so much," exclaimed George Sand. "I + do not dislike it, as I look on it with maternal eyes." The human race is + absurd, undoubtedly, but we must own that we contribute ourselves to this + absurdity. + </p> + <p> + There is something morbid in Flaubert's case, and with equal clearness of + vision George Sand points out to him the cause of it and the remedy. The + morbidness is caused in the first place by his loneliness, and by the fact + that he has severed all bonds which united him to the rest of the + universe. Woe be to those who are alone! The remedy is the next + consideration. Is there not, somewhere in the world, a woman whom he could + love and who would make him suffer? Is there not a child somewhere whose + father he could imagine himself to be, and to whom he could devote + himself? Such is the law of life. Existence is intolerable to us as long + as we only ask for our own personal satisfaction, but it becomes dear to + us from the day when we make a present of it to another human being. + </p> + <p> + There was the same antagonism in their literary opinions. Flaubert was an + artist, the theorist of the doctrine of art for art, such as Theophile + Gautier, the Goncourt brothers and the Parnassians comprehended it, at + about the same epoch. It is singularly interesting to hear him formulate + each article of this doctrine, and to hear George Sand's fervent + protestations in reply. Flaubert considers that an author should not put + himself into his work, that he should not write his books with his heart, + and George Sand answers: + </p> + <p> + "I do not understand at all, then. Oh no, it is all incomprehensible to + me." + </p> + <p> + With what was an author to write his books, if not with his own sentiments + and emotions? Was he to write them with the hearts of other people? + Flaubert maintained that an author should only write for about twenty + persons, unless he simply wrote for himself, "like a <i>bourgeois</i> + turning his serviette-rings round in his attic." George Sand was of + opinion that an author should write "for all those who can profit by good + reading." Flaubert confesses that if attention be paid to the old + distinction between matter and form, he should give the greater importance + to form, in which he had a religious belief. He considered that in the + correctness of the putting together, in the rarity of the elements, the + polish of the surface and the perfect harmony of the whole there was an + intrinsic virtue, a kind of divine force. In conclusion, he adds: + </p> + <p> + "I endeavour to think well always, <i>in order to</i> write well, but I do + not conceal the fact that my object is to write well." + </p> + <p> + This, then, was the secret of that working up of the style, until it + became a mania with him and developed into a torture. We all know of the + days of anguish which Flaubert spent in searching for a word that escaped + him, and the weeks that he devoted to rounding off one of his periods. He + would never write these down until he had said them to himself, or, as he + put it himself, until "they had gone through his jaw." He would not allow + two complements in the same phrase, and we are told that he was ill after + reading in one of his own books the following words: "Une couronne <i>de</i> + fleurs <i>d</i>'oranger." + </p> + <p> + "You do not know what it is," he wrote, "to spend a whole day holding + one's head and squeezing one's brains to find a word. Ideas flow with you + freely and continually, like a stream. With me they come like trickling + water, and it is only by a huge work of art that I can get a waterfall. + Ah, I have had some experience of the terrible torture of style!" No, + George Sand certainly had no experience of this kind, and she could not + even conceive of such torture. It amazed her to hear of such painful + labour, for, personally, she let the wind play on her "old harp" just as + it listed. + </p> + <p> + Briefly, she considered that her friend was the victim of a hopeless + error. He took literature for the essential thing, but there was something + before all literature, and that something was life. "The Holy of Holies, + as you call literature, is only secondary to me in life. I have always + loved some one better than it, and my family better than that some one." + </p> + <p> + This, then, was the keynote of the argument. George Sand considered that + life is not only a pretext for literature, but that literature should + always refer to life and should be regulated by life, as by a model which + takes the precedence of it and goes far beyond it. This, too, is our + opinion. + </p> + <p> + The state of mind which can be read between the lines in George Sand's + letters to Flaubert is serenity, and this is also the characteristic of + her work during the last period of her life. Her "last style" is that of + <i>Jean de la Rocke</i>, published in 1860. A young nobleman, Jean de la + Roche, loses his heart to the exquisite Love Butler. She returns his + affection, but the jealousy of a young brother obliges them to separate. + In order to be near the woman he loves, Jean de la Roche disguises himself + as a guide, and accompanies the whole family in an excursion through the + Auvergne mountains. A young nobleman as a guide is by no means an ordinary + thing, but in love affairs such disguises are admitted. Lovers in the + writings of Marivaux took the parts of servants, and in former days no one + was surprised to meet with princes in disguise on the high-roads. + </p> + <p> + George Sand's masterpiece of this kind is undoubtedly <i>Le Marquis de + Villemer</i>, published in 1861. A provincial <i>chateau</i>, an old + aristocratic woman, sceptical and indulgent, two brothers capable of being + rivals without ceasing to be friends, a young girl of noble birth, but + poor, calumny being spread abroad, but quickly repudiated, some wonderful + pages of description, and some elegant, sinuous conversations. All this + has a certain charm. The poor girl marries the Marquis in the end. This, + too, is a return to former days, to the days when kings married + shepherdesses. The pleasure that we have in reading such novels is very + much like that which we used to feel on hearing fairy-stories. + </p> + <p> + "If some one were to tell me the story of <i>Peau d'Ane</i>, I should be + delighted," confessed La Fontaine, and surely it would be bad form to be + more difficult and over-nice than he was. Big children as we are, we need + stories which give food to our imagination, after being disappointed by + the realities of life. This is perhaps the very object of the novel. + Romance is not necessarily an exaggerated aspiration towards imaginary + things. It is something else too. It is the revolt of the soul which is + oppressed by the yoke of Nature. It is the expression of that tendency + within us towards a freedom which is impossible, but of which we + nevertheless dream. An iron law presides over our destiny. Around us and + within us, the series of causes and effects continues to unwind its hard + chain. Every single one of our deeds bears its consequence, and this goes + on to eternity. Every fault of ours will bring its chastisement. Every + weakness will have to be made good. There is not a moment of oblivion, not + an instant when we may cease to be on our guard. Romantic illusion is, + then, just an attempt to escape, at least in imagination, from the tyranny + of universal order. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible, in this volume, to consider all George Sand's works. + Some of her others are charming, but the whole series would perhaps appear + somewhat monotonous. There is, however, one novel of this epoch to which + we must call attention, as it is like a burst of thunder during calm + weather. It also reveals an aspect of George Sand's ideas which should not + be passed over lightly. This book was perhaps the only one George Sand + wrote under the influence of anger. We refer to <i>Mademoiselle La + Quintinie</i>. Octave Feuillet had just published his <i>Histoire de + Sibylle</i>, and this book made George Sand furiously angry. We are at a + loss to comprehend her indignation. Feuillet's novel is very graceful and + quite inoffensive. Sibylle is a fanciful young person, who from her + earliest childhood dreams of impossible things. She wants her grandfather + to get a star for her, and another time she wants to ride on the swan's + back as it swims in the pool. When she is being prepared for her first + communion, she has doubts about the truth of the Christian religion, but + one night, during a storm, the priest of the place springs into a boat and + goes to the rescue of some sailors in peril. All the difficulties of + theological interpretations are at once dispelled for her. A young man + falls in love with her, but on discovering that he is not a believer she + endeavours to convert him, and goes moonlight walks with him. Moonlight is + sometimes dangerous for young girls, and, after one of these sentimental + and theological strolls, she has a mysterious ailment. . . . + </p> + <p> + In order to understand George Sand's anger on reading this novel, which + was both religious and social, and at the same time very harmless, we must + know what her state of mind was on the essential question of religion. + </p> + <p> + In the first place, George Sand was not hostile to religious ideas. She + had a religion. There is a George Sand religion. There are not many + dogmas, and the creed is simple. George Sand believed firmly in the + existence of God. Without the notion of God, nothing can be explained and + no problem solved. This God is not merely the "first cause." It is a + personal and conscious God, whose essential, if not sole, function is to + forgive—every one. + </p> + <p> + "The dogma of hell," she writes, "is a monstrosity, an imposture, a + barbarism. . . . It is impious to doubt God's infinite pity, and to think + that He does not always pardon, even the most guilty of men." This is + certainly the most complete application that has ever been made of the law + of pardon. This God is not the God of Jacob, nor of Pascal, nor even of + Voltaire. He is not an unknown God either. He is the God of Beranger and + of all good people. George Sand believed also, very firmly, in the + immortality of the soul. On losing any of her family, the certainty of + going to them some day was her great consolation. + </p> + <p> + "I see future and eternal life before me as a certainty," she said; "it is + like a light, and, thanks to its brilliancy, other things cannot be seen; + but the light is there, and that is all I need." Her belief was, then, in + the existence of God, the goodness of Providence and the immortality of + the soul. George Sand was an adept in natural religion. + </p> + <p> + She did not accept the idea of any revealed religion, and there was one of + these revealed religions that she execrated. This was the Catholic + religion. Her correspondence on this subject during the period of the + Second Empire is most significant. She was a personal enemy of the Church, + and spoke of the Jesuits as a subscriber to the <i>Siecle</i> might do + to-day. She feared the dagger of the Jesuits for Napoleon III, but at the + same time she hoped there might be a frustrated attempt at murder, so that + his eyes might be opened. The great danger of modern times, according to + her, was the development of the clerical spirit. She was not an advocate + for liberty of education either. "The priestly spirit has been + encouraged," she wrote.(53) "France is overrun with convents, and wretched + friars have been allowed to take possession of education." She considered + that wherever the Church was mistress, it left its marks, which were + unmistakable: stupidity and brutishness. She gave Brittany as an example. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (53) <i>Correspondance:</i> To Barbes, May 12, 1867. +</pre> + <p> + "There is nothing left," she writes, "when the priest and Catholic + vandalism have passed by, destroying the monuments of the old world and + leaving their lice for the future."(54) + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + (54) <i>Ibid.:</i> To Flaubert, September 21, 1860. +</pre> + <p> + It is no use attempting to ignore the fact. This is anti-clericalism in + all its violence. Is it not curious that this passion, when once it takes + possession of even the most distinguished minds, causes them to lose all + sentiment of measure, of propriety and of dignity. + </p> + <p> + <i>Mademoiselle La Quintinie</i> is the result of a fit of anti-clerical + mania. George Sand gives, in this novel, the counterpart of <i>Sibylle</i>. + Emile Lemontier, a free-thinker, is in love with the daughter of General + La Quintinie. Emile is troubled in his mind because, as his <i>fiancee</i> + is a Catholic, he knows she will have to have a confessor. The idea is + intolerable to him, as, like Monsieur Homais, he considers that a husband + could not endure the idea of his wife having private conversations with + one of those individuals. Mademoiselle La Quintinie's confessor is a + certain Moreali, a near relative of Eugene Sue's Rodin. The whole novel + turns on the struggle between Emile and Moreali, which ends in the final + discomfiture of Moreali. Mademoiselle La Quintinie is to marry Emile, who + will teach her to be a free-thinker. Emile is proud of his work of drawing + a soul away from Christian communion. He considers that the light of + reason is always sufficient for illuminating the path in a woman's life. + He thinks that her natural rectitude will prove sufficient for making a + good woman of her. I do not wish to call this into question, but even if + she should not err, is it not possible that she may suffer? This + free-thinker imagines that it is possible to tear belief from a heart + without rending it and causing an incurable wound. Oh, what a poor + psychologist! He forgets that beliefs the summing up and the continuation + of the belief of a whole series of generations. He does not hear the + distant murmur of the prayers of by-gone years. It is in vain to endeavour + to stifle those prayers; they will be heard for ever within the crushed + and desolate soul. + </p> + <p> + <i>Mademoiselle La Quintinie</i> is a work of hatred. George Sand was not + successful with it. She had no vocation for writing such books, and she + was not accustomed to writing them. It is a novel full of tiresome + dissertations, and it is extremely dull. + </p> + <p> + From that date, though, George Sand experienced the joy of a certain + popularity. At theatrical performances and at funerals the students + manifested in her honour. It was the same for Sainte-Beuve, but this does + not seem to have made either of them any greater. + </p> + <p> + We will pass over all this, and turn to something that we can admire. The + robust and triumphant old age of George Sand was admirable. Nearly every + year she went to some fresh place in France to find a setting for her + stories. She had to earn her living to the very last, and was doomed to + write novels for ever. "I shall be turning my wheel when I die," she used + to say, and, after all, this is the proper ending for a literary worker. + </p> + <p> + In 1870 and 1871, she suffered all the anguish of the "Terrible Year." + When once the nightmare was over, she set to work once more like a true + daughter of courageous France, unwilling to give in. She was as hardy as + iron as she grew old. "I walk to the river," she wrote in 1872, "and bathe + in the cold water, warm as I am. . . . I am of the same nature as the + grass in the field. Sunshine and water are all I need." + </p> + <p> + For a woman of sixty-eight to be able to bathe every day in the cold water + of the Indre is a great deal. In May, 1876, she was not well, and had to + stay in bed. She was ill for ten days, and died without suffering much. + She is buried at Nohant, according to her wishes, so that her last sleep + is in her beloved Berry. + </p> + <p> + In conclusion, we would say just a few words about George Sand's genius, + and the place that she takes in the history of the French novel. + </p> + <p> + On comparing George Sand with the novelists of her time, what strikes us + most is how different she was from them. She is neither like Balzac, + Stendhal, nor Merimee, nor any story-teller of our thoughtful, clever and + refined epoch. She reminds us more of the "old novelists," of those who + told stories of chivalrous deeds and of old legends, or, to go still + further back, she reminds us of the <i>aedes</i> of old Greece. In the + early days of a nation there were always men who went to the crowd and + charmed them with the stories they told in a wordy way. They scarcely knew + whether they invented these stories as they told them, or whether they had + heard them somewhere. They could not tell either which was fiction and + which reality, for all reality seemed wonderful to them. All the people + about whom they told were great, all objects were good and everything + beautiful. They mingled nursery-tales with myths that were quite sensible, + and the history of nations with children's stories. They were called + poets. + </p> + <p> + George Sand did not employ a versified form for her stories, but she + belonged to the family of these poets. She was a poet herself who had lost + her way and come into our century of prose, and she continued her singing. + </p> + <p> + Like these early poets, she was primitive. Like them, she obeyed a god + within her. All her talent was instinctive, and she had all the ease of + instinctive talent. When Flaubert complained to George Sand of the + "tortures" that style cost him, she endeavoured to admire him. + </p> + <p> + "When I see the difficulty that my old friend has in writing his novel, I + am discouraged about my own case, and I say to myself that I am writing + poor sort of literature." + </p> + <p> + This was merely her charity, for she never understood that there could be + any effort in writing. Consequently she could not understand that it + should cause suffering. For her, writing was a pleasure, as it was the + satisfaction of a need. As her works were no effort to her, they left no + trace in her memory. She had not intended to write them, and, when once + written, she forgot them. + </p> + <p> + "<i>Consuelo and La Comtesse de Rudolstadt</i>, what are these books?" she + asks. "Did I write them? I do not remember a single word of them." + </p> + <p> + Her novels were like fruit, which, when ripe, fell away from her. George + Sand always returned to the celebration of certain great themes which are + the eternal subjects of all poetry, subjects such as love and nature, and + sentiments like enthusiasm and pity. The very language completes the + illusion. The choice of words was often far from perfect, as George Sand's + vocabulary was often uncertain, and her expression lacked precision and + relief. But she had the gift of imagery, and her images were always + delightfully fresh. She never lost that rare faculty which she possessed + of being surprised at things, so that she looked at everything with + youthful eyes. There is a certain movement which carries the reader on, + and a rhythm that is soothing. She develops the French phrase slowly + perhaps, but without any confusion. Her language is like those rivers + which flow along full and limpid, between flowery banks and oases of + verdure, rivers by the side of which the traveller loves to linger and to + lose himself in dreams. + </p> + <p> + The share which belongs to George Sand in the history of the French novel + is that of having impregnated the novel with the poetry in her own soul. + She gave to the novel a breadth and a range which it had never hitherto + had. She celebrated the hymn of Nature, of love and of goodness in it. She + revealed to us the country and the peasants of France. She gave + satisfaction to the romantic tendency which is in every one of us, to a + more or less degree. + </p> + <p> + All this is more even than is needed to ensure her fame. She denied ever + having written for posterity, and she predicted that in fifty years she + would be forgotten. It may be that there has been for her, as there is for + every illustrious author who dies, a time of test and a period of neglect. + The triumph of naturalism, by influencing taste for a time, may have + stopped our reading George Sand. At present we are just as tired of + documentary literature as we are disgusted with brutal literature. We are + gradually coming back to a better comprehension of what there is of + "truth" in George Sand's conception of the novel. This may be summed up in + a few words—to charm, to touch and to console. Those of us who know + something of life may perhaps wonder whether to console may not be the + final aim of literature. George Sand's literary ideal may be read in the + following words, which she wrote to Flaubert: + </p> + <p> + "You make the people who read your books still sadder than they were + before. I want to make them less unhappy." She tried to do this, and she + often succeeded in her attempt. What greater praise can we give to her + than that? And how can we help adding a little gratitude and affection to + our admiration for the woman who was the good fairy of the contemporary + novel? + </p> + <p> + THE END <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 138 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |