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George Sand – Lioness at Large

George Sand

(1804 – 1876)

George Sand at 34Biographical Sketch

Amandine (also “Amantine”) Lucile Aurore Dupin, Baroness (French: baronne) Dudevant (Paris, France, July 1, 1804 – Nohant, France, June 8, 1876), best known by her pseudonym George Sand, was a French novelist, political activist and memoirist.

In 1822, at the age of eighteen, Sand married Baron Casimir Dudevant (1795 – 1871), illegitimate son of Baron Jean-François Dudevant. She and Dudevant had two children. In early 1831 she left her husband, after having discovered his last will and testament and, in it, read his opinions on women in general and on her in particular, and entered upon a four- or five-year period of “romantic rebellion.” In 1835, she was legally separated from Dudevant and took her children with her.

Sand conducted affairs of varying duration with Jules Sandeau (1831), Prosper Mérimée, Alfred de Musset (summer 1833 – March 1835), Félicien Mallefille (who at the time was her children’s tutor), and others; including, probably most prominently, Frédéric Chopin (1837 – 47). Later in life, she corresponded with Gustave Flaubert. Despite their obvious differences in temperament and aesthetic preference, they eventually became close friends. She also engaged in an intimate friendship with actress Marie Dorval, which led to widespread but unconfirmed rumors of a lesbian affair.

Her liaison with the writer Jules Sandeau heralded her literary debut. They published a few stories together, signing them “Jules Sand.” Her first published novel, Rose et Blanche (1831), was written in collaboration with Sandeau. She subsequently adopted, for her first independent novel, Indiana (1832), the pen name that made her famous – George Sand.

Drawing from her childhood experiences of the countryside, she wrote the rural novels La Mare au Diable (1846), François le Champi (1847 – 1848), La Petite Fadette (1849), and Les Beaux Messieurs Bois-Doré (1857). A Winter in Majorca described the period that she and Chopin spent on that island in 1838 – 9. Further notable novels of Sand’s include Lélia (1833), Mauprat (1837), Le Compagnon du Tour de France (1840), Consuelo (1842 – 43), and Le Meunier d’Angibault (1845). Important theatre pieces and autobiographical writings include Histoire de ma vie (1855), Elle et Lui (1859, about her affair with Musset), Journal Intime (posthumously published in 1926), and Correspondence. Sand often performed her theatrical works in her small private theatre at her grandmother’s Nohant estate, where she herself had been brought up, where she returned to after her separation from her husband, and where she wrote most of her books.

In addition, Sand authored literary criticism and political texts. She wrote many essays and published works establishing her position, siding with the poor and the working class. When the 1848 Revolution began, Sand started her own newspaper which was published in a workers’ co-operative. This allowed her to publish more political essays. She wrote “I cannot believe in any republic that starts a revolution by killing its own proletariat.”

Sand’s reputation came into question not only because of her highly public affairs and (for the 19th century) unconventional attitude towards marriage and partnership, but even more so when she began sporting men’s clothing in public – which she justified by the clothes being far sturdier and less expensive than the typical dress of a noblewoman at the time. In addition to being comfortable, Sand’s male dress enabled her to circulate more freely in Paris than most of her female contemporaries, and gave her increased access to venues from which women were often barred. Also scandalous was Sand’s smoking tobacco in public; neither peerage nor gentry had yet sanctioned the free indulgence of women in such a habit, especially in public (though Franz Liszt’s paramour Marie d’Agoult affected this as well, smoking large cigars). These and other behaviors were exceptional for a woman of the early and mid-19th century, when social codes – especially in the upper classes – were of the utmost importance. As a consequence of many unorthodox aspects of her lifestyle, Sand was obliged to relinquish some of the privileges appertaining to a baroness – though, interestingly, the mores of the period did permit upper-class wives to live physically separated from their husbands, without losing face, provided the estranged couple exhibited no blatant irregularity to the outside world.

Poet Charles Baudelaire was a contemporary critic of George Sand, calling her “stupid, heavy and garrulous” and her ideas on morals as of “the same depth of judgment and delicacy of feeling as those of janitresses and kept women.” Other writers of the period, however, differed in their assessment. Flaubert, by no means an indulgent or forbearing critic, was an unabashed admirer. Honoré de Balzac, who knew Sand personally, once said that if someone thought George Sand wrote badly, it was because their own standards of criticism were inadequate. He also noted that her treatment of imagery in her works showed that her writing had an exceptional subtlety, having the ability to “virtually put the image in the word.” – Today she is seen as an important champion of women’s rights and noted particularly for her detailed correspondence, as well as her memoirs and diaries (Histoire de ma vie and Journal Intime), which not only chronicle her personal life but also give a vivid portrayal of 19th century Paris and France, and of the many notable personalities with whom she interacted.

Read more about George Sand on Wikipedia.

 

Bibliography

Novels and Novellas
  • La Marraine (1829)
    – Only one chapter; published in 1895.
  • Aimée (1830)
    – Burned; never published.
  • Indiana (1832)
    (Indiana: A Love Story)
  • Valentine (1832)
  • La Marquise (1832)
    (The Marquise)
  • Cora (1833)
  • Cynodie (1833)
  • Lélia (1833)
    (Lelia; Leila)
    – Second edition in 1839.
  • Lavinia (1833)
  • Métella (1833)
  • Le Secrétaire Intime (1834)
  • Jacques (1834)
  • Leone Leoni (1834)
  • André (1835)
  • Mattéa (1835)
  • Simon (1836)
  • Engelwald (1836)
    – Destroyed.
  • Mauprat (1837)
  • Les Maîtres Mosaïstes (1837)
    (The Mosaic Workers; The Master Mosaic Workers)
  • La Dernière Aldini (1837)
    (The Last Aldini; The Last of the Aldinis)
  • Spiridion (1838)
  • L’Uscoque (1838)
    (The Uscoque; The Corsair)
  • Les Sept Cordes de la Lyre (1839)
    (A Woman’s Version of the Faust Legend: The Seven Strings of Her Lyre)
  • Pauline (1839)
  • Le Compagnon du Tour de France (1840)
    (The Companion of the Tour of France; The Journeyman Joiner)
  • Horace (1841)
  • Consuelo (1842)
    (Consuelo: A Romance of Venice)
  • La Comtesse de Rudolfstadt (1843)
    (The Countess of Rudolstadt)
  • Jeanne (1844)
  • Le Meunier d’Angibault (1845)
    (The Miller of Angibault)
  • Isidora (1845)
  • Teverino (1845)
  • Le Péché de Monsieur Antoine (1845)
    (The Sin of Monsieur Antoine)
  • La Mare au Diable (1846)
    (The Devil’s Pool; The Hauted Marsh; The Enchanted Lake; Germaine’s Marriage; The Haunted Pool)
  • Lucrezia Floriani (1846)
  • Le Piccinino (1847)
    (The Piccinino)
  • François le Champi (1847)
    (Francis the Waif; The Country Waif)
  • La Petite Fadette (1848)
    (Little Fadette; Fadette; Fanchon the Cricket)
  • Le Château des Désertes (1851)
    (The Castle in the Wilderness)
  • Mont-Revêche (1852)
  • Les Maîtres Sonneurs (1853)
    (The Bagpipers; The Master Pipers)
  • Adriani (1854)
  • La Daniella (1857)
  • Les Dames Vertes (1857)
    (The Naiad)
  • Les Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré (1857)
    (The Gallant Lords of Bois-Doré)
  • L’Homme de Neige (1858)
    (The Snow Man)
  • Narcisse (1858)
  • Elle et Lui (1859)
    (He and She)
  • Jean de la Roche (1859)
  • Constance Verrier (1859)
  • Flavie (1859)
  • La Ville Noire (1860)
    (The Black City)
  • Valvèdre (1861)
  • Le Marquis de Villemer (1860)
    (The Marquis of Villemer)
  • La Famille de Germandre (1861)
    (The Germandre Family)
  • Le Pavé: Nouvelle dialoguée (1861)
  • Nouvelles par George Sand (1861)
    – With a preface by Sand.
  • Tamaris (1862)
  • Antonia (1862)
  • Mademoiselle de la Quintinie (1863)
  • Laura, Voyage dans le Cristal (1864)
    (Laura; Journey Within the Crystal)
  • Monsieur Sylvestre (1865)
  • Le Dernier Amour (1866)
  • Mademoiselle Merquem (1868)
  • Pierre qui Roule (1869)
    (A Rolling Stone)
  • Le Beau Laurence (1870)
    (Handsome Laurence)
  • Malgrétout (1870)
  • Césarine Dietrich (1870)
  • Nanon (1872)
  • Un Bienfait n’est jamais Perdu (1872)
  • Ma Sœur Jeanne (1874)
    (My Sister Jeannie)
  • La Tour de Percemont (1875)
    (The Tower of Percemont)
  • Marianne Chevreuse (1875)
    (Marianne)
  • Albine (1876)
    – Unfinished.
  • Nouvelles de George Sand (1986)
Novellettes, Short Stories and Tales
  • Histoire d’un Rêveur (1830)
    – Published in 1924.
  • Jehan Gauvin (1831)
    – Published in 1924.
  • Melchoir (1832)
  • Le Toast (1832)
  • Une Vieille Histoire (1833)
  • Garnier (1834)
  • Le Dieu Inconnu (1836)
  • Le Contrebandier (1837)
  • L’Orco (1838)
  • Mouny Robin (1841)
  • Carl (1843)
  • Kourroglou (1843)
  • Jean Zyska (1843)
  • La Fauvette du Docteur (1844)
  • Histoire du Véritable Gribouille (1850)
  • La Filleule (1853)
  • Le Diable aux Champs (1855)
  • Évenor et Leucippe (1856)
  • Les Légendes Rustiques (1857 – 1858)
  • Fable (1859)
  • La Confession d’une Jeune Fille (1864)
  • La Coupe (1865)
  • Francia (1871)
  • Les Contes d’une Grand-Mère (1873)
    (Tales of a Grandmother; The Castle of Pictures and Other Stories: A Grandmother’s Tales):

    • Les Ailes du Courage
      (The Wings of Courage)
    • Le Nuage Rose
      (The Treacherous Cloud)
    • La Reine Coax
    • Le Château de Pictordu
    • Le Géant Yéous
    • L’Orgue du Titan
    • Ce que Disent les Fleurs
    • Le Marteau Rouge
    • La Fée Poussière
    • Jules Boucoiran
    • Le Gnôme des Huitres
    • Le Chêne Parlant
    • Le Chien et la Fleur Sacrée
    • La Fée aux Gros Yeux
  • Flamarande (1875)
  • Les Deux Frères (1875)
  • The Mysterious Tale of Gentle Jack and Lord Bumblebee (1988)
Plays
  • Une Conspiration en 1537 (1831)
  • Aldo le Rimeur: Poème Dialogué (1833)
  • Gabriel (1839)
    – Never produced on stage.
  • Cosima, ou la Haine de l’Amour (1840)
  • Le Roi Attend (1848)
  • François le Champi (1849)
  • Claudie (1851)
  • Molière (1851)
  • Le Mariage de Victorine (1851)
  • Marielle (1851)
    – Never produced on stage.
  • Vacances de Pandolphe (1852)
  • Le Démon du Foyer (1852)
  • Le Pressoir (1853)
  • Mauprat (1853)
  • Flaminio (1854)
  • Maître Favilla (1855)
  • Lucie (1856)
  • Françoise (1856)
  • Comme Il Vous Plaira (1856)
  • Marguerite de Sainte-Gemme (1859)
  • Le Drac (1861)
  • Le Théâtre de George Sand (1860)
    – With a preface by Sand.
  • Le Pavé (1862)
  • Les Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Doré (1862)
  • Plutus (1863)
  • Le Marquis de Villemer (1864)
    – With Alexandre Dumas fils (Jr.).
  • Théâtre de Nohant (1864)
  • Le Don Juan de Village (1866)
  • Le Lis du Japon (1866)
    – Based on Antonia.
  • Cadio (1867)
  • La Petite Fadette (1868)
  • Lupo Liverani (1869)
  • L’Autre (1870)
    – One fragment omitted and published separately.
  • La Laitière et le Pot au Lait (1875)
  • Théâtre complet de George Sand (1866 – 1877)
  • Five Comedies (2003)
Poetry
  • Poème de Myrza (1835)
  • Les Mississippiens (1840)
  • À Carlo Soliva (1854)
    – Sonnet, translated from Italian.
  • Brise et Rose (1977)
Nonfiction: On Literature and the Arts
  • Obermann, par E. P. Sénancour (1833)
  • Mademoiselle Mars (1833)
  • Souvenirs de Madame Merlin (1836)
  • Madame Dorval (1837)
  • Monsieur Ingres et Monsieur Calamatta (1837)
  • Antoine et Cléopâtre (1837)
    – In: Les Femmes de Shakespeare
  • Lettres à M. Lerminier (1838)
  • Essai sur le Drame Fantastique (1839)
  • Le Théâtre Italien et Mme Pauline Garcia (1840)
  • Réplique à Franz Liszt (1840)
  • Georges de Guérin (1840)
  • Sur les Poètes Populaires (1841)
  • Quelques Réflexions sur J. J. Rousseau (1841)
  • Monsieur de Lamartine, Utopiste (1841)
  • Dialogues Familiers sur la Poésie des Prolétaires (1842)
  • À Monsieur de Lamartine (1843)
  • Sur la dernière Publication de Monsieur de Lamennais (1843)
  • Sur la Littérature Slave (1843)
  • Lettres Écrites au Dr Véron à propos de “Jeanne” (1844)
  • Hamlet (1845)
  • Réception de Sainte Beuve à l’Académie Française (1845)
  • Les Arts (1848)
  • Lettre à Ste Beuve sur les “Mémoires d’Outre-Tombe” de Chateaubriand (1850)
  • Lettre à Chateaubriand (1850)
  • Lettre sur le Comité de Lecture du Théâtre Français (1851)
  • La Comédie Italienne (1852)
  • Article sur “Bouquet de Marguerites” par Ch. Poncy (1852)
  • Madame Beecher-Stowe (1852)
  • Honoré de Balzac (1853)
  • Alexandre Dumas et Émile Aucante (1854)
  • Article sur “Bêtes et Gens” par P.-J. Stahl (1854)
  • Les Maioliques Florentines et Giovanni Freppa (1855)
  • Lettre à M. Charlieu sur “Lélia” (1856)
  • Lettres relatives à “La Daniella” (1857)
  • Critique de “Madame Bovary” (1857)
  • Fenimore Cooper (1857)
  • Sur la Joconde (1858)
  • La Bibliothèque Utile (1859)
  • Souvenirs et Impressions Littéraires (1862)
  • Lettre sur la Distribution de la Pièce “Le Marquis de Villemer” (1863)
  • “La Vierge à la Chaise” de Raphaël Gravée par Calamatta (1863)
  • Lettre sur “Salammbô” par Gustave Flaubert (1863)
  • Pourquoi les Femmes à l’Académie? (1863)
  • Les Miettes de l’Histoire par Auguste Vacquerie (1863)
  • Théosophie et Philosophie: À propos de “Madelon” par Edmont About (1863)
  • Victor Hugo Raconté par un Témoin de sa Vie (1863)
  • “L’Histoire de Jules César” par Napoléon III (1865)
  • Lettre à propos du “Péché de Monsieur Antoine” (1865)
  • À propos des “Idées de Madame Aubray” par Dumas fils (1867)
  • Le Drame des “Beaux Messieurs de Bois Doré” (1867)
  • Lettre sur “Cadio” (1867)
  • Lettres à propos de Madame Dorval (1868)
  • Lettre sur “Lélia” (1868)
  • “Jeanne Picault” par Maxime Planet (1868)
  • “Au pays de l’Astrée” par Mario Proth (1868)
  • “L’Éducation Sentimentale” par Gustave Flaubert (1869)
  • Seize Lettres à Ste Beuve (1869)
  • Lettre à Ste Beuve sur “Volupté” (1869)
  • Lettre à Paul Meurice sur “Césara” (1869)
  • “Lucrèce Borgia” (1870)
  • Lettre à Edmond About (1871)
  • Michel Lévy (1875)
  • Annales Littéraires: 1835; Pensées Littéraires de Georges Sand (1954)
Political Works
  • Fanchette (1843)
  • L’Éclaireur de l’Indre (1844)
    – With an introductory letter by Sand.
  • Le Père Va-Tout-Seul (1844)
  • Lettre d’un Paysan de la Vallée Noire (1844)
  • Lettre à propos des Ouvriers Boulangers (1844)
  • La Politique et le Socialisme (1844)
  • Un Mot à la Classe Moyenne (1848)
  • Lettre au Prince Louis-Napoléon (1848)
  • Aux Riches (1848)
  • Lettres au Peuple (1848)
  • Lettre à Karl Marx (1848)
  • Histoire de France
    Écrite sous la Dictée de Blaise Bonnin (1848)
  • Paroles de Blaise Bonnin aux Bons Citoyens (1848)
  • La Cause du Peuple (1848)
  • Bulletins de la République (1848)
  • La Question Sociale (1848)
  • Au Citoyen Lamennais (1848)
  • Revue Politique et Morale de la Semaine (1848)
  • La Religion de la France (1848)
  • Le Dogme de la France (1848)
  • Le Culte de la France (1848)
  • Socialisme (1848)
  • Lettre d’un Ouvrier à sa Femme, Et Réponse de la Femme (1848)
  • Louis Blanc (1848)
  • Barbès (1848)
  • Lettre “aux Membres du Comité Central” (1848)
  • Préface à “Travailleurs et Prolétaires” par V. Borie (1848)
  • A propos de l’Élection de Louis-Bonaparte à la Présidence de la République (1848)
  • Proclamation de la République à Nohant (1848)
  • Lettre à “La Voix des Femmes” (1848)
  • Les Rues de Paris (1848)
  • Aux Modérés (1849)
  • La Loi de Déportation (1850)
  • La Guerre (1859)
  • Garibaldi (1859)
  • La République (1870)
  • Lettre à propos de Condamnés (1870)
Other Essays and Articles
  • Visite aux Catacombes (1837)
  • La Princesse Anna Czartoryska (1839)
  • À propos des Charmettes (1863)
Travelogues, Memoirs, Journals
  • Lettres d’un Voyageur (1834)
    (Letters of a Traveller)
  • Pensée (1838)
  • Prières (1838)
  • Un Hiver au Midi de l’Europe (1841)
  • Majorque et les Majorquins (1841)
  • Un Hiver à Majorque (1842)
    (Winter in Majorca)
  • Mélanges (1843)
  • Les Noces de Campagne (1846)
  • La Vallée Noire (1846)
  • Un Coin de la Marche et du Berry (1847)
  • La Journée du 16 Avril (1848)
  • La Journée du 20 Avril (1848)
  • Mœurs et Coutumes du Berry (1851)
  • Histoire de ma Vie (1854)
    (My Life; Story of My Life)
  • Fragment d’une Lettre écrite de Fontainebleau (1855)
  • Les Jardins en Italie (1856)
  • Autour de la Table (1856)
  • La Villa Pamphili: Lettre d’un Voyageur (1857)
  • Courrier de Village – Promenades autour d’un Village (1857)
  • Les Bords de la Creuse (1858)
  • Lettre d’un Voyageur (1864)
  • Lettre d’un Voyageur (1865)
  • La Rêverie à Paris (1867)
  • Lettre d’un Voyageur: A propos de Botanique (1868)
  • Journal d’un Voyageur pendant la Guerre (1871)
  • Rêveries et Souvenirs (1871-1872)
  • Impressions et Souvenirs (1873 && 1876)
    (Impressions and Reminiscences)
  • Souvenir d’Auvergne (1875)
  • La Blonde Phoebé (1875)
  • Nuit d’Hiver (1875)
  • Voyage chez M. Blaise (1875)
  • Maurice Sand (1876)
  • Mon Grand-Oncle (1876)
  • Le Théâtre de Marionnettes de Nohant (1876)
  • Journal Intime (1926)
  • George Sand: Oeuvres Autobiographiques (1970-1971)
  • The Intimate Journal of George Sand (1974)
  • In Her Own Words (1979)
  • Agendas
    • Tome 1: 1852 – 1856 (1989)
    • Tome 2: 1857 – 1861 (1989)
    • Tome 3: 1862 – 1866 (2000)
  • Carnets de Voyages à Gargilesse (1999)
  • Scènes Gourmandes: Repas et Récettes du Berry (1999)
Correspondence
  • Lettres à Marcie (1837)
    (Letters to Marcie)
  • Dix Lettres (1837)
  • Letters of George Sand (1886)
  • Correspondance de George Sand et d’Alfred de Musset (1904)
  • Correspondance entre George Sand et Gustave Flaubert (1904)
  • The George Sand – Gustave Flaubert Letters (1921)
  • Lettres de Chopin et de George Sand, 1836 – 1839 (1925)
  • Letters of George Sand (1930)
  • Correspondance Inédite, George Sand – Marie Dorval (1953)
  • George Sand, Alfred de Musset: Correspondance, Journal Intime de George Sand, 1834 (1956)
  • Correspondances Autographes: Frédéric Chopin, George Sand et sa Fille Solange (1959)
  • Lettres Inédites de George Sand et de Pauline Viardot, 1839 – 1849 (1959)
  • George Sand, une Correspondance (1994)
  • Correspondance (1964 – 1995)
  • Histoire d’une Amitié: Pierre Leroux et George Sand, d’Après une Correspondance Inédite 1836 – 1866 (1973)
  • The George Sand – Gustave Flaubert Letters (1979)
  • Correspondance (1981)
  • Flaubert – Sand: The Correspondence (1993)
  • Marie d’Agoult et George Sand, Correspondance (1995)
  • De l’Être en Lettres, l’Autobiographie Épistolaire de George Sand (1996)
  • Lettres de George Sand (1997)
  • Gammes de Lettres: À George Sand et Frédéric Chopin (1999)
  • Sand – Barbès, Correspondance d’une Amitié Républicaine 1848 – 1870 (1999)
  • Lettres d’Amour de Georges Sand et d’Alfred de Musset (2002)
Writing as J. Sand
  • Molinara (1831)
    – With Jules Sandeau.
  • La Prima Donna (1831)
    – With Jules Sandeau.
  • La Fille d’Albano (1831)
    – With Jules Sandeau.
  • Le Commissionnaire (1831)
    – With Jules Sandeau.
  • Rose et Blanche (1831)
    – With Jules Sandeau.
  • L’Île des Fleurs (1832)
  • La Reine Mab (1832)
Complete Works
  • Oeuvres Complètes de George Sand (1842)
    – With a preface by Sand.
  • The Works of George Sand (1847)
  • Édition Illustrée des “Oeuvres Complètes” de George Sand (1851 – 1856)
    – With an 1851 preface by Sand.
  • Oeuvres Complètes (1881 – 1883)
  • The Masterpieces (1900 – 1902)
Online editions of George Sand’s works:

 

A Selection of Quotes

Indiana

“Nothing resembles selfishness more closely than self-respect.”

“Nothing is so easy as to deceive one’s self when one does not lack wit and is familiar with all the niceties of language. Language is a prostitute queen who descends and rises to all roles. Disguises herself, arrays herself in fine apparel, hides her head and effaces herself; an advocate who has an answer for everything, who has always foreseen everything, and who assumes a thousand forms in order to be right. The most honorable of men is he who thinks best and acts best, but the most powerful is he who is best able to talk and write.”

“Ce n’est pas la première fois que je remarque combien, en France particulièrement, les mots ont plus d’empire que les idées.”
(“It’s not the first time I’ve noticed how much more power words have than ideas, particularly in France.”)

Mauprat

“We cannot tear out a single page of our life, but we can throw the whole book in the fire.”

Metella

“La vie ressemble plus souvent à un roman qu’un roman ne ressemble à la vie.”
(“Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life.”)

Le beau Laurence

“La beauté qui parle aux yeux, reprit-elle, n’est que le prestige d’un moment; l’œuil du corps n’est pas toujours celui de l’âme.”
(“The beauty that addresses itself to the eyes,” she continued, “is only the spell of the moment; the eye of the body is not always that of the soul.”)

Correspondence

“Let us accept truth, even when it surprises us and alters our views.”

“J’ai un but, une tâche, disons le mot, une passion. Le métier d’écrire en est une violente et presque indestructible.”
(“I have an object, a task, let me say the word, a passion. The profession of writing is a violent and almost indestructible one.”)
[Letter to Jules Boucoiran, March 4, 1831]

“Le vrai est trop simple, il faut y arriver toujours par le compliqué.”
(“The truth is too simple: one must always get there by a complicated route.”)
[Letter to Armand Barbès, May 12, 1867]

The Intimate Journal

“Immodest creature, you do not want a woman who will accept your faults, you want the one who pretends you are faultless – one who will caress the hand that strikes her and kiss the lips that lie to her.”
[Letter, June 17, 1837]

Story of My Life: The Autobiography of George Sand

[On Chopin’s Preludes:]
“His genius was filled with the mysterious sounds of nature, but transformed into sublime equivalents in musical thought, and not through slavish imitation of the actual external sounds. His composition of that night was surely filled with raindrops, resounding clearly on the tiles of the Charterhouse, but it had been transformed in his imagination and in his song into tears falling upon his heart from the sky. … The gift of Chopin is [the expression of] the deepest and fullest feelings and emotions that have ever existed. He made a single instrument speak a language of infinity. He could often sum up, in ten lines that a child could play, poems of a boundless exaltation, dramas of unequalled power.”

Find more quotes by George Sand on Wikiquote and Goodreads.

 

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