George Sand: A Woman's Life Writ Large

George Sand lived larger than many lives today during a time when women were cattle and broodmares she managed to enforce the beginnings of feminism upon French society. Born Aurora Dupin, George Sand changed her name to that of a man so that she could write and earn a living during 19th century France, by doing so she made herself as famous for her lifestyle and character as for her writings. Sand is explained as an extraordinarily complex woman who refuses to stay in a box that denies her freedom. She explores passion and sexual escapades with such renowned figures as, Alfred Musset, Chopin, Liszt, Flaubert and many others not so well known. Sand laughed in society's face and stunned them all with her outrageous take on life becoming one of the world's first feminists, defending the rights of women in marriage and in a masculine culture. Sand walked around Paris alone, dressed in men's clothing and assumed herself to be free of the stigmas most women cowered to; for this Sand must be acknowledged and Belinda Jack has accomplished that in this interesting biography of Sand's life. Belinda Jack writes well but tends to stick to many facts and less description. She keeps this biography geared on Sand and her accomplishments rather than the scandals that most people place their attentions on. Sand is explained as a child who grew up conflicted on status and her place in life, through this she appears capable of staying on the outside of society and becoming a great observer of human nature and character. It is said that Sand had so many relationships because she needed inspiration for her stories. Jack writes about the connection Sand has to animals and nature, to philosophical ideologies and religious teachings and interestingly enough it seems that Sand felt guided to art because she felt that the magnificence of God existed within the creation of beauty. Sand's approach to life seems to fit into modern society rather than the one she was born into and we can only imagine what an extraordinary woman she would be today had she lived in this century. One of my favorite lines in the book is, "Not to be noticed as a man, one has first to be used to not being noticed as a woman." George Sand is astonishing and a true rebel against the machine that tries to hold individuals back from independent thought. This biography brings to light the struggle of women and George Sand overcomes it by portraying a man with more depth and compassion than the lesser gender has ever been capable of. It seems that Sand was so often bored in her relationships because the men lacked her strength and although she was not considered a proper beauty her talented personality and search for freedom was what caused her to be the ultimate femme fatale! Sand's life is worth celebrating and Belinda Jack has done an excellent job in bringing this shining light back into existence.

I have enjoyed several female writers immensely (George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Emma Goldman and, especially, Anna Kavan) but have never read George Sand. However, I do know of the woman by her link to Frederic Chopin. I suspect many readers of this biography - me included - will pick the book up because of their interest in music rather than literature. George Sand's life was certainly extraordinary, just as she was. And there is no doubt now that I will read at least one of her novels. In those regards this biography is demonstrably a success. But in other ways it failed me. I have named this review 'Lelio' by the name Hector Berlioz (a contemporary of Sand) gave the sequel to his Symphonie Fantastique. (Berlioz is mentioned three times in the biography but only one of these references is indexed.) What is the link with George Sand? Belinda Jack does not explore this. George Sand wrote a short story 'La marquise' in which there is a character Lelio. She later wrote a novel called 'Lelia'. What does the name mean and are there any connections? Music lovers would probably like to know. I turned to David Cairns translation of 'The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz' and he reveals that Berlioz' work came after 'La marquise' and hence may have been inspired by it, but before Sand's novel 'Lelia'. It is notes of this type that greatly enrich works. I suggest that Belinda Jack has failed to provide this type of enrichment in her biography. Here is another example: Delacroix spent a lot of time with George Sand and we are all familiar with his portrait of Chopin - unfinished though it is. We are less familiar with the fact that he painted Sand as well (even more unfinished). The question to ask is why was it not finished. Even more, in the illustrations to the biography why do we only get Delacroix's portrait of Chopin? (You can find the portrait of Sand on the internet.) At another point Belinda Jack reports that Sand's reading included a bunch of writers - one of whom is called Hoffmann. ETA Hoffmann I wondered? No - the index told me it was Ernst Hoffmann, someone I have no knowledge of. By telling the reader upfront that it was Ernst Hoffmann might help avoid possible misunderstanding. But at least it was in the index. There are many people referred to in this biography whose name means nothing to me and it may have been useful to have short summaries of them and their significance. I happen to know who Proudhon was (libertarian anarchist) but I suspect many readers won't. And again, uncommented is the strangeness of the Sand family having a servant with the unlikely name of Carl Maria von Weber - especially strange to music lovers.But despite these quibbles I value reading this biography and rate it well.

I admit that my knowledge of George Sand's writings is very limited. I have heard of her, probably in the more amorous context because of her "sordid" past. However, upon recently having viewed for the first time the movie "Impromptu," I became intrigued with this fasinating woman and sought to search out what was myth and what was reality. There have been several biographies of the writer; however, they seem to have concentrated on her art, or her writing, or her plays, or her personal adventures. The authors at all times attempted to place George into a category as a way to contain a palatable explanation of her. What I have found through reading Belinda Jack's book is that the only category of which Sand is a member is the human category. Belinda took all facets of the writer's life to reveal a woman in constant evolution. Driven to form explanations to first deal with her fears then to reconcile a practice to life, Sand formed a being who was uniquely herself that absorbed and expanded as she grew.

I strongly commend this book to anyone and everyone who desires to learn more about the psychological makeup of George Sand. The author of this excellent book does not hesitate to share her own conclusions and hypotheses about George Sand's character, and gives special emphasis to both the origins of her makeup and the contradictions in her thought process and conduct. I have read several other good biographies of George Sand, and while I prefer not to rank them, my knowledge of George Sand would be very incomplete if I had not read and digested this too. While the other biographies have given a lot of emphasis to her relation with Chopin, this biography probably slights Chopin in favor of the many other (and probably more important) men and women in her life. Once you begin to read this book, you will not be able to return it to its shelf until you finish it.