Her father, a young aristocrat gifted with both literary and musical abilities, joined the revolutionary army during the Revolution of 1789, went through a number of Napoleonic campaigns and died young. His wife Sophia Victoria Antoinette Delaborde was the daughter of a Parisian bird seller, a true daughter of the people. The future writer visited Spain with her mother during the Napoleonic campaign, then ended up in a quiet village environment with her grandmother, who raised her according to the ideas of Jean Jacques Rousseau. Living in constant close contact with the peasants, the girl learned early on the life of both the rural poor and the rural rich, she was accustomed to take the interests of the former to heart and had a negative attitude towards the village kulaks. She received her education in a monastery, like many girls in her environment. After leaving the monastery, Aurora was passionately carried away by reading and re-read the entire library of the old woman Dupin. Rousseau's writings especially fascinated her, and his influence was reflected in all her work. After the death of her grandmother, Aurora soon married Casimir Dudevant. Dudevant turned out to be a completely unsuitable companion for an intelligent, inquisitive, dreamy and peculiar woman. It was a typical bourgeois-hospitable. In 1830, she broke up with him, went to Paris and began to lead there, on the one hand, a completely student, free, and on the other, a purely professional, working life of a writer.

Literary talent affected Aurora Dupin very early. Literary activity it began with a collaboration with Jules Sando. The fruit of this "collective creativity" - the novel "Rose and Blanche", or "The Actress and the Nun" was published in 1831 under the pseudonym of Jules Sand (half of Sando's name - Sandeau) and was a success. The publishers wished to immediately publish a new work of this author. Aurora in Nogan wrote her part, and Sando wrote only one title. The publishers demanded that the novel come out with the name of the same successful Sando, and Jules Sando did not want to put his name under someone else's work. To resolve the dispute, Sando was advised to write under his own name from now on. full name and a surname, and Aurora to take half of this surname and prefix it with the name Georges, common in Berry. So the pseudonym George Sand was born. Preferring men's suits to women's, George Sand traveled to places in Paris where aristocrats, as a rule, did not get. For the upper classes of France in the 19th century, such behavior was considered unacceptable, so that she actually lost her status as a baroness.

Contemporaries considered Sand fickle and heartless, called her a lesbian and wondered why she chose men younger than herself.

Was George Sand beautiful? Some said yes, others thought it was disgusting. Contemporaries portrayed her as a woman of short stature, dense build, with a gloomy face, large eyes, yellow skin and premature wrinkles on the neck. True, everyone admitted that she had beautiful hands. But the men in love with her did not spare enthusiastic epithets for describing her. Among the lovers of George Sand were the engraver Alexander Damien Manso, who met her when he was 32 years old, while she was 45, and who lived quietly and peacefully with her 15 years old, as well as the artist Charles Marshal, whom Sand called "my fat child." When they met, Charles was 39 years old, and Sand - 60. There were persistent rumors about her connections with other men, in particular, with literary critic Gustave Planchet, who once even challenged another critic to a duel, who allowed himself to respond without due respect to another novel by George Sand.

George Sand met Frederic Chopin at the reception of a countess. The composer was not struck by her beauty - he did not even like the famous writer. It is all the more surprising that after a while, the gentle, subtle, vulnerable Chopin fell in love with a woman who smoked tobacco and spoke openly on any topic. Mallorca became the place of their joint residence. The scene is different, but the story is the same, with the same sad ending. Burning with passion, Chopin fell ill (as Alfred de Musset once did). When the composer had the first signs of consumption, George Sand began to be weary of him. It is difficult to love a sick, capricious and irritable person. George Sand herself admitted this. Chopin did not want a break. A woman experienced in such matters tried all means, but in vain. Then she wrote a novel in which, under fictitious names, she portrayed herself and her lover, and endowed the hero with all conceivable weaknesses, and exalted herself to heaven. It seemed now the end was inevitable, but Chopin hesitated. He still thought that it was possible to return the irrevocable. In 1847, ten years after their first meeting, the lovers parted. A year after the separation, Chopin and George Sand met at the house of their mutual friend. Full of remorse, she approached former lover and held out her hand to him. But Chopin left the hall without saying a word...

George Sand spent the last years of her life on her estate, where she enjoyed universal respect and earned the nickname "the good lady of Noan". She died there on June 8, 1876.

210 years ago, Amandine Aurora Lucille Dupin was born, who later became a famous writer under a pseudonym (albeit a male one!) - George Sand. For 40 years of literary activity, George Sand created about a hundred works,in the center of which most often is the fate of a woman, her struggle for individual freedom, for justice, for high love. Many of her novels, such as Indiana, Consuelo, and The Countess Rudolstadt, are still popular with modern readers.

George SandIt was born on July 1, 1804 in Paris, in a noble family. By the way, her father, Maurice Dupin, came from the family of the commander Moritz of Saxony. The father of the future writer was fond of literature and music. However, at the height of the Revolution of 1789, he joined the revolutionaries and together with them made several Napoleonic campaigns and died at a young age.

Mother, Sophia Victoria Antoinette Delaborde, was the daughter of a Parisian bird seller. During the Napoleonic campaign, George Sand was with her mother in Spain, and then came under the care of her grandmother, who raised her according to the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In the village, the girl closely communicated with the peasants. Therefore, I learned early about social inequality. She was never left indifferent to the interests of the village poor, and she treated the village rich negatively. The girl studied in a convent. Reading has become a real passion for Aurora. In her grandmother's library, she read all the books from cover to cover. But she was especially interested in the writings of Rousseau. It was they who had an influence in the future on all her work. After the death of her grandmother, Aurora soon married Casimir Dudevant. Dudevant turned out to be a completely unsuitable life partner for such a dreamy and peculiar woman with an inquisitive mind. And in 1830 she broke up with him, went to Paris and began to lead there, on the one hand, a completely student, free, and on the other, a purely professional, working life of a writer.

Origin of the pseudonym

Her literary activity began with a collaboration with Jules Sando. The fruit of this "collective creativity" - the novel "Rose and Blanche", or "The Actress and the Nun" was published in 1831 under the pseudonym of Jules Sand and was a success. The publishers wished to immediately publish a new work of this author. Aurora in Nogan wrote her part, and Sando wrote only one title. The publishers demanded that the novel come out with the name of the same successful Sando, and Jules Sando did not want to put his name under someone else's work. To resolve the dispute, Sando was advised to write under her full name and surname from now on, and Aurora to take half of this surname and prefix it with the name Georges, common in Berry. So the well-known pseudonym George Sand was born. Preferring men's suits to women's, George Sand traveled to places in Paris where aristocrats, as a rule, did not get. For the upper classes of France in the 19th century, such behavior was considered unacceptable, so that she actually lost her status as a baroness.

Men George Sand

It is interesting to know what this unusual Frenchwoman looked like? Was George Sand beautiful? Some said yes, while others considered it disgusting. Contemporaries portrayed her as a woman of short stature, dense build, with a gloomy face, large eyes, yellow skin and premature wrinkles on her neck. True, everyone agreed that she had very beautiful hands. She constantly smoked cigars, and her movements were sharp and impetuous. But the men in love with her did not spare enthusiastic epithets to describe her. Men were attracted by her intellect and lust for life. Among the lovers of George Sand were the poet Alfred de Musset, the engraver Alexander Damien Manso, the artist Charles Marshal, whom Sand called "my fat child", and Frederic Chopin.

George Sand spent the last years of her life on her estate, where she enjoyed universal respect and earned the nickname "the good lady of Noan". She died there on June 8, 1876.

Creativity George Sand

Creation French writer George Sand became one of the most significant phenomena in European culture of the 19th century. George Sand was a creative, bright, freedom-loving and talented person. And many heroines of George Sand's works are similar to their creator.

Consuelo

The novel "Consuelo" is considered one of the best creations in the literary heritage of the famous French writer George Sand. The prototype of Consuelo was the French singer Pauline Viardot, and the most famous novel by the writer tells about the calling of a true artist, about the heavy burden of talent bestowed by fate, and sometimes the tragic choice between success, fame and personal happiness, joy family life...

Countess Rudolstadt

The continuation is the novel "Countess Rudolstadt". A new meeting with the dark-skinned woman Consuelo is a great opportunity to plunge into the atmosphere of a gallant era full of dangers and genuine passion, when people knew how to live in full force and die with a smile on their lips.

Indiana

The action of the novel takes place in the era of the Restoration, a time when everyone still remembers both the events of the revolution and the reign of Napoleon. The heroine of the novel suffers from the despotism of her husband, Colonel Delmare. Love for Raymond de Ramier fills her life with new meaning, but they are not destined to be together.

Valentine

The provincial Valentina, the young heiress of the count's title and an enviable fortune, becomes the bride of a handsome count, but she gives her heart to a simple poor young man. She cannot resist her feelings, however, a pure, noble soul and a sense of duty do not allow her to neglect the cynical and deceitful laws of society. What choice will the girl make and will it bring her happiness?

Lelia

The novel "Lelia" is a sincere confession of a woman, noble, beautiful, but cold as a statue, disappointed in love; in her agitated soul, one feeling survived - the need to believe in love, and, perhaps, in divine love. The young poet Stenio passionately loves Lelia and tries in vain to revive her. The tenderness and poetry of the characters, the enchanting beauty of style cannot leave anyone indifferent. The book, if not completely autobiographical in nature, then, in any case, reflects the personal feelings experienced by the author.

These and other works of the unsurpassed queen of French romanticism, George Sand, are waiting for their readers in Central Library them. A.S. Pushkin and in all municipal libraries of the city of Chelyabinsk.

Sand(Sand) Georges (pseudonym; real name and surname Aurora Dupin, Dupin; by her husband - Dudevant (Dudevant) (1.7.1804, Paris, - 8.6.1876, Noan, Indre department), French writer. She studied in an English Catholic monastery in In 1831, after breaking with her husband, she and the writer Jules Sandeau published the novel Rose et Blanche. , published in 1832: the so-called "women's question" developed in her into the problem of human freedom. The novels Valentina (1832), Lelia (1833), and Jacques (1834), permeated with rebellious individualism, put S. in the ranks democratic romantics.

Since the mid 30s. S. was fond of the ideas of the Saint-Simonists, the Christian socialism of P. Leroux, the views of the left Republicans. S. confronts his heroes with the ideals of utopian socialists. The novel Maupra (1837) condemned romantic rebellion; in Horace (1841-42) - the debunking of individualism. Goodies S. finds among the people, among the workers: the carpenter Pierre Huguenin (“The Wandering Apprentice”, 1840), the miller Louis (“The Miller from Anzhibo”, 1845), the carpenter Japla (“The Sin of Monsieur Antoine”, 1845). Faith in creativity ordinary people, the pathos of the national liberation struggle, the dream of art serving the people, pervades S.'s best novel, Consuelo (1842-43). S. sympathetically talks about Hussite revolutionary movement.

40s - the time of the highest rise in the literary and social activities of S., she participated in the publication of social-utopian, anti-clerical, left-republican magazines and newspapers. S. actively supported working-class poets and promoted their work (Dialogues on the Poetry of the Proletarians, 1842). In the novels of the 40s. a gallery of sharply negative images of the hoarding bourgeois was created (Bricolin - "The Miller from Anzhibo", Cardonnet - "The Sin of Monsieur Antoine"). S. idealized patriarchal village customs in her idyllic novels: The Devil's Puddle (1846), François the Foundling (1847–48), and Little Fadette (1848–49).

S. took part in the February Revolution of 1848 and was close to the radical circles of the left republicans (A. Barbès and others), edited the "Bulletin de la Republique" ("Bulletins de la republique"). June 1848 shattered her utopian illusions. She retired from social activities, wrote novels in the spirit of the early romantic works: "The Snowman" (1858), "Jean de la Roche" (1859) and others, the multi-volume "History of my life" (1854-55).

From the 40s. 19th century S. was popular in Russia. I. S. Turgenev, N. A. Nekrasov, F. M. Dostoevsky, V. G. Belinsky, N. G. Chernyshevsky, A. I. Herzen admired her, saw her as an ally in the struggle for the liberation of man.

Op.: ?uvres, nouv. ed., t. 1-16, P., 1848-49; ?uvres choisies, P., 1937; Correspondence, t. 1-10, P., ; in Russian per. - Collection. soch., vol. 1-18, St. Petersburg, 1896-99; Fav. soch., v. 1-2, M., 1950; Sobr. op. vol. 1-9, L., 1971-74.

Lit.: Belinsky V. G., Complete collection of works, vols. 1-13, M., 1959 (see index); Karenin V., George Sand, her life and works, vol. 1-2, St. Petersburg - P., 1899-1916; Skaftymov A., Chernyshevsky and George Sand, in his book: Articles on Russian Literature, [Saratov, 1958]; Morua A., George Sand, 2nd ed., M., 1968; Reizov B., George Sand and the peasant-plebeian revolution in the Czech Republic, in his book: From the history of European literatures, [L.], 1970; Larnac J., G. Sand revolutionnaire. P., ; Blanc A., Notre amie G. Sand, P., 1950; "Europe", 1954, No. 102-103 (special issue); Thomas G., G. Sand, P., ; Salomon P., G. Sand, P., ; Edwards S., G. Sand, N. Y., .

In the 1930s and 1940s, France continued to develop its own romantic literature. In addition to the romantic dramas of Victor Hugo, most of which fall precisely on the 30s, such major romantic writers as J. de Nerval and A. Musset came to French literature during this period. In line with the romantic worldview, Theophile Gauthier began his career during these years.

One of the most significant phenomena of this stage in the development of French romanticism was the work of George Sand. We can say that with the name of this woman is connected whole era in the development of French literature and in general the spiritual life of France, all the more so since her fame, even during her lifetime, went far beyond the borders of this country. The very circle of acquaintances of J. Sand speaks for itself: her close friends were the most brilliant minds of France - Balzac, Flaubert, Gauthier; she was loved by A Musset and F. Chopin; in her house on Pigalle Street, Heinrich Heine, Franz Liszt were frequent guests; Adam Mickiewicz read his poems there; Eugene Delacroix often sat at the easel there, Pauline Viardot sang, whose fate served in many ways as the basis for the image of the famous heroine J. Sand - Consuelo; Turgenev was her friend, Belinsky and Herzen admired her. She was truly the ruler of the thoughts of educated Europe in the middle of the last century.

Biography George Sand

The real name of the writer is Aurora Dupin. She was born in 1804 into a noble family on the estate of Noan in the French province of Berry. Until 1817, she was brought up by her grandmother, an old aristocrat who was hostile to the revolution and the orders established after it. The subsequent upbringing in the monastic boarding house influenced the future writer in the same direction - the girls were brought up there in reverence for the "martyr king" and for the "Vende saints". It would seem that everything contributed to Aurora Dupin becoming a staunch monarchist, an opponent of the revolution.

But, in addition to these influences, other impressions turned out to be quite strong in her life. Aurora Dupin spent her childhood and youth in the countryside, played with peasant children, deeply and sincerely experienced the charm of rural nature. Even those monarchist and religious sentiments that both the religious grandmother and the monastic boarding school instilled in her turned out to be directed not so much against the revolution as against bourgeois reality, against bourgeois huckstering and prudent practicality. Being already a conscious person, she began to read the works of Rousseau, and to her, who grew up in the bosom of a patriarchal rural nature, the Rousseauist criticism of bourgeois civilization presented itself as a genuine revelation. The works of Rousseau strengthened in her love for the patriarchal nature, hostility to the bourgeoisie and along the way planted in her soul the dream of equality and brotherhood of all people.

The next decisive impression was the reading of romantic writers - Chateaubriand, Byron. At the same time, Byron, as it were, neutralized Chateaubriand from her - from the latter she took not his apology for Catholicism and the monarchy, but romantic sadness, longing for the lost uncivilized childhood of a person. Reading Byron gave birth in the receptive soul of the girl to longing for a bright and strong, active, acting personality. Finally, the subsequent acquaintance with the ideas of utopian socialism - with the activities of Saint-Simon, Fourier, the dream of women's equality - completed the "education of feelings" of the future writer, and Aurora Dupin became that George Sand, before whom the most brilliant and progressive minds of that time bowed.

Marriage of George Sand

However, the first direct impetus to writing was given to her by the events of a purely private life. In 1822, 18-year-old Aurora Dupin was married off to a neighbor of the Dupin family named Casimir Dudevant. Dudevant was an aristocrat by birth, but a bourgeois by temperament. More precisely, it was a nobleman, firmly adapted to the new bourgeois order, who knew how to benefit from them. A very limited and practical man, at first with condescending disdain, and then with open hostility, he began to relate to the literary aspirations of his young wife. For him, these dreams were a whim, which he, as a husband, did not intend to reckon with. Therefore, the very impressionable and passionate Aurora felt like a stranger in the Dudevan estate. And she decided to take a step unusual and outrageous for the prevailing moral concepts of that time - she simply left her husband, went to Paris, got herself a lover - the writer Jules Sando - and began to write novels. These novels were first published under the male pseudonym George Sand. And they immediately found themselves in the center of attention of the reading public and became the subject of fierce debate. The pseudonym of the writer was very soon revealed, and interest in the novels of George Sand increased even more - still, these novels, in which wives rebel against their husbands and, with full consciousness of their rightness, break the sacred bonds of marriage, these novels are written by a woman who herself broke up with her husband and was not afraid to further openly defend her right to interpret marriage and love morality.

In 1836, Paris was agitated by the divorce proceedings of Madame Aurora Dudevant, the writer George Sand. The offended husband argued that one who wrote as many immoral essays as his wife was not worthy to raise his children. He accused her of being "initiated into the most shameful secrets of debauchery", and the lawyer J. Sand read excerpts from her novels, proving the writer's genius.

First novels

The divorce proceedings, as it were, summed up not only the unsuccessful marriage of J. Sand, but also her early work. The first novels by J. Sand appeared in the interval between her break with her husband and this process - in 1831-1834. All of them vary in artistic form the first everyday experience of the writer - "Indiana" (1831), "Valentina" (1832), "Lelia" (1833), "Jacques" (1834).

At first glance, it may seem that these novels are so chamber and intimate that it is not clear why the democratic forces of France of that period immediately and unconditionally enlisted the young writer in their ranks. However, upon closer examination, it turns out that on this chamber material, George Sand solves problems extremely important for the development of a democratic worldview in French society of that time.

At the center of these novels is formally the problem of love and marriage. These are stories of failed marriages and broken love affairs. But behind this formal plot lies a fiery defense of man's spiritual freedom, the freedom of feelings, and above all of women's feelings. Hardly before in literature has a woman acted with such a sovereign consciousness of her right to love and freedom in choosing the object of her feelings.

Creativity of the second half of the 30s

In 1835, Sand became close to the Republicans, to the utopian socialists. She begins to be interested not only in the spiritual freedom of a person in the sphere of feelings, but also in social freedom. This is how it is defined main topic Sand's novels of the next decade.

The altruistic moralizing beginning in the work of George Sand receives a special impetus from the mid-30s, when the writer begins to actively master the social reformist ideology of her time. The "socialism" of George Sand, especially at this stage, is far from class certainty, it is sympathy for the poor and the oppressed in general, the dream of the unity of all people and classes as a counterbalance to individualism and egoism; That is why it responds primarily to Christian socialism (Lamennet) and utopian socialism (Saint-Simonism). The problem of estate and class inequality still frightens her with its explosiveness (“André”, 1835), and at first she prefers to confine herself to the sphere of feelings, referring primarily to the theme of love, destroying estate partitions. Here, unity, even in spite of all obstacles, is most conceivable for her sensitive heart, for even if lovers die (as in "Valentine"), their love does not die, it remains an undeniable covenant. The appeal to the idea of ​​human unity in a broader sense gives rise to vague and artistically unconvincing mystical-spiritualistic visions in the spirit of Lamenne's Christian socialism (Spiridion, 1839).

Moving away from romantic egocentrism

In general, speculative thinking was not George Sand's forte - "Lelia" and "Spiridion" remained a kind of monumental monuments to the unfruitful passion for romantic and Christian-spiritualistic philosophy. But on the other hand, the moral aspect of philosophical and ideological teachings - that point where words can be embodied in deeds, where an abstract idea comes into contact with real life practice - George Sand felt very keenly. That is why she very soon departed from romantic egocentrism.

In her "Letters of a Traveler" (1834-1837) and novels of the second half of the 30s and 40s, individualism appears as a fatal flaw in the soul, destructive not only for others, but also for the person most affected by it ("Mopra"; "Horas ", 1842; "Lucretia Floriani", 1847). The writer reworks the novel "Lelia", and in its second edition (1839) the egocentric position is also questioned. The fates of George Sand's heroes are more and more connected with social movements of a progressive liberation character; such is the role of the Carbonara theme in the novel Simon (1836), an American episode in the life of the hero of the novel Maupra. And the theme of the people is becoming increasingly important in the novels of the writer.

The theme of the people

The people appear first of all as a source and guarantee of moral renewal, as "the most healthy force in every nation" This is the image of the wise peasant philosopher Solitaire in the novel "Moira", folk characters and the novels "Simon", "The Wandering Apprentice" (1840), "The Miller from Anzhibo" (1845), "The Sin of Monsieur Antoine" (1845). As a rule, the plots in such novels are based on the fact that the wisdom of people from the people helps the heroes - who come from higher classes - not only arrange their personal fate, but also determine their place in life in general, bring their existence in line with the lofty principles of humanity. and altruism. Even the most vital theme for romantics - the theme of art - is resolutely connected with folk theme. The people are the basis and soil of all true art ("Mosaicists", 1837), and the highest duty of the artist is to maintain this connection with the origins of the people ("Consuelo", 1843).

"Consuelo"

The dilogy "Consuelo" and its continuation - the novel "Countess Rudolstadt" - occupy a special place in the work of the writer. This is perhaps the most striking manifestation of her genius. main character, the singer Consuelo, has a wonderful voice and learns music from maestro Porpora, and composer Joseph Haydn is also present among other characters. The atmosphere of the novel is in many ways reminiscent of E.T.A.'s Kreislerian. Hoffmann, however, Consuelo's love story develops against a moving adventurous background: fate throws her into an ancient castle in Bohemia, where the secret brotherhood of the Invisibles operates, then to the court of the Prussian Empress Maria Theresa, and in the end Consuelo chooses the share of a gypsy and wanders along the roads Europe. Her lover, the prophetic madman Count Albert Rudolstadt, preaches the utopian and mystical ideas of Jan Hus; According to some interpretations, the poet Adam Mickiewicz served as a prototype for his image. The activities of the "Invisibles" are recreated on the basis of descriptions of the Masonic societies of the 18th century, however, in the epilogue, when George Sand puts philosophical discourses about social justice, this utopia is framed in an allegorical key as a secret open to all: "They leave along a path strewn with golden sand, along a forest path that belongs to everyone."

The role of educational elements in the work of George Sand

The essential role of educational elements in the worldview and work of George Sand, like that of Hugo, is expressed not only in the general ideas of enlightening the people and society, in the didactic and educational setting, but also in the very artistic structure works. If in the abstract reasoning of the writer and her characters the questions of social relations can be very sharply and insightfully posed, then in the plots of the novels themselves, in their figurative system, these relations, as a rule, are raised above the real state of affairs, idealized in an enlightening utopian spirit.

For example, folk characters in George Sand not only have a natural and unmistakable moral sense, the ability to deeply love and suffer, but also reveal a very high aesthetic and mental culture already acquired in the process of self-education. The gallery of such images was already begun in "Valentine" (Benedict) and continued in the image of Solitaire, who knows Homer, Dante, Tasso and Ossian ("Maupra"), in the image of Pierre Huguenin in "The Traveling Apprentice". At the same time, portraying the prodigal sons and daughters of the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, George Sand makes them painfully weary of their high position, craving "simplification", a return to patriarchal existence; this ideological trend also underlies the constant Georges-Sand theme of love between a man and a woman belonging to different classes. The theme of the "curse of wealth", which has a high moral and objectively sharp anti-bourgeois meaning (as in Monsieur Antoine's Sin), sometimes appears completely illusory-naive in its exaggeration, as in the novel "The Miller from Anzhibo", the heroine of which considers herself entitled to answer the love of a poor person only after she herself went bankrupt.

In other novels, criticism of society sometimes becomes very specific, as in the sociological reasoning of the characters in the novel Monsieur Antoine's Sin. In the preface to the collected works of 1842, arguing with "the arguments of the conservatives that you should not talk about the disease if you have not found a cure for it", George Sand, in fact, resorts to the artistic logic of realism with its emphasis on the "diagnosis" of the disease modern society.

But at its core, George Sand's work remains, of course, romantic: in any case, she herself was more willing and more often aware of it as such, setting before art the task of "search for the ideal truth"; she fully recognized her realist contemporaries - Balzac, Flaubert - the right to portray people "as they are", but she resolutely reserved the right to depict people "as they should be."

Natural for George Sand is precisely the tone taken in Indiana, Valentina, Consuelo, Jacques; knowledge of the life of the heart, sympathy for the persecuted and suffering, whether in a purely personal or social sense, an all-encompassing and unabashed responsiveness, an active dream of perfect person and humanity - this is what raised this writer - with all the haste and chance of many of the countless things she wrote - to the heights of the spiritual culture of the century, made her the master of thoughts and forced even the most skeptical minds to bring her - sometimes, as it were, involuntary - tribute and admiration.

Madame Aurora Dudevant (nee Dupin), better known under the literary pseudonym George Sand (writers and readers called her "the great Georges"), in the 19th century was considered a daring subverter of the foundations. Meanwhile, by modern standards, she dreamed of quite acceptable things.

She dreamed of the freedom to end a relationship if it was obvious that it didn't work out; the pleasure of wearing clothes in which it will be convenient to make her favorite walks and horseback rides; the right to write about what seems important to her, regardless of whether the cloak and sword novel, the political allegory, the love story or the rural pastoral came out from under her pen. Today, a civilized society has legitimized everything that George Sand rebelliously decided on. However, the past century and a half have not crossed out the literary recognition of the writer (just look at how many good reviews readers still leave about the novel Consuelo) and the courage of this brave woman. Courage to be yourself.

"I am my father's daughter and laugh at prejudices when my heart tells me to be fair and brave..."

« If my father had listened to all the fools and madmen in the world, I would not have inherited his name: he left me a great example of independence and fatherly love. I will follow him even if the whole universe revolts”, Aurora once wrote in a letter to her mother.

The family tree of Maurice Dupin was decorated with the names of illegitimate royal children, brilliant military men and beautiful ladies. As soon as the Napoleonic wars began, young Maurice joined the troops of the great conqueror and went to conquer Italy. Having avoided bullets and freed from captivity, Maurice returned to his homeland. However, it soon became clear that he was defeated in the war: the bird-catcher's daughter Sophie-Victoria Antoinette Delaborde became the conqueror of the young officer. Maurice's mother flatly refused to consider Mademoiselle Delaborde an excellent trophy: the impoverished Sophie-Victoria was an extra in the theater, she ended up in the war as the mistress of an elderly general, and in Paris her illegitimate four-year-old daughter grew up (here it is worth noting that Maurice had an illegitimate son from servants, Hippolyte). Loving mothers of only sons do not forgive their daughters-in-law even lesser sins: Madame Dupin refused the house to the grisette. But Maurice went to the end not only on the battlefield: he married Sophie Victoria, his daughter was born in a legal marriage. The charming girl was named after her grandmother Aurora, and it was the birth of the baby that helped the elderly woman forgive the newlyweds. Even the biased mother-in-law found some virtues in her daughter-in-law: Sophie-Victoria knew how to forget about profit for the sake of love (otherwise she would hardly have preferred an officer to a general), she was not devoid of talents (she sang well, had an elegant taste and artistic nature) and passionately expressed feelings ( because of which the daughter was equally passionately beating and caressing her).

Four years later, Maurice took part in the Spanish campaign (in all the difficulties he was accompanied by his wife and little daughter), returned home unharmed again and four days later ... died tragically, falling from his horse.

Since then, the orphaned baby has become a battlefield between her grandmother and mother: two women fought for the heart of a little girl, or rather, "teared it to pieces." It was hard to imagine more dissimilar women: two extreme poles of the female type. One is blond, serious, calm, a real Saxon of a noble race, with manners full of dignity and favorable patronage; another brunette, pale, ardent, awkward and timid in a secular drawing room, but always ready for a well-aimed word when a ridiculous pretension aroused her sarcasm, for a violent outburst when her feelings were touched: the nature of a Spaniard is jealous, passionate, quick-tempered and weak, angry and kind at the same time“... In the end, Sophie-Victoria left for Paris: everything was familiar to her there, her sister and eldest daughter lived there, and there she hoped to rebuild her life. She left Aurora in the estate of a wealthy grandmother, who decided to make the girl an heiress.

"The unloved is always alone in the crowd"

Dying in the arms of seventeen-year-old Aurora, her grandmother will say: "You are losing your best friend." In many ways, this will be true: the grandmother determined the tastes and preferences of her granddaughter. The girl fell in love with rural life, music (she played the piano beautifully and was subtly versed in art), books, “an immense number” of which Aurora read all her life. At the same time, Mademoiselle Dupin's childhood could not be called cloudless: she yearned for her mother, almost did not communicate with peers of her circle (and, more importantly, her level of development), her grandmother's maids sometimes told her unpleasant things about Sophie Victoria. Her company was two old men - the company of her grandmother was the former teacher of Maurice, the former teacher of Maurice, who managed the estate, Monsieur Dechartre, faithful and brave man(during the French Revolution, he entered a sealed apartment to burn letters for which his mistress would have been threatened with the death penalty). Now Dechartre was fond of medicine and pharmacology, the peasants considered him a sorcerer, but willingly turned to him for help. Aurora's third constant companion was Corambe, a combination of imaginary friend and higher being. If everyone creates a deity in his own image and likeness, then it is obvious that Aurora was very kind person: "victims" in honor of Corambe were birds and lizards, which the girl set free.

When Aurora was 14 years old, the grandmother, guided by a mixture of maternal jealousy, anger at her daughter-in-law and fear for her granddaughter, told the girl about the dissolute pages of Sophie Victoria's life. Needless to say, Aurora did not understand most of the "revelations" and warnings, but she was deeply offended for her mother and was disappointed in her grandmother. The girl had a nervous attack and fainting. After this incident, Aurora changed: she became gloomy and aloof.

Madame Dupin decided to send her granddaughter to a convent to improve her mental health and polish her manners. This calculation was fully justified, in no small part because Aurora was lucky to have a spiritual mentor: an elderly abbot helped a young girl to pass the stormy sea of ​​growing up, avoiding reefs of exaltation or spiritual emptiness.

When Madame Dupin fell ill. Aurora returned to Noan. She had a free and happy youth: her friendship with her grandmother grew stronger. Deschartre, the girl helped treat the sick, she rode a lot and hunted (this is where men's costumes appeared).

The death of her grandmother (a great grief in itself) left Aurora defenseless. Madame Dupin entrusted custody of the girl to relatives, but Sophie-Victoria warded off the guardians. Mother and daughter have moved away from each other over the years: on the one hand, Sophie-Victoria has become unaccustomed to the girl, who was now much closer to her hated mother-in-law than to her, on the other hand, the widow of Maurice Dupin has pretty badly deteriorated with age. Aurora read a lot - her mother snatched books from her; Aurora longed for a big house in Nohant - Sophie-Victoria kept her in a small apartment in Paris; Aurora grieved for her grandmother - her mother showered the deceased with dirty curses. Finally, a scene in the spirit of a sentimental novel played out: the mother tried to force Aurora to marry a man who aroused extreme disgust in the girl. When Aurora objected, Sophie-Victoria, showering her daughter with abuse and threats, dragged her to the monastery and threatened her with imprisonment. It is difficult to say whether this was a staging to intimidate the girl, or the nuns at the last moment were afraid that they would have to answer before the law and refused to help the angry widow, but Aurora, who was standing on the threshold of the dungeon cell, was nevertheless released.

She understood that her only chance to survive in a world where even her mother was not her friend and support was marriage.

“You can explain to others why you married your husband, but you cannot convince yourself of this”

The young officer, Baron Casimir Dudevant, whom they met while visiting mutual friends, did not promise Aurora romantic love, but offered marriage, care and strong friendship - a wonderful gift for someone who does not hope to get more out of life. For Casimir, this marriage was also beneficial. He was supposed to receive an inheritance one day, but obviously not very soon: he was the illegitimate son of a wealthy father, so the state of his parent first went to Casimir's stepmother, and after her death passed to him - these were the conditions of his father's will.

The estate, rent and hotel in Paris, left by grandmother Aurora, were supposed to brighten up the family life of the Dudevans.

Are marriage vows and common children enough for family life? Not always. There were two children: in the first year of marriage, Maurice was born, four years later - Solange. But the relationship did not go well: At true love, which is not forbidden to dream about, the husband would not come up with reasons for constant absences. And if necessity made separation inevitable, then the love experienced by both at the return would become stronger. Separation should strengthen attachment. But when one of the two spouses eagerly seeks reasons for separation, this is a lesson in philosophy and humility for the other. Great lesson but chilling", - wrote Aurora. Casimir liked to drink in the company of friends (in this he became close friends with Aurora's half-brother Ippolit), hunting and the status of a landowner (the fact that he ran the household badly did not diminish the pleasure). Aurora loved books, intellectual communication, self-improvement and music; Casimir became painfully bewildered and equally avoided the sounds of the piano, intelligent conversations and the library. Aurora made every effort to fit her husband and share his interests, but at the same time she felt that she was losing herself.

Casimir failed to wake up a woman in his wife: obviously, he was so rude in bed that years later, George Sand wrote to her brother, who was about to marry her daughter: “ Don't let your son-in-law get rough on your wedding night with your daughter. (...) men cannot understand in any way that this entertainment is torture for us. Tell him to be careful about his pleasures and wait until his wife, little by little, with his help, begins to understand them and can answer him. There is nothing more terrible than the fear, suffering and disgust of an innocent child defiled by a rude animal. We raise our daughters like saints, and then, by chance, like fillies ... ". Although Aurora never refused her husband, he was disappointed by her lack of ardor in simple pleasures, and soon he had two servant mistresses right in his wife's house, not to mention connections on the side.

Aurora thought little about the sexual side of life, but spiritual loneliness and lack of feelings (what young woman does not want love?) Tormented her. Four years later, Baroness Dudevant fell in love. But she had strong ideas of honor and loyalty: having responded to the love of the assistant prosecutor Aurélien de Seza, she explained that she could only give him feelings and friendship, but not a sexual connection. She told her husband that she was unhappy, that she had fallen in love, but that she would be faithful. Inexperienced and full of ideal ideas about life, Aurora offered Casimir a plan to strengthen the marriage, a whole strategy with which he could regain her interest: joint readings, conversations, discussions of life. But a person can change only if he himself deeply wants this, and it is pointless to count on such changes - this is a voluntary gift. Casimir wanted to keep his wife, but not to change himself. The idea of ​​sublime platonic love between an adult man and woman looks extremely naive. George Sand herself will write a merciless epitaph to such relations: There is not a single man in the world who is able to be satisfied for a long time only with the soul of a woman.". However, what is considered a long time? An absolutely platonic romance with de Seze lasted six years, not so little.

By the end of this period, Aurora learned that her husband had numerous mistresses and that he despises her: “Looking for something in Casimir's secretary, I suddenly find a package in my name. This package had a very formal look, which struck me. On it was the inscription: Open only after my death. I did not praise the patience to wait until I become a widow ... Since the package is addressed to me, it means that I have the right to open it without committing immodesty; and as my husband is in good health, I can read his will in cold blood. Oh my God! Well, testament! Only curses, nothing else! He collected here all his outbursts of anger, all his rage against me, all his reasoning about my depravity, all his contempt for my essence. And he left this to me as a pledge of his tenderness. I felt like I was dreaming! After all, until now I always consciously did not notice his contempt for me. The reading of this letter finally awakened me from my sleep. I told myself that living with a man who had neither respect nor trust in his wife was like hoping to resurrect the dead. My decision was made, and I can say with confidence - irrevocably ... "

"The roads leading to art are full of thorns, but they manage to pluck beautiful flowers"

Aurora Dudevant left her husband everything she owned, demanded a small rent from Noan's income and went to Paris: she wanted to meet significant people, to become familiar with the world of high culture. Casimir, with an inconsistency surprising for his attitude towards his wife, sobbed and was indignant. Hippolyte reassured his drinking buddy: Aurora is an impractical dreamer, she will soon fail and crawl to the doorstep. It wasn't there. The rent allocated by Casimir was not enough, having tried to earn money by translations, coloring boxes and drawing (all this worked out well, but did not bring enough income), Aurora began to write articles for the Le Figaro newspaper, and soon created novels. First her literary work the publisher rejected it with contempt: without any self-pity or debilitating despair, Madame Dudevant took on the next one. Natural character, grandmother's hardening and Christian mentorship of the abbot gave her unshakable optimism. Fell? Get up and try again. Many times her ability to keep the joy of life even in great sorrow will cause condemnation from ill-wishers. After a terrible ordeal - the death of his beloved granddaughter - George Sand will admire nature, seek solace in creativity and communication with loved ones, enjoy the little things. " What a misfortune! - she will write about the death of the baby. - And yet I demand, I order to have a second child, because one must love, one must suffer, one must cry, hope, create ... " That she was just a literary failure? She only set to work more resolutely: they are creating the novel “Rose and Blanche” with Jules Sando. An ardent young man has achieved a love affair with Aurora.

Envious "girlfriends", abandoned lovers, rejected admirers, sparing no black paint, will portray George Sand as an insatiable siren, luring and destroying men. Out of spiritual malice or out of love for gossip, they will be echoed by people who are rather poorly acquainted with the writer. So, fellow worker Felix Pia wrote about her: “ She is like the Nelskaya Tower: she devours her lovers, but instead of throwing them into the river later, she puts them into her novels.».

In fact, George Sand's lovers can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Most often, a strong maternal instinct pushed her to bond with a man - she reciprocated weak men whom she wanted to give care and guardianship. However, she usually made a huge mistake: she hoped to combine the role of a lover with the role of a spiritual mentor. If the relationship between a woman playing the role of a mother and a man playing the role of a son can be long-lasting, then the guru and the mistress are very poorly compatible incarnations. In addition, Aurora hoped to change her men, while a person must either be accepted as he is, or leave the relationship without accusations.

Jules Sando was the first mistake of its kind. Besides, this young boy was no better lover than Casimir, perhaps less rude. The joint literary work was signed "Jules Sand", but the next - independent - work that needed a pseudonym Aurora signed "Georges Sand" (her husband's stepmother said she did not want to see her last name on the covers of novels). For a long time, readers did not know that a woman was hiding behind this name, bold books were attributed to a man.

Shortly after moving to Paris, George Sand took first her daughter, and later her son. She loved children very much, always gave them a lot of time, read to them, took them for long walks, played with them and studied diligently, instilling in them a love of history, literature, languages ​​and music.

“Labor is not a punishment; it is reward and power, glory and delight"

In Paris, George Sand returned to the men's suits familiar from her youth. Oddly enough, it was a tribute to convenience, and not outrageous or skillful self-promotion: “ On the pavements of Paris, I felt like a stranded cancer. My thin shoes wore out in two days: I did not know how to pick up a dress, got dirty in the mud, got tired, caught a cold; my velvet hats constantly fell under the streams of water from the drainpipes, my dresses were spoiled and torn with terrifying speed". Strong men's shoes lined with nails, comfortable and durable men's clothing made of thick cloth, which was much easier to forgive shabby than women's outfits, became a way out. In addition, men's clothing allowed Georges to sit with friends in the stalls of the theater (ladies by status had to be in the boxes), to be a frequenter of the cafe and not be afraid to walk the streets at any time of the day.

« Despite the troubles that sometimes happen in it, despite the days of laziness and fatigue that sometimes interrupt my work, despite my more than modest life in Paris, I feel that from now on my existence is meaningful. I have a goal, a task, to put it bluntly: passion. The craft of writing is a frantic, indestructible passion. If she takes possession of some unfortunate person, he cannot get rid of her ... " Sand wrote. Her first novel, Indiana, tells about a girl who did not find happiness either in marriage with a rude husband or in connection with a lover, but who found herself in full spiritual intimacy and altruism in union with an old friend, made a splash. Newspapers were full of rave reviews: I don't know of anything that was written so simply, so delightfully conceived. Events follow one after another, push each other, artlessly, as in life, where everything collides, where often by chance more tragedies occur than Shakespeare could have imagined. In a word, the success of the book is guaranteed ...." There was also enough criticism, mostly not of a literary but of a moral nature.

The next work, "Valentina", where the love story of an aristocrat for a noble peasant teaches the superiority of honest work over thoughtless idleness, was also extremely popular.

In general, as a writer, George Sand did not know a single failure: she skillfully felt the era, her experiences and aspirations coincided with what could give food to the minds and hearts of readers, so even the works of the “great Georges” that were not the most successful from a literary point of view were doomed for success. Perhaps her most famous works are Lelia and Consuelo. “Lelia” can rather be called a philosophical manifesto than a novel: this story came out with two different endings - in one, the mystically tuned, but disappointed in love, Lelia dies under the weight of her own pessimism and moral weakness, in the other, written later, the life-affirming beginning still wins .

In this text, Sand expressed her feelings so much that her friends often called her Lelia.

In "Consuelo" there is enough of both a romantic entourage (it was not for nothing that it was written in one of the happiest moments of Sand's life, and the beautiful and exotic abandoned monastery in Mallorca became the place of writing) and love intrigue. Today, "Consuelo" is often called "A book for the very young at heart and soul."

“Envious souls tend to hate people because they supposedly take away their happiness”

Jules Sando began to cheat on his girlfriend, and Georges broke up with him without regret. He did not forgive this "betrayal" until the end of his days, pouring out anger and contempt on the head of his "treacherous lover". Following the abandoned lover, rumor attributed non-existent novels to the writer, gossip was fueled by her pure friendship with a number of men, including famous ones. Georges felt calm and serene: all her life she easily treated slander. " If anyone asks you what you think of the cruel Lelia, answer one thing: she does not feed on sea water and the blood of men..." - she once said in a conversation with a friend.

She was a thoughtful woman, more interesting in correspondence than in personal conversations, more fond of listening than talking. It is always difficult to say whether a woman who once lived was beautiful, portraits convey neither dynamics nor charm, descriptions are biased. Creating them, someone is blinded by love, someone by fame, and someone draws a caricature to lull the vigilance of his beloved in relation to a potential rival.

Soon Sand had a new "victim" - the writer Alfred Musset. He drank uncontrollably, used opium and learned "love pleasures before love." After a year of friendship, the young man confessed his love to Sand. She returned his feelings, hoping that she could distract him from the self-destructive life of a reveler and drunkard. Good intentions led straight to hell for two, which began as a romantic trip to Italy.

In the 20th century, the "red count" Alexei Tolstoy, the author of "Pinocchio" and "Walking through the torments", was famous for being able to work in absolutely any conditions and did it every day, regardless of his state of mind or the events that took place. A century before him, the Frenchwoman George Sand, who put the constancy of work above the whims of the muse, spent 8 hours every day at her desk, giving birth to 20 pages of prose daily. Musset did not understand this approach: they are on a journey! They are having an affair! And in general, he has no inspiration today! George Sand did not understand these words.

But she understood that the manuscripts had to be handed in on time, and she always found time for the children. In addition, at some point, Sand fell ill with a fever. Needless to say, Musset was disappointed. Like many alcohol lovers, disappointment turned into a binge, and the binge turned into adventures around Venice. Sand was ill and worked in a hotel. Musset reveled in the worst traditions of Casimir. Her recovery coincided with his illness: a nervous fever caused by extreme excesses brought the writer literally to the brink of death. Georges, who easily forgave any evil, especially to people in trouble, did not leave the patient's bed. After his betrayals and insults (he called Sand a fool, the embodiment of boredom, rudely reproached her for sexual imperfection), she no longer considered herself a Musset woman, but he was still her friend. Dr. Pietro Pagello, who cured Sand, also saved Musset. But during the weeks that the young writer was on the verge of death, Georges began an affair with his doctor. This episode causes the most accusations of debauchery, although Georges no longer had any moral obligations to Musset. It was only natural that she wanted to lean on someone's hand in a foreign country.

The romance with Pietro turned out to be short-lived: they did not suit each other too much in terms of lifestyle. Dr. Pagello happily married and until the end of his days fondly remembered his great lover.

Alfred Musset tried to return Georges, but each time the case broke not about her heartlessness, but about his return to drunkenness and opium. After the final parting, Musset wrote several beautiful letters and poems dedicated to George Sand, and asked her for forgiveness in the novel Confessions of a Son of the Century, in which he presented the beloved of the lyrical hero written off from Sand as a beautiful woman full of dignity, before whom he is very guilty.

There were, however, people (and not a few) who until the end of their days accused Sand of leaving Alfred. So, Paul Musset assured that it broke the heart and hastened the death of his brother. In fairness, it should be said that after parting with Sand Musset, he lived for 24 years, still indulging in unbridled drinking and romance.

“Oh, how many things happen between lovers that only they can judge”

1837. George Sand had divorced her husband a few years before: My profession is freedom, my desire is not to receive mercy or alms from anyone, even when they help me with my own money.... "She writes a lot, she has an active disposition, which allows her to be interested in mysticism, politics (the writer was seriously passionate about Christian socialism), do charity work, support and instruct beginner pen brethren, conduct extensive correspondence and communicate a lot with friends. Having regained her grandmother's estate, George Sand proved to be a good housewife: her lands, almost ruined by her ex-husband, began to generate income. The children grew up receiving an excellent education.

At this time, her friend composer Franz Liszt introduced Sand to another great musician, Frederic Chopin. It was hard to imagine people more different. Chopin was a suspicious, subtle, sensitive person. He often had bouts of melancholy, reaching depression, reinforced by progressive consumption, separation from his beloved homeland - Poland and parting with his adored parents and sisters. Chopin found it difficult to get along with people, any trifle could cause him extreme disappointment and strong anger. His loves were ephemeral and platonic: he was soon overtaken by disappointment. So, once he instantly fell out of love with a girl whom he was very passionate about, because she first offered to sit down to his friend, and only then to Chopin himself. Chopin attached great importance to decency, class distinctions and etiquette, was extremely restrained in the manifestation of feelings, and expressed anger with malicious irony. Such a person was destined to deeply love a woman who laughed at conventions, wore men's clothes, made friends with a wide variety of people, from aristocrats to the poor, and believed that the main thing in life was to be herself and go her own way without changing her sincerity.

George Sand answered him with perhaps the strongest love in her life: “ He is unfailingly kind, like an angel. If I didn’t have his wonderful, sensitive friendship, I would often lose courage ”; “He is still the sweetest, most mysterious, most modest of all brilliant people ...”

She wanted to take care - Chopin needed care: he was madly in love with his mother and wanted to find her in his beloved - she always gravitated towards maternal custody of her men. When they met, his friends thought he was dying, but Sand's care extended his life and improved his health. He was brilliant, she knew how to appreciate it. George Sand perfectly understood music and knew how to inspire Chopin; it was not for nothing that he wrote his best works during the ten years of his life with her. Both valued their creativity and worked for a long time, not only not interfering with each other, but also supporting each other. There was a lot of poetry in their affectionate relationship. Listening to the stories of Georges, Chopin exclaimed:

- How well you spoke!

“Put my words to music,” she answered.

If George Sand fell ill, Chopin looked after her touchingly. Chopin's failing health and the French brothels about the carnal side of love made him less of an ardent lover. George Sand, desperate to get physical pleasure with a man, no longer needed it, she willingly protected Chopin from unnecessary stress.

Over the years, Georges learned to accept men for who they are, she did not try to remake Chopin. He was annoyed by many things: she smoothed the corners, not accepting at home unpleasant acquaintances, trying not to pester him with her unbridled energy, which he could not understand. In moments of bad mood, he could always count on her cheerful strength and understanding. " Affectionate, cheerful, charming in society - in an intimate setting, the sick Chopin drove his loved ones to despair ... He had heightened sensitivity: a bent rose petal, a shadow from a fly - everything inflicted a deep wound on him. Everything was antipathetic to him, everything irritated him under the sky of Spain. Everyone but me and my children».

With age, any person (unless he makes special efforts to reverse) usually becomes worse, not better than he was: Chopin's character deteriorated. The course of his tuberculosis, although it slowed down, did not stop, the disease worsened his temper even more. It is very difficult to live with a person who is constantly in a depressed mood, and if this person is also far from meek, the matter is even more complicated.

In addition, over the years, Chopin was less and less interested in both the novels of George Sand and her other activities: she still delved into his work.

However, most likely, their union would have lasted longer, but the “third child of Chopin” (as Sand called him) encroached on her relationship with her first child, her son Maurice. Great composer harassed household bouts of blues and angry attacks. " Teases everyone more than usual, finds fault with everyone because of trifles. It's funny to me. Mademoiselle de Rosieres is crying because of this. Solange snaps at his barbs...." - and the grown-up young man Maurice could not understand why he should put up with this, and once he put the question point-blank: either I, or Chopin. It was not for nothing that Georges once wrote to her mother: The universe doesn't bother me much, I worry about Maurice and Solange". If the universe had no chance in choosing between her and Maurice, then Chopin had none left.

The case could have ended simply with separation, but Solange intervened in the conflict between the writer and the composer. Daughter George Sand grew up as an emotional and determined girl, who, however, did not inherit her mother's charm, talents, or good nature. Solange loved to sow discord, play people off, and enjoy her power as a manipulator. When Chopin moved to Paris, Solange and her young husband often visited him and diligently fanned the conflict. Having quarreled with her daughter, Georges set a condition for all her friends: not to communicate with Solange. Chopin chose the stepdaughter, not Georges.

He died two years after parting with the main woman of his life. Before his death, Chopin, bitterly remembering George Sand, whispered: “ She promised that I would die in her arms". But friends, fearing to disturb the dying, did not let her visit her former lover.

“Our life consists of love, and not to love means not to live”

After her passion for and bitter disappointment with the 1848 revolution, George Sand, with her charm and literary authority, helped many victims of the defeated coup - whether they were exiles or prisoners - to return to their families. She lived in Nohant, continued to write and was still loved by readers and viewers: some of her works were adapted for the theater (although they turned out to be much weaker than her novels).

A very uneven relationship with his daughter was compensated by the most tender friendship with his son, moreover, Maurice successfully married Carolina Calamatta, a girl who loved Georges with all her heart. Sand adored her grandchildren, rejoiced in her friendship with young people, of whom there were many in the house. When she was closer to 50, her last lover entered her life - the kindest and most devoted of all. It was a talented engraver Alexander Manso, a friend of her son. The big difference in age did not interfere with the relationship, and the amazing commonality of tastes and spiritual intimacy brought great joy to both. Sand wrote about him: Here is a person you can respect without fear of disappointment. This being is love itself, devotion itself! It is very possible that the twelve years that I spent with him from morning to evening reconciled me in the end with the human race ...." He did not leave it until his death: like Chopin. Manso died of consumption. Unlike the composer, he died in the arms of Georges. ... In a letter, Dumas Georges said: “I have very comforting and even cheerful thoughts about death, and I hope that I have earned happiness in my future life. I have spent many hours of my life looking at the growing grass or at the calm large stones at moonlight. I so merged with the existence of these mute objects, which are considered inanimate, that I began to feel in myself their quiet sleepiness. And suddenly, in moments of such stupefaction, an enthusiastic and passionate impulse arose in my heart for whatever it was, who created these two great things: life and rest, activity and sleep. This belief that the All-Encompassing One is bigger, more beautiful, stronger and better than each of us allows us to dwell in the dream that you call the illusions of youth, and I call the ideal, that is, the ability to see the truth hidden behind the appearance of a miserable dome of heaven. I am an optimist in spite of all that I have suffered, this is perhaps my only quality.

After a severe ten-day illness, George Sand died surrounded by loved ones. She was 72 years old. Loving people, fellow writers and Prince Jerome Bonaparte followed her coffin.