The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-06-10
aEoRGB SAND.
Her Life and Her Works.

With the exceptions OF VOltatre ana Jean
Jacques Rousseau, there has not been 10 France
a writer whose works and ideas were more mis-
understood and misintcrpreted than those Of
George Sand. After che had been writing for
more than quarter OF a century. and when her
| reputation and Influence at home were In their
| spoeee, there were still countries where her
name was Identified with everything immoral
and blasphemous-snd this not among the
mass OF the people. but among the rep
| resentatives OF the intellectual classes. Up to
| ate day In England, aud partly even In this
| county, favorable criticism on any OF George
| Sands works was almost impossible; and no
publisher with pretensions to respectability
| seemed willing to produce translation Of her
works, with perhaps one or two exceptions,
| as, for instance, q novel like "Consuelo."
With tne Latin race and with the Russians and
| the Poles, George Sand became popular from
the very beRinuidu OF her literary career. There
| Ia not we'll educated man Ia Spain, Italy or
Russia who has not devoured her romanoes In
his younger days, and upon whose development
| she has not exercised n powerful influence.
There 10 no educated woman, either, whom she
did not cause to shed tears when erlhood was
| passed and the parental prohibition Of reading
| these novels had been removed.
With the Anglo Saxon race, and with.tb Ger
mans, the case was quite different. For the
mass OF the Germans she remained for long
| time unknown from the simple want OF good
| translation. They were. besides, too proud Of
| their own poets and romancers to ao-
| knowledge talent In the writers Of the coun-
| try with which they had recently concluded q
war, and toward which they felt a profound
| hatred. Yet men of the intellect OF Borne or
| Heine. who did not heed any translation, and
| who stood above petty patriotism, gave full JUS
tlce to the genius of this French writer. as
| they did to all the others. They both placed
| her far above any Of the German novel writers
| then living.
| Her failure with the English 10 attributable to
| quite a different reason. From the very start a
bad name was given to her by the Quarterly Re.
| pteip the then great organ OF the ultra Tory
party. Probably nobody IN Eogland, except the
writer OF that review, had then read any OF her
| productions; but that writer had concluded
| from some Of them that George sand was in
| cned to nnd fault with the clergy, with tho in
| stitution of indissoluble mstrimony, and with
despotism In government. This was deemed
reason enough for declaring her to be one Of the
| most immoral and irreigious writer's. The fact
| Of her being a woman, and Young woman. too,
| only increased her guilt and when subsequently
| people heard the rumor Of her divorce and the
| accounts Of other particulars Of her Ma her
| name became opprobrious.
How profoundly these literary ISLANDERS
wounded George Sand can be seen in many of
her works, and especially in her memoirs and
10 the "Lettres dun voyageur;'
Nobody has been more illtreated or more cslumni-
ana nore surns 70 the nope Of divine justice sns 90
% oue oo and oe 20 %
s1 soSs.nsd or ad uoaVe sye lseas
no d;so'sns S, md no ,1sSs ss15Sn' nod s,aga
rseS hs. not BEEN used TO poIIsre his ns2e
Since that moment could not say word, could not
stsa,ious being subjected to yilss nerprs,soes
%9 ad ne soS aa %e S ssS
eSistsnce OF acScsl peooeS Is il then really that
Tue muo thrown At them2 oni Lord. Lord wha. are
the osos yet eihsins o Il. %o,hefs Ursst and
when you make y9ns ,,ke care OF sae
10 ee shattered aud .r9aden unae, foot " the
ioreheaa hss been wrnsicd by reection aud sanerss
then less precious 70 you tasn the ye, psr' and an
mighty throw glance. listen for moment. and do
| justice.
| Passages like this have been called blaspho-
nous; but they certainly do not show that the
| author disbelieved In the existence OF God. In
the " Historic de ma Vie George Sand dispels all
| doubt that might still exist with reference TO
her religious feelings;
forms have me hslt OF reflection vanished fol
ie,as, ec,rnes Of the Seeyers,he aoctriues ~ The
erciful God Of the immortal soul ana o. the hope OF
future life have resisted ali anayss all discussion, and
| even ali occasional desperate doubts.
The accusation Of immortality against George
Sands writings has been long since Withdrawn,
especially by those familiar with the more re-
cent productions Of popular Partisan novel writ
ers like Adolphe Belot, for instance. Chateau
brand was once cruel enough to say that the
talent Of Geores Sand had its root Ia moral cor
ruption, and that she would become common
place II she tried TO be timorous." But III
changed his opinion when he became more IA
mihar with her ideas, and found tina,
she never rendered vice attractive. Her
talent originated In tho sunerings, which
she endured as a child, as girl, and as
woman. The disappointments Of subsequen
years added fresh material Of the same nature
| but II may be admitted that, whatever Georc
Sand wrote, she had always before her the idea
OF good, of Justice. OF love. and OF art rs tn
| sovereign reRenerators Of humanity. The dis
advantage under which she worked was tina
I she had to speak too much OF her own expe
riences, and that these experiences wer
| such as are ordinarily concealed. Bat yet with
4 | out them she would not have been what she wal
| or have written what she did. Mr.. q. II. Lewe
says, mo man could have written her book
| for no man could have had her experience, eve
with a genius equal to her own. Both phloso
pher aud critic must perceive that these writing
D OF hers original, are genuine. are transcript
= Of experience, and rs such fuinl the primar
e conditions Of all literature" Had Nine. DudevIr
= been born and brought up In England In the eli
i Gums tances in which Mrs. G.. II. Lewes wa
n brought up, she would probably nave become
d George Eliot, and would have written 81 Fell
l. Holt" instead of Jacques" or "Meunl'
Q d'Anglbault." And had Mrs. q. II. Lewes bee
o brought under the influences which surrounde
: Madame Dudevant, she would probably hay
u herself become George Sand POSSIBLY sligh
Il ly modified onc), and would probably have bee
o writing something very different from "Bi'
o dlemarch" OF "Danel Deronda."
Is This is not the place to enter into anythlr
like a criticism OF the voluminous works whic
| George sand mas left behind her. Their analysi
u as well as full biography OF her life, will /
o written more than once, and will form volum,
" and volumes. Some of her novels will be cor
Is demned-those written In haste for the sake
u making money, OF which she was so II
70 quently In need. Her dramatic production
n with perhaps the exception OF lie Ma
III quis de Wiener" and "Le Marriage