Arts & Entertainment, Literature
George Sand: biography of the writer. Novels and the personal life of Aurora Dupin
A wealthy baroness born to preserve the age-old traditions, but disdained the opinion of society and her whole life openly rebelled against his foundations-that was Amandina Aurora Lucille Dupin, who entered the world history with a firm step under the modest pseudonym of George Sand.
The prerequisites for such a vital position were formed long before the birth of the Aurora and were aggravated by the events that occurred in her early childhood.
Notable ancestors
Among her great-grandfathers is the King of Poland, who parted with his mistress Maria-Aurora before the birth of Moritz's son, but took an active part in his upbringing and helped his career. In turn, Moritz of Saxony had many mistresses, one of whom produced Maria Aurora. However, he did not hurry to call her his daughter. Official recognition of the girl obtained only after the death of his father. She twice successfully married and soon remained a widow with her son in her arms and an impressive condition. This is the son and became the father of a future writer of world renown.
Parents
To the great displeasure of the mother, Maurice Dupin associated his life with a woman of philistine origin. Sophie-Victoria Delabord was once a dancer and had a bad reputation. For a long time, Maria-Aurora refused to recognize this marriage and did not even want to see her grandchildren. Sophie-Victoria gave birth to Maurice two children - Aurora and Auguste. But the boy died of the disease in infancy.
The sudden death of Maurice, as a result of an accident, forced the relentless Maria-Aurora to reconsider her attitude toward the little granddaughter, so similar to her son. Mrs. Dupin decided to raise the girl as a real lady and presented an ultimatum to the daughter-in-law - either she leaves the estate, giving guardianship to her mother-in-law, or Aurora remains without an inheritance.
Sophie-Victoria chose the first and went to Paris to arrange her personal life. This break was a trauma for a little girl. She was only four years old when she lost her father, and now she was also separated from her mother, whom she loved fervently. And although they continued to see occasionally, Sophie-Victoria never became a friend, a defender, or an adviser to her daughter. So from a young age Aurora had to learn to rely on themselves and make their own decisions.
Youth
When the girl was 14 years old, her grandmother, as was then accepted, sent her to a boarding house at the monastery for training. Here, the impressionable Aurora was imbued with interest in the unknown spiritual world. She had a tenacious mind, and she enthusiastically read out books available in the monastery.
And at this time, her grandmother had his first stroke. Afraid that in case of her death the young heiress will follow in the footsteps of his mother, Maria-Aurora decides to urgently marry her and takes her from the monastery.
But no matter how young this child was, she decided against marriage with determination, and soon Maria-Aurora gave up her plans. Since then, the biography of George Sand has been written on the expanses of history in her own firm handwriting.
Thus, the sixteen-year-old wealthy heiress returned to her estate in Noan, where she spent time reading books of fashionable at that time Chateaubriand, Pascal, Aristotle, and other philosophers.
Young Aurora was very fond of riding. She dressed in a man's dress and made long walks in the vicinity of Noana. In those days it was considered an outrageous behavior, but the girl did not care until idle gossip.
Independent life
At eighteen years old, after the death of her grandmother, Aurora married Casimir Dudevan. She could not build a happy marriage - she had too different interests with her husband. She gave birth to his son, but after a while began to get lovers.
In 1831 Aurora moved to another passion, Jules Sando, to Paris. It is he who will become responsible for her pseudonym - George Sand. To provide herself in Paris, the lady decides to start serious literary activity.
The first novels - "Commissioner" and "Rose and Blanche" were co-written with Jules Sando and signed by his name, as noble relatives did not want to see the name Dudevan on the cover of the book. The works were a success, and Aurora decided to try their hand at independent work. So the novel "Indiana" appeared.
Sando refused to accept undeserved laurels. And the publishers, on the contrary, insisted that the book should be sold only with the signature of the author who loved the public. And then Aurora decided to remove one letter from the surname and add the man's name. This is how the so-called pseudonym of Aurora Dupin appeared - Georges Sand.
Having moved to Paris, the young writer at first was somewhat cramped in the media. Perhaps this is what originally explained her manner of wearing a man's dress. It was warmer, more comfortable, and approached different cases of life. However, later, already being famous and rich, Aurora never gave up such dresses.
Moreover, she soon began to give preference to the pseudonym of Georges in personal conversations, instead of the woman's name Aurora. This gave rise to a lot of gossip about her sexual orientation.
Literary recognition
Starting with the work "Indiana" and up to the last written line, George Sand's novels invariably caused mixed reactions from readers. One can say with certainty - they did not leave anyone indifferent. Many admired them, even more - they criticized.
The writer raised the burning themes on the pages of her books. She wrote about the oppression of women, bound by obsolete social norms. She called for struggle and victory, which could not but find a response in a society agitated by revolutionary ideas ...
Star affair
The popular writer had many lovers. However, the most famous was a young talented pianist. Frederic Chopin and George Sand lived together for more than nine years. However, this connection can hardly be called happy. Constantly sick and immersed in his work, Frederic needed a nurse rather than a mistress. And soon Sand began to play for him the role of a caring mother, and not a companion of life.
With this approach, these relations were doomed. However, according to critics, their best works, both Chopin and Sand, were written during the period of their life together.
Literary heritage
The contribution of an industrious writer to literature is difficult to overestimate. For several decades of her creative work she wrote more than a hundred novels and novels, a huge number of journalistic articles, compiled a multi-volume autobiography and composed 18 dramas. In addition, more than 18 thousand personal letters George Sand. Books written by her, are popular until now.
However, it's not just about quantity. At the very beginning of his career, Sand independently developed a completely new literary genre - a romantic psychological novel. It is characterized by the fact that it minimizes the number of actors and events, and focuses on the experiences of the characters.
Brilliant examples of this genre are Consuelo, Countess Rudolstadt, She and He.
The last 25 years of life, George Sand held at his estate in Noana. She continues to write, but the novels that emerge from her pen during this period are no longer shining with the fervor and desire for struggle that characterized the works of the 1830s. Age and isolation from secular life make themselves felt.
Now Sand writes more about the charm of rural life, about quiet pastoral love in the bosom of nature. She leaves aside the social problems that she so much loved before, and focuses on the small inner world of her characters.
George Sand died in 1876 at the age of 72 years. By that time, her literary fame had already become firmly established not only in France, but also far beyond its borders. Along with Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens, George Sand is called the greatest humanist of his time. And no wonder, because she was able to carry through all of his works the ideas of mercy and compassion.
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