Sand - George Sand

A French female writer. Her real name was Aurore Dupin, and after her marriage she became Baroness Dudevant. Her pen name comes from Georges, which means "peasant," and Sandeau, her lover and co-writer at the time of her literary debut. She was born in Paris on July 1, 1804, but grew up in Nohant, Berry, on her paternal grandmother's estate. Even after she began her career as a writer and moved to Paris, Nohant was always her "hometown." Born into an ill-matched marriage between her father, a soldier of royal blood, and her mother, the daughter of a bird seller, she lived a turbulent life. Her father died in an accident when she was four years old, and then there was a feud between her grandmother and her mother, who were of different social classes and tastes, and she was separated from her mother. Through these childhood experiences, she developed a desire for equality and a tendency to pursue love, and she found her only rest in the countryside. She married at the age of 18, but was disappointed in her husband, who was rough and intellectually inferior, and separated from him despite having two children. While becoming independent as a writer, she went on a series of "romantic journeys." Her most famous trips were to Venice with the romantic poet Musset and to Mallorca with the composer Chopin. Sand's "affairs," with her ten lovers, were completely at odds with existing morality, but from her perspective they were merely the result of her actions in search of true love.

As a writer, she was prolific, leaving behind over 70 novels, over 20 plays, several hundred essays, and 30,000 letters. Her career as a writer is usually divided into four periods. The first was a period dominated by feminism, and she produced works such as "Indiana" (1832), "Lélia" (1833), and "Moplat" (1837). The second period was a time when she resonated with the socialist movement of Lamune and Pierre Leroux (1797-1871), and she produced works such as "The Apprentice Travelling in France" (1840) and "The Mill at Angibault" (1845). This was also the period when she produced her masterpiece "Consuelo" (1842-43), which made use of her musical training and mystical tendencies. The third period was the so-called pastoral novel period, in which she expressed her dreams of republicanism and her love for the peasants, and she best displayed her talent with works such as The Devil's Marsh (1846), François the Foundling (1847), The Fairy of Love (1848), and The Flute Masters (1853). The fourth period was when she lived as the "lady of Nohant" after her dreams of republican politics, which she had placed her hopes in on the February Revolution of 1848, were shattered, and she wrote her autobiography My Life (1854), Country Legends (1858), and Grandmother's Tales (1873-75), which she dedicated to her granddaughters. In her later years, she formed friendships with Flaubert and Turgenev, and studied "nature," achieving a state of mind that allowed her to transcend herself. She died on June 8, 1876.

[Akiko Osaki]

"Anziana and The Devil's Marsh, translated by Sugi Katsuo (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "George Sand, written by Andre Mauroy, translated by Kawamori Yoshizo and Shimada Masaharu (1954, Shinchosha)" ▽ "George Sand: A Biography, written by Nagatsuka Ryuji (1977, Yomiuri Shimbun)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの女流作家。本名オーロール・デュパンAurore Dupin、結婚後はデュドゥバン男爵夫人baronne Dudevant。筆名は語源的に「農民」を意味するジョルジュと、文壇にデビューした当時の愛人で共同執筆者サンドーに由来する。1804年7月1日パリに生まれたが、父方の祖母の領地ベリー地方ノアンで育ち、作家生活に入ってパリ暮らしをするようになってもノアンはつねに「故郷」の地であった。父は王家の血を引く軍人、母は小鳥屋の娘という、いわば不つり合いな結婚から生まれ、波瀾(はらん)の生涯を送る。4歳で父の事故死、続いて階級も好みも異なる祖母と母の確執、母との離別などの幼時体験のなかで、平等への願い、愛を追い求める傾向を強めてゆくとともに、唯一の憩いを田園にみいだす。18歳で結婚するが、粗野で知的にも劣った夫に失望、2人の子がありながら別居、作家として自立しつつ「愛の遍歴」を重ねる。なかでもロマン派の詩人ミュッセとのベネチア行き、作曲家ショパンとのマジョルカ島行きが名高い。十指に及ぶ愛人たちとの「事件」は既存の道徳とまったく相いれないものであったが、サンドにしてみれば、真の愛を求めて行動した結果にすぎない。

　作家としては多産で、小説70余編、劇作品20余編、数百編のエッセイ類のほか、3万通に及ぶ書簡を残した。その作家活動は通常4期に分けられる。第1期はフェミニスム（女権拡張）を基調とする時期で、『アンディアナ』（1832）、『レリア』（1833）、『モープラ』（1837）など。第2期はラムネやピエール・ルルーPierre Leroux（1797―1871）らの社会主義運動に共鳴した時期で、『フランス遍歴の修業職人』（1840）、『アンジボーの粉挽(ひ)き』（1845）など。またこの時期に音楽的素養と神秘主義的傾向を生かした大作『コンスュエロ』（1842～43）がある。第3期は共和主義への夢と農民への愛を作品化したいわゆる田園小説の時期で、『魔の沼』（1846）、『棄(す)て子フランソワ』（1847）、『愛の妖精(ようせい)』（1848）、『笛師のむれ』（1853）など、彼女の才能がもっとも発揮された分野である。第4期は1848年の二月革命に託した共和主義政治への夢破れたのち、「ノアンの奥方」として暮らした時期で、自伝『わが生涯』（1854）、『田舎(いなか)の伝説集』（1858）、孫娘たちに献(ささ)げた『おばあさまのお話』（1873～75）などがある。晩年はフロベール、ツルゲーネフらと友情を結び、「自然」を学んで自分を超えてゆく境地を獲得するに至った。76年6月8日没。

［大崎明子］

『杉捷夫訳『アンヂアナ』『魔の沼』（岩波文庫）』▽『アンドレ・モロワ著、河盛好蔵・島田昌治訳『ジョルジュ・サンド』（1954・新潮社）』▽『長塚隆二著『ジョルジュ・サンド評伝』（1977・読売新聞社）』

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