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Rating: 
Summary: Doll house
Review: George Sand (nee Amantine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin) is the kind of name I've seen in the novels of more famous writers and in the footnotes of those novels, but her own suffer from a lack of visibility on the shelves of libraries and bookstores nowadays. Reading her early novel "Indiana," I see why she was so popular and influential in her era (admirers included George Eliot and Henry James); although she is not the equal of her contemporaries Hugo and Flaubert, her writing has plenty of momentum and is pervaded by an unprecedented psychological awareness that seems well ahead of its time.
On the surface, "Indiana" is about loveless marriage, illicit romance, and the violence that results; but the characters are much more compelling and the narrative is more surprising than such a description might imply. Sand's titular heroine, whose unusual name refers not to Hoosier enthusiasm but to her birthplace of a French colonial island in the Indian Ocean, is the nineteen-year-old wife of the wealthy industrialist Colonel Delmare, a crusty, callous retired soldier old enough to be her father, who has a nice country house in Brie. The marriage was arranged, of course, and Indiana is miserable practically to the point of physical illness. That her dog is named Ophelia seems to emphasize the general despair the novel has for the feminine state.
There are two other important men in Indiana's life. One is her cousin Sir Ralph, an English baronet, who, trying to overcome a past filled with heartbreak, is protective of her but makes a valiant effort to remain friendly with her imperious husband. The other man is an impetuous Lothario named Raymon de Ramiere who infiltrates the Delmare household by seducing Indiana's beautiful Creole maid Noun and then Indiana herself. Charismatic, accustomed to adoration, Raymon is one of the most histrionic lovers in literature ("If only I could wash away with my blood the shame that I have left on this bed!"), almost comical in the intensity of his passions.
Given this woman and the three men who love her, it is clear that jealousy will be the strongest factor in driving the story; but the plot develops in unexpected ways, almost to the extent of a romantic fantasy that defies Sand's supposedly "realist" intentions. However, it is interesting that she allows the various political upheavals of France at the time, coinciding with the burgeoning Industrial Revolution reflected by references to Delmare's factory, to fuel the characters' motivations; they are not just acting in a vacuum that obliviously seals itself from the outside world.
Despite its aesthetic qualities, "Indiana" would have problems attracting a modern readership. Sylvia Raphael's English translation, as rich and garish as the icing on a decorated cake, seems naturally to evoke the novel's peculiar tone, that of the kind of antiquated melodrama that a parodist of period romances might try to achieve. And yet, assuming that the novel's style is largely defined by the mores and tastes of the French society of the 1830s, I can't help but commend Sand's intellect and craftsmanship in exploring the different meanings of love.
Rating:
Summary: An extraordinary first novel
Review: I recently read a biography of George Sand and it stimulated an interest in reading some of her novels. It wasn't easy to find some, but I did manage to buy 'Indiana' and 'Mauprat' through a second-hand dealer. 'Indiana' is an interesting story of relationships especially between husbands and wives, men and women, nobility and commoners, family and strangers. The central marraige is uncharacteristic of modern Western society in that an older wealthy man has married a young woman for the status of it - he is no more than her friend, and often not even that. But there are many ways in which marraiges can fail either the woman or the man in modern Western society and consequently, for me, the symptoms of what goes on in this novel - even if not the causes - are current in modern society.Sand's story is engaging and generally well paced. It does seem a bit like a soap opera sometimes. It also rushes to an unsatisfactory ending - a bit like the end of 'Well of Loneliness', which appalled me. But then Sand has a surprise for me - although I have a sneaking feeling that it might be an afterthought, a rewrite. What is distinctive about Sand's writing is her ability to create a visionary scene - like the one where Raymon rails against the picture of Indiana's cousin Ralph hanging in Indiana's bedroom (Raymon is there with his lover of the time - Indiana's serving girl Noun). And then there is the extraordinary scene where Indiana almost drowns in the river only to be rescued by Ralph - we see the world transform itself from Indiana's perspective in the most unsettling way. I enjoyed this novel immensely and look forward to reading more of Sand's writing.
Rating:
Summary: Balanced portraits. 4 1/2 stars
Review: This is strange and facinating reading. Yes, there are moments that make you laugh out loud (a modern woman especially) but the characters are attractive even with their foibles. You find yourself rooting for Indiana, who is strong but naive but especially for Ralph, that strong, silent type. The ending is very odd but the book reads quickly.
Rating:
Summary: Balanced portraits. 4 1/2 stars
Review: This is strange and facinating reading. Yes, there are moments that make you laugh out loud (a modern woman especially) but the characters are attractive even with their foibles. You find yourself rooting for Indiana, who is strong but naive but especially for Ralph, that strong, silent type. The ending is very odd but the book reads quickly.
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