Lectures de 'Consuelo, La Comtesse de Rudoltstadt' de George Sand (review)

This sizeable volume presents a collection of articles on George Sand's Consuelo (1842) and its sequel, La Comtesse de Rudolstadt (1844). These articles originated in a seminar and international conference held in Lyon in 2001. Their publication coincides with the much-fêted bicentenary of Sand's birth, which generated a high level of critical attention to the author's work, as well as a welcome number of new editions of her novels. This collection has impeccable credentials in the field of Sand studies, uniting as it does articles by long-established scholars such as Hoog Naginski, Frappier-Mazur, Powell, McCall Saint-Saëns, Bordas and Szabó, as well as Planté and Hecquet. Prominent younger critics also feature, including Zanone, editor of the recent Garnier-Flammarion edition of Sand's autobiography, Histoire de ma vie. In short, the collection includes the work of many of the most accomplished scholars in the field. The range of articles testifies to the multiplicity of themes in these two texts. The volume is divided into five parts. The first section treats of stylistic issues in the two works, including Bordas's beautifully observed article on Sandian narrative techniques. Bordas introduces his article with the question 'Pourquoi n'étudie-t-on jamais le style de George Sand?', and develops his thesis that the remarkably homogenous narrative voice in Consuelo offers a counter-example to polyphonic Balzacian realism. Consuelo and La Comtesse de Rudolstadt were published in the Revue indépendante following Sand's acrimonious split with the Revue des deux mondes. Both works testify to a fervent utopianism, the fruit of Sand's engagement with the person and the writings of Pierre Leroux. Sand's utopianism is dealt with in the section 'Initiations, utopie', as well as the subject of female initiation into the secret society, one of the most interesting themes in La Comtesse de Rudolstadt. The section 'Opéra, fêtes, musique' illustrates the new vibrancy of the study of Sand's relationship with the spectacular arts. This field of study emerged as one of the principle preoccupations of the bicentenary, and is richly developed here by Bara, Powell, Malkin, Hecquet and others. This is an immensely valuable contribution to Sand studies, and its interest will not be confined to readers of Consuelo and La Comtesse de Rudolstadt. The research on music and theatre, on Sandian intertextualities and poetics is a notable contribution to the field of Sand studies. Meanwhile, the editors' introduction laments the fact that some themes have not been treated; they include in this the theme of the woman artist. It appears, to this reader, that this is something of a disappointment, although partly compensated by Hoog Naginski's article on the ideal feminine destiny, as figured by the character of Wanda de Prachalitz, priestess-philosopher. For this, and for many other contributions, this volume will be essential reading for the specialist, and will offer much pleasure to all readers of George Sand.