Œuvres complètes, 1845–1846 et 1857 (review)

Under the direction of Béatrice Didier, the new critical editions of George Sand’s Œuvres complètes represent a collaborative approach with contributions from eminent scholars. Three volumes have already been published: 1829–1831: George Sand avant Indiana (vols. i and ii), edited by Yves Chastagnaret; 1832: Indiana et Valentine (vol. iii), edited by Brigitte Diaz and Damien Zanone. The fourth volume of George Sand’s Œuvres complètes is consistent with the exhaustive scholarship and approach found in the previous volumes. Edited by Jeanne Goldin, it includes “le diable” texts: Le Diable à Paris (1845–1846) and Le Diable aux champs (1857). These two complementary works offer a caustic critique as well as a striking portrait of France in the mid nineteenth century.

The introduction to the volume provides a thorough summary while eloquently tracing the evolution of Sand’s use of “le diable” in her works, most notably in Consuelo, and adeptly situates these texts within Sand’s œuvre. Underscoring similarities with other novels, such as Jeanne, this “Présentation générale” also highlights the influence of le Berrichon in Sand’s conception of “le diable.” The overview draws upon Sand’s autobiography, Histoire de ma vie, and her extensive Correspondance to offer possible sources of her inspiration as well as bring to the fore the diversity of her “diables.” Often portrayed as exiled angels, for Sand, “les vrais saints sont plus souvent cachés dans la foule” (13).

Sand contributed three articles to Le Diable à Paris, an illustrated collection edited by Pierre-Jules Hetzel. Published in two volumes in 1845–1846, Hetzel envisioned a collaborative work with contributions from various authors, such as Sand, Balzac, Stendhal and Gautier. Hetzel explains in the Prologue to this collection that the devil has sent Flammèche (along with his valet, Baptiste) to Paris. He is to chronicle his impressions of the city and present the devil with a thorough description of the Parisians’ customs, morals, and lifestyle. Flammèche, however, falls in love and is unable to write; fortunately, numerous authors come to his aid by providing him with articles, each of which covers a different aspect of Parisian society (29).

Sand’s first article, “Coup d’œil général sur Paris,” is written to Flammèche. Harshly denouncing the disparity of excessive wealth and destitution in Paris, she criticizes the injustices of an economically-polarized society while also calling for equality: “Je ne saurais m’y plaire, parce que je rêve le règne de l’égalité, et que je vois ici le spectacle et la consécration insolente et cynique de l’inégalité poussée à l’extrême” (35).

The second article, “Les mères de famille dans le beau monde,” satirizes aristocratic women through incisive commentary on their frivolity. The narrator, a young provincial man, is guided throughout a ball by his friend, Arthur, in order to gain insight into the mores of Parisian high society. They cross paths with women of various ages and an older gentleman who also happens to be a painter and a philosopher. The narrator discovers that society women insist on refuting their age and that they possess a vindictive personality, both of which are judged contrary to nature. Unlike the women, the older gentleman finds beauty in nature: “Eh bien, cette horreur que la vieillesse fardée répand autour d’elle ferait place à des sentiments plus doux et plus flatteurs, si elle n’essayait plus de transgresser les lois de la nature” (57).

The third article, “Relations d’un voyage chez les sauvages de Paris,” is in the form of two letters addressed to “un ami,” who is in reality Jules Néraud (81). The letters are prompted by Sand’s multiple visits to the exhibit Galerie indienne by George Catlin in Paris and take the form of a travelogue narrative. The letters recount the writer’s experiences during a “voyage into the world...