George Sand and the Victorian World by Paul G. Blount (review)

Book Reviews By defining a structure for Spanish picaresque novels, Blackburn provides a base from which to examine transformations and re-creations. The Myth of the Picaro is impressive in scope and critical strength. As in all provocative works, one may find points of contention. Blackburn's analysis of the self-society dichotomy in the Spanish novels implies that either servile conformity or non-conformity is an alternative for the picaro, without explaining the possible manifestations or consequences of these courses. Lázaro can only be considered "base and repulsive" (p. 48) if he is a self-made victim. The treatment of Guzman de Alfarache depends too much, I believe, on an interpretation of Alemán's intention, subordinating Guzman's own narrative voice. Despite the breadth of the study, it is unfortunate that Blackburn could not relate the feminine picaresque tradition and recent Spanish novels to his scheme; a reading of Cela's La familia de Pascual Duarte would seem crucial. And finally, while Blackburn wisely underplays the importance of superficial external criteria, he seems to lose sight of the fact that the novels studied in the symbolic phase do not sustain traditional recourses. If in the second period the novels retain the form and lose the spirit of the Spanish works, those of the third period retain the spirit but lose the form. EDWARD FRIEDMAN, Arizona State University Paul G. Blount. George Sand and the Victorian World. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1979. 190 p. Blount's slim volume recounts the reactions of the Victorians, particularly the critics and the writers, to the life and the works of George Sand. Despite widespread adverse criticism against her, a veritable cult of Sand existed, and "among its participants were some of the most important figures in the literary world" (p.7). Joseph Mazzini, in exile in England, was sympathetic to her political ideas. Some English critics (e.g. John Wilson Croker) condemned Sand outright as unfit for young ladies to read; others tried to make some distinction betweeen her scandalous life and her novels . Among her most fervent admirers must be mentioned Elizabeth Barrett Browning, George Eliot, and Matthew Arnold. In the first verse of her sonnet to Sand ("Thou large-brained woman and large-hearted man," cited on p. 78), Elizabeth Browning reveals her admiration (not shared equally by her husband, Robert) for the Frenchwoman , who, although cordial, did not offer the English couple much of her time on their visit. Elizabeth's keen disappointment was that she never saw Sand smoking (p. 85). In 1856, Aurora Leigh, written in blank verse, was published by Elizabeth; Blount considers it "a book worthy of a devotee of George Sand" (p. 91). Between Sand and George Eliot there were so many similarities, including the "strong streak of masculine independence" (p. 95). Sand's influence on Eliot was undeniable, inasmuch as "although Sand may have given little thought to Eliot, it is evident that Sand was often in Eliot's thoughts" (p. 110). 270VOL. 34, NO. 4 (FALL 1980) Book Reviews Throughout his life, Matthew Arnold had "an enduring interest" in Sand (p. 1 13), so much so that on her death, he called her the "greatest spirit in our European world" since Goethe (pp. 117-18). In a critical article on Sand in 1877, Arnold chose four books as representative of her: Lettres d'un Voyageur, Mauprat, François le Champí, and Valvèdre. In the concluding chapter, the lesbian element in Sand is minimized (against the position of Joseph Barry). Her appeal to Victorians was due in part to her role as an emancipated woman, and in part as a woman involved in politics. Her greatest attraction, though, was as a writer, who "could create characters, describe nature, and entertain" (p. 145). Blount, therefore , reveals the Victorian literary climate in which Sand's work found opposition, but also strong support and acceptance. FRANCIS S. HECK, University of Wyoming Alia Bozarth-Campbell. The Word's Body: An Incarnational Aesthetic of Interpretation. University, Ala.: The University of Alabama Press, 1980. 181 p. $15.50. The author seeks to show how the metaphorical language of incarnational theology may illuminate our understanding of the...