George Sand

In 1839, a French writer named George Sand provided an interesting quote in a play that was never published:

I was a woman; for suddenly my wings collapsed, ether closed in around my head like an impenetrable crystal vault, and I fell....

Sand weaves a tale of a woman reminiscent of Icarus, who famously flew too close to the sun and had his wings burned off. This character also attempts to ascend above her accepted role, but finds herself with ether surrounding her head like crystal.

You’re thinking, “Wait a sec. Why should this George Sand character know anything about the societal oppression of women?”

The short answer is that she was a woman.

George Sand was born Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin in Paris. Her family had an aristocratic lineage on one side that made her a distant relative of King Louis XVI. On the other side of the family, her mother was a commoner whose father had sold birds for a living.

This duality—highborn and commoner all in the same person—gave Sand a unique perspective on life, and as a result, she was able to write things that were interesting for any social class. And, like Mary Shelley, her contemporary from across the pond, Sand was able to channel her rebellious nature into a cohesive critique of the things she saw as wrong.

Her aristocratic lineage wasn’t always a plus in life, either. France during the early 19th century was in a state of uneasy turmoil. Following the Revolution and a terrible period of virtual anarchy, the nation stepped back and forth into and out of totalitarian rule. Napoleon Bonaparte ascended to the role of emperor in 1804, was removed in 1815, and then a constitutional monarchy held sway for 15 years, when another revolution took place.

So it went.

At the age of 18, Aurore Dupin (Sand) entered into an arranged marriage with François Casimir Dudevant. She and Dudevant quickly became unhappy, and Sand wasn’t interested in being subordinate to her husband. They ultimately separated in 1831, but separation under French law was incredibly restrictive, especially toward women.

Sand had few rights and little control over her own life. She sought greater legal autonomy over her earnings and custody of her children. This dragged on for years before Sand reclaimed some control over her finances and her life.

She ultimately gained more control over her finances and her life than most women of the time. The Napoleonic Code codified the inferior status of women, making them considered legal minors under the control of their fathers or husbands, but Sand was persistent and relentless in her pursuit of her own freedom.

To nobody’s surprise reading this, the experience of struggle to break free from societal constraints deeply influenced Sand's writing, particularly in her novels exploring themes of gender roles, independence, and the limitations of marriage.

Sand sometimes wore men’s clothing, and sometimes had more than one romantic relationship at a time, something you might commonly see men doing at the time.

Although the play I referenced was never published, lots of George Sand's other works were. In 1832, just a year after her separation from her husband, she published the novel Indiana, a poignant exploration of a woman's search for autonomy and fulfillment beyond the confines of an oppressive marriage.

One year later, Sand published Lélia, a very controversial novel about a woman questioning societal norms and sexuality. Her writing came to influence the modern concept of the novel, weaving in complex “gray” characters and scathing social commentary in a way that would influence writers for more than a century.

Let’s take one more look at Sand’s quote:

I was a woman; for suddenly my wings collapsed, ether closed in around my head like an impenetrable crystal vault, and I fell....

Today, we have a modern phrase that echoes Sand’s sentiment: glass ceilings. This quote probably didn’t lead directly to Marilyn Loden first using that phrase in 1978 during a panel discussion at the Women's Exposition, but the concepts she expressed certainly laid the foundation for the future.

Share with me: who are some people throughout history who have broken social barriers? Did you already know a little bit about George Sand? Let’s talk!