“Prophetic Realism”: Emancipatory Poetics of George Sand’s Novels

The article recalls George Sand as a writer whose works, especially those of the 1830s and 1840s, inspired the development of a democratic European society. It shows how Sand’s involvement in the democratisation of post-revolutionary France is intertwined with the poetics of her prose. The author introduces the term “not-entirely-realistic”to describe Sand’s writing, which at the same time consciously uses and transcends the poetics of contemporary realism, introducing into the novel the idealisation of chosen characters and fabulous or idyllic motifs in the creation of the world. On the example of selected works, the article discusses common features of typical Sandian protagonists. They are at the same time idealised (noble, selfless, generous, compassionate, and helpful) and idealists themselves, who dream of a better, more equitable social world, and believe that social commitment is consistent with the true message of the Gospel. The article also demonstrates how idyllic space in Sand’s fiction becomes a utopian sphere in which people from different social strata meet and interact as equals.

* Tekst powstał w ramach projektu finansowanego ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanych na podstawie decyzji nr DEC-2011/B/HS2/05436.

The article recalls George Sand as a writer whose works, especially those of the 1830s and 1840s, inspired the development of a democratic European society. It shows how Sand’s involvement in the democratisation of post-revolutionary France is intertwined with the poetics of her prose. The author introduces the term “not-entirely-realistic”to describe Sand’s writing, which at the same time consciously uses and transcends the poetics of contemporary realism, introducing into the novel the idealisation of chosen characters and fabulous or idyllic motifs in the creation of the world. On the example of selected works, the article discusses common features of typical Sandian protagonists. They are at the same time idealised (noble, selfless, generous, compassionate, and helpful) and idealists themselves, who dream of a better, more equitable social world, and believe that social commitment is consistent with the true message of the Gospel. The article also demonstrates how idyllic space in Sand’s fiction becomes a utopian sphere in which people from different social strata meet and interact as equals.

* Tekst powstał w ramach projektu finansowanego ze środków Narodowego Centrum Nauki przyznanych na podstawie decyzji nr DEC-2011/B/HS2/05436.