Esquisser à grands traits un idéal moral : à propos de quelques nouvelles de George Sand

Abstract

By its capacity to deal with a reduced content and because it promotes a quick writing style, the genre of the short story provided George Sand with the opportunity to outline her future novels, which allows us to follow the trace of her ethical and literary foundations. In the light of these features, our aim is to identify the complex meaning that the author gives to the term “ideal” when applied to many areas: in Jean Ziska it refers to the religious spirit of the Hussites, in Garnier it refers to love as a vital principle, in Kourrouglou it denotes a political position, while in Le foyer de l’Opéra it implies a conception of life, to mention only a few examples. We will try to show that this diversity stems from the fact that for the writer the higher truth deals with a moral and philosophical nature. It is an echo which becomes inseparable from Sand’s social and political questions.