1 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. In our behind the scenes that followed 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: our episode on missus Patrick Campbell, we read a letter 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: she received that described her pants as wounding the letter writer. 4 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: She was wearing those pants in a play where she 5 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,320 Speaker 1: was portraying George Sound. 6 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 2: We have an episode on George Song that came out 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 2: on February third, twenty twenty, and it's Today's Saturday Classic 8 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 2: Enjoy Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, a 9 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:36,479 Speaker 2: production of iHeartRadio. 10 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye and 11 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:45,519 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy d Wilson. I will apologize right out of 12 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: the gate that I have Torch Song voice. 13 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 2: I think sometimes people wonder why we don't maybe postpone 14 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 2: recording if one of. 15 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 1: Us is ill. 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 2: Suddenly I sound horse and I'm not even the person 17 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 2: who has been ill. We already canceled last week completely. Yeah, 18 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 2: like we're we're at the point of no return. We 19 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 2: have to record an episode. The good news is, I 20 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:08,479 Speaker 2: will tell you I'm mostly better. Like I'm not suffering 21 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 2: through this. My voice just hasn't fully recovered yet. I 22 00:01:11,959 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 2: met like eighty five to ninety percent good. Yeah, I 23 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 2: just sound a little Froggy. Yeah, and I'm fine. But 24 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 2: for some reason, the moment I got on mic just now, 25 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 2: my voice was like, you know, what I think I 26 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 2: want to do is have sympathy for Holly. 27 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,640 Speaker 1: Right, you know, sympathetic frog. I understand. Uh, But we're 28 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,440 Speaker 1: going to carry on because that's what we do. We 29 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: are going to talk about somebody that's been on my 30 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:38,720 Speaker 1: list forever, which is George Sond. And the popular image 31 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: of George Sond is sort of this sexy artiste of 32 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,039 Speaker 1: early eighteen hundreds Paris. It's not entirely off base, but 33 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 1: she was, above all else a writer of incredible output 34 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: and was in her time incredibly famous. Her behavior and 35 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: her personal style were almost as talked about as her novels, 36 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 1: and all of these factors combined made her into a 37 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,840 Speaker 1: figure that was admired by many, despised by some. But 38 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: it seems like fascination with her was almost universal, And 39 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: we should mention George Sound was involved romantically with a 40 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:14,480 Speaker 1: lot of people. She was kind of a serial monogamist. 41 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: She would kind of bounce from one paramore to another, 42 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: and that was a big influence on her work, and 43 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: she wrote a lot of different works. We will not 44 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,680 Speaker 1: list them all because, as we said, her output was astonishing. 45 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 1: We also won't list all of her paramours or all 46 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: of her writing titles. But just know we're giving you 47 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:34,600 Speaker 1: a brief version, and I still think it's a pretty 48 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: full of saucy adventure and writing. 49 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 2: Yes, So if we omit your favorite book or your 50 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,120 Speaker 2: favorite romance, it's not personal. 51 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: There are just a lot of them. Don't worry, Chopin 52 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: is in here, which is what everybody's thinking right now, 53 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 1: right Well, they're not going to leave out Chopin. 54 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 2: No. I think that's actually how how she wound up 55 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 2: moving finally up to the top of your list. As 56 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 2: we had been brainstorming for a thing about people described 57 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 2: as muses, and there was. 58 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: The yeah for a whole separate thing, and I was like, gosh, 59 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:10,120 Speaker 1: but on my list forever, although I had already started 60 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: an episode on her. You know how I'll do that. 61 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: I'll start an episode, write a few hundred to two one 62 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: thousand words, and then be like, I'm gonna move on 63 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: to something else for a little while, and then that 64 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:22,800 Speaker 1: episode sort of waits in its germination stage until I 65 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: come back around on it. 66 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 2: So, in terms of what we're actually talking about today. 67 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,519 Speaker 2: We'll start at the beginning, as we often do. Amnty. 68 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 2: Lucille arrolor Dupin was born on July first of eighteen 69 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 2: oh four in Paris, and her family and friends normally 70 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:42,920 Speaker 2: called her Aurora. Her father, Maurice Dupin, was an officer 71 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 2: in the French Army, serving under Napoleon, and her mother 72 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 2: was Sophie de la Borde, who was a bird seller's daughter. 73 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 2: Bird Selling is a profession just kind of delights me 74 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 2: a little bit here. Sophie and Maurice had been together 75 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 2: for several years before Aurora was born, but they only 76 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 2: got married a month before her birth. The two of 77 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 2: them already had children, both with other people and together. 78 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:10,440 Speaker 2: Maurice refused to acknowledge his son from a prior relationship 79 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 2: that was Ippolit Chateron, although Maurice's mother made sure that 80 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 2: the boy and his own mother were provided for and 81 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 2: moved them into a house and the family property. Sophie 82 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,000 Speaker 2: had a daughter from a previous relationship named Caroline Delabord, 83 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 2: and the children that Sophie and Maurice had together before 84 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 2: Aurora had all died in infancy, so there were a 85 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:33,599 Speaker 2: lot of members of this family but also in the 86 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:34,880 Speaker 2: terms of the two of them together. 87 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: Aurora was the first arriving child correct and just before 88 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: aur turned four, her parents had another child, this time 89 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: a son named August Louis, and August Louis was born 90 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: in Madrid, as Sophie had traveled to Spain to be 91 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: with Maurice. That was where Napoleon had stationed him, and 92 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 1: then they all went back to France shortly after Aurora's birthday. 93 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:57,720 Speaker 1: That was a trip that took them through rural France 94 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: during brutal famine, and it was something The images of 95 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: that trip really stuck with Aurora vividly for years. 96 00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 2: The baby, August Louis, died on September eighth of eighteen 97 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 2: oh eight. That was just shy of three months old. 98 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 2: Maurice had an accident and died eight days later after 99 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 2: falling off a horse, and then not long after that, 100 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,320 Speaker 2: Sophie had to relinquish custody of Aurora to her grandmother 101 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 2: because she just wasn't able to provide for her. 102 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: Aurora then spent most of her childhood in Naant in 103 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: central France, and this was her family's home and she 104 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: spent a lot of time there on the family estate 105 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: with her grandmother. Sophie did not leave her daughter's life though, 106 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,679 Speaker 1: even though she had relinquished custody, she still would spend 107 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: time at Naant at the chateau each summer, and Aurora 108 00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: would also sometimes travel to Paris for visits with her 109 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: mother as well. So Aurora spent her formative years in 110 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: this idyllic rural environment of Nant, and that's believe to 111 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,760 Speaker 1: have informed a lot of her riding. She was tutored 112 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: by a man named Jean Francois Dischardt as a child. 113 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: That was the same person who had educated her father, 114 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:04,719 Speaker 1: and he was something of an eccentric, So she got 115 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: a little haphazard sort of an education. 116 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 2: It probably wouldn't qualify as a formal education in any 117 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 2: sense of the phrase. She also had lessons alongside her 118 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:16,919 Speaker 2: half brother, although it was unclear to the children exactly 119 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 2: what their relationship was to each other for quite some time. 120 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, they're reading about Jean Francois des Schalte. His involvement 121 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: in her life is sometimes glossed over in this weird 122 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,440 Speaker 1: sort of way about what a weird education she got. 123 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: I read one thing that suggested that he started dressing 124 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:37,800 Speaker 1: her in boys clothes because that just made more sense 125 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: to him to have a pupil that was dressed as 126 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: a boy, because he was only used to educating boys. 127 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:44,919 Speaker 1: I don't know if there's any actual value in that 128 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,640 Speaker 1: information or fact to it, but it is pretty widely 129 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: accepted that whatever education she got from him was a 130 00:06:52,440 --> 00:06:57,359 Speaker 1: little bit kooky. And as she reached her early teenage 131 00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: years or or started, as many kids do, rebel. Her 132 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:04,840 Speaker 1: grandmother was very old fashioned and she expected ladylike behavior 133 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:08,280 Speaker 1: and that was simply not in Aurora's nature. So the 134 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: child started telling her grandmother that what she wanted to 135 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: do was go to Paris and live with her mother. 136 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: Feel like, this is the tale as old as time, right, Like, yeah, 137 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: you're not my real mom. I'm gonna go where so 138 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 1: I can be me not so much. Yeah. 139 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 2: So there's some speculation that Aurora's mother, Sophie, may have 140 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 2: supported herself with sex work when she was a teenager 141 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,720 Speaker 2: after her parents had both died, and it seems that 142 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 2: grandmother chose this moment to tell Aurora about her mother's 143 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 2: alleged profession in the midst of this rebellion, presumably as 144 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,400 Speaker 2: a way to try to shame or scare her into obedience. 145 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 1: And the end result of all this conflict, because Aurora 146 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: still was not going to be happy staying at home, 147 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:51,920 Speaker 1: was that at the age of thirteen, she was sent 148 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,320 Speaker 1: to a convent in Paris to live with the English 149 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: Augustinian sisters, and shifting from country life to being immersed 150 00:07:59,080 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: wholly in a relation bigeous environment in the city had 151 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,440 Speaker 1: a very profound effect on the teenager. She became deeply 152 00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:09,160 Speaker 1: interested in mysticism during this time. But though she seemed 153 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: very very happy at the convent and even considered becoming 154 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 1: a nun herself, that was a little too far for 155 00:08:15,640 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: what her grandmother had in mind, and so her grandmother 156 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,680 Speaker 1: brought her back to Nooh. Just a couple of years later. 157 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 2: When she was seventeen, Aurora inherited the family estate. After 158 00:08:24,560 --> 00:08:28,239 Speaker 2: her grandmother died, Sophie came back to retrieve for teenage 159 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 2: daughter brought her back to Paris, but at that point 160 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 2: Aurora was really not interested in answering to her mother, 161 00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 2: so she got married because she thought that was going 162 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:38,960 Speaker 2: to offer her some more independence. 163 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: This is another story that I feel like comes up 164 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,079 Speaker 1: in all kinds of modern tales, and I'm like George 165 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:47,840 Speaker 1: Soum did this before anybody else. I'm sure there were 166 00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,480 Speaker 1: other people that did it before her. But she got 167 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:53,400 Speaker 1: married to a man named Casimir du Duvon on September 168 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: seventeenth of eighteen twenty two, and the couple were married 169 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,520 Speaker 1: in Paris, but they moved to Nooan to settle down, 170 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: and Duduvont was nine years older than Auror. He was 171 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,080 Speaker 1: the son of a baron who was born out of wedlock, 172 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 1: but he was acknowledged by his father, so in marrying him, 173 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:12,320 Speaker 1: Auror became the Baroness Duduvon. The couple had a child 174 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: in June following their wedding. This is the son they 175 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: named Maurice, and for the next year they traveled, eventually 176 00:09:18,280 --> 00:09:20,880 Speaker 1: settling in Paris at the end of eighteen twenty four. 177 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,360 Speaker 1: They kept traveling a great deal though, including going back 178 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,760 Speaker 1: to Nauwant for extended visits, and initially it kind of 179 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: seems like Auror was trying to make the best out 180 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: of this marriage, but over time she grew restless and 181 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,840 Speaker 1: unsatisfied in her life with Duduvon, and she started to 182 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:39,360 Speaker 1: exhibit signs of what we would probably categorize as depression today. 183 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: Casimir was a poor match for her for a number 184 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,280 Speaker 1: of reasons. Auror was a devout reader and the stories 185 00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: that she read made her long for more than her 186 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 1: domestic life. Kasimir was not that he was not so 187 00:09:53,400 --> 00:09:55,960 Speaker 1: much into the life of the mind, and he tended 188 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: to find solace with other romantic interests that he found 189 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 1: less complicated than his wife, including their housemaids. And this 190 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:04,840 Speaker 1: kind of seems like one of those cases where a 191 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 1: couple with an age gap gets married because initially the 192 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,360 Speaker 1: older partner seems cool to the younger partner, but as 193 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,040 Speaker 1: the younger partner matures, it turns out that they grow 194 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 1: beyond that older partner, because she was pretty done with 195 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:19,719 Speaker 1: him within a few years. In eighteen twenty five, they 196 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: were traveling in the Pyrenees and Aurora met a young 197 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:27,200 Speaker 1: judge named Jean Pierre Aurelian de SiZ and the two 198 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,200 Speaker 1: of them were immediately attracted to one another, but he 199 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: was engaged. He said that he found his fiance beautiful 200 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,280 Speaker 1: but dull, and Aurora, who was smart and insightful, was 201 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,760 Speaker 1: just fascinating to him. The two of them exchanged love 202 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,240 Speaker 1: letters over the next five years, and what's often described 203 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: as a passionate but platonic love, although there is debate 204 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 1: about whether the platonic part was really true. Yeah, uh, 205 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,040 Speaker 1: we don't know. This experience of having such an intense 206 00:10:58,040 --> 00:11:01,400 Speaker 1: connection to someone made it a abundantly clear to Aurora 207 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: that her marriage by comparison would never offer her the 208 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: same kind of excitement or be very fulfilling, and she 209 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,199 Speaker 1: told Casimir about her affection for Dessays and that they 210 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,120 Speaker 1: needed to figure out some sort of way to make 211 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 1: their household livable. 212 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:20,679 Speaker 2: In eighteen twenty six, a man named Stefan Ajasson de 213 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:23,880 Speaker 2: Grassgna re entered Aurora's life, and he had been a. 214 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 1: Tutor of hers earlier on, but when. 215 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:30,320 Speaker 2: The two of them became re acquainted, this intense attraction 216 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,199 Speaker 2: between them led to a physical relationship. He was probably 217 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,360 Speaker 2: the father of Aurora's daughter, Solage, who was born in 218 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:39,000 Speaker 2: September of eighteen twenty eight. 219 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: In the year after her daughter was born, Auror began writing. 220 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:46,640 Speaker 1: In earnest. She penned a travel memoir La Marenne That's 221 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: the Godmother during this time, as well as Histois d'l revaux, 222 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,480 Speaker 1: which is story of a dreamer. That particular book was 223 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:54,200 Speaker 1: never finished. 224 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 2: In the summer of eighteen thirty, Aurora met another man, 225 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 2: this one seven years younger than she was, who would 226 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:04,319 Speaker 2: really catalyze a significant life change that the then twenty 227 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:06,880 Speaker 2: six year old Aurora had really been longing for. This 228 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:10,200 Speaker 2: was Jules Sandeaux, who was an aspiring writer, and the 229 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:12,680 Speaker 2: two of them soon became romantically involved. 230 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: I feel like that phrase the two of them soon 231 00:12:14,679 --> 00:12:17,320 Speaker 1: became romantically involved, can just be repeated so many times 232 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 1: throughout this episode. This is a really significant turning point 233 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: though for Auror. So we were going to pause here 234 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: for a quick sponsor break before we get into how 235 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:37,840 Speaker 1: her life changed. In early eighteen thirty one, Aurora moved 236 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,960 Speaker 1: to Paris with Jules Sandeau, leaving behind her husband and 237 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,480 Speaker 1: her home. She had made an arrangement with Casimir regarding 238 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,080 Speaker 1: this move, though that arrangement was not arrived at in 239 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: a particularly amicable fashion. The dude of all household had 240 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: as Aurora became more and more restless, become a place 241 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: of persistent strife. Husband and wife argued constantly and they 242 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,720 Speaker 1: only ever seemed to be happy in really relationships with 243 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: people outside the marriage. So in eighteen thirty one, the 244 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,439 Speaker 1: decision was made that Aurora would spend half of each 245 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: year in Paris, switching out with life at noon every 246 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 1: three months. And during Aurora's times in Paris, the children 247 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:17,320 Speaker 1: were split up, so her toddler daughter Solange would stay 248 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:20,400 Speaker 1: in no On with Casimir and Maurice. Their son was 249 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: cared for by a tutor. 250 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:26,080 Speaker 2: Aurora started to more seriously focus on writing in Paris, 251 00:13:26,080 --> 00:13:29,360 Speaker 2: now writing under the pseudonym Jules sand or sometimes just 252 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,080 Speaker 2: J's Song. That work was published in La Figaro, which 253 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 2: is a periodical run by Henri Latouche, who would become 254 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,920 Speaker 2: one of Aurora's closest friends. Latouche and you'll sometimes see 255 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 2: his name as de la Touche, basically asked Aurora to 256 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:46,400 Speaker 2: write these satirical pieces as a freelancer, and that marked 257 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,480 Speaker 2: the beginning of her professional career as a writer. There's 258 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:52,959 Speaker 2: i'mgoing debate about these pieces. They are generally believed to 259 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:57,640 Speaker 2: be collaborations between Aurora and Jule Sandou, but it's unclear 260 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 2: about exactly how much of them cantributed. 261 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, how much either of them wrote of any of 262 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:08,320 Speaker 1: those pieces will probably be debated forever. And this is 263 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:10,880 Speaker 1: also the period of her life when Aurora began wearing 264 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,600 Speaker 1: men's wear, and she would write of this shift in 265 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,559 Speaker 1: her attire later quote, I had a sentry box coat 266 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: made of rough gray cloth, with trousers and a waistcoat 267 00:14:19,920 --> 00:14:22,800 Speaker 1: to match, with a gray hat and a huge cravat 268 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: of woolen material. I looked exactly like a first year student. 269 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 2: So this was scandalous to some people. But it's also 270 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,720 Speaker 2: more important to note that it was flat out illegal. 271 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 2: Women in Paris were supposed to get a permit to 272 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,080 Speaker 2: wear men's clothing. That was a law that had been 273 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 2: issued in eighteen hundred. If a woman could prove that 274 00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:45,640 Speaker 2: she needed to dress in men's wear for a medical reason, 275 00:14:45,680 --> 00:14:48,560 Speaker 2: she could get a permit to do it. But Aurora 276 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,120 Speaker 2: and a handful of other women did it without a permit. 277 00:14:51,160 --> 00:14:53,240 Speaker 2: They didn't try to get a permit. They wore whatever 278 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 2: they wanted without much in the way of real consequences. 279 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 2: That law was actually still on the books in Paris, 280 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 2: not really enforced though until twenty thirteen. 281 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, if you look back at articles in twenty thirteen, 282 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:09,240 Speaker 1: they're like, finally women can wear pants, which they're writing 283 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: as a joke, because of course people had been wearing 284 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:14,200 Speaker 1: pants forever, and this was a time when it seemed 285 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 1: that Aurar was truly defining the woman that she wanted 286 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 1: to be, and she was establishing her unique identity. She 287 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: wasn't necessarily wearing men's clothes to cause a stir. She 288 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,520 Speaker 1: found them more practical and more comfortable than wearing dresses, 289 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: but she did also enjoy seeing the different way she 290 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: was treated when she was wearing men's wear. Her figure 291 00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:37,200 Speaker 1: was not especially curvy, so she was sometimes mistaken for 292 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: a man, and that was something which she seemed to 293 00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:43,000 Speaker 1: quite enjoy, particularly when she could reveal to the confused 294 00:15:43,040 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: observer that in fact, she was a woman. She wrote a. 295 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 2: First novel called Indiana at the end of eighteen thirty 296 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,360 Speaker 2: one that was published in May of eighteen thirty two 297 00:15:52,520 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 2: under her new pen name, which was Jorge Sound. Eventually 298 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 2: she grew tired of Jules Sando. She broke off their 299 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,160 Speaker 2: relationship and moved into a new apartment nearby. Her daughter, 300 00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 2: Solange moved in with her. 301 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:06,720 Speaker 1: Yeah that point, Solange was a little bit older than 302 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,200 Speaker 1: her her toddler age, and she would have needed more 303 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: constant attention, so it worked out just fine. Indiana is 304 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,960 Speaker 1: not surprisingly a story about a woman dissatisfied with her marriage, 305 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:21,640 Speaker 1: she longs for passion and adoration, and in that quest 306 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: she puts her faith in the wrong man. A spoiler alert, 307 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,200 Speaker 1: this is one of those classic tropes where the right 308 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 1: man was in front of her the whole time, and 309 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: the two do eventually end up together. And this novel 310 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:35,119 Speaker 1: was an instant success. 311 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 2: This is when Aurora became famous and became publicly known 312 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 2: as George Sohn, so we're gonna change over to addressing 313 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:43,800 Speaker 2: her by that name. 314 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:45,920 Speaker 1: Initially, she chose a pen. 315 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 2: Name because she wanted people to appreciate the writing rather 316 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:51,680 Speaker 2: than marvel at the fact that a woman had written it. 317 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:55,320 Speaker 2: But soon it was really common knowledge that this was 318 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 2: written by a woman, and she just kind of rolled 319 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:57,360 Speaker 2: with it. 320 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: Yeah. I have to wonder if her like constant love 321 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:02,600 Speaker 1: of revealing, like in fact, I am not a student 322 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:06,679 Speaker 1: but a woman, didn't help, you know, kind of dissipate 323 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:10,879 Speaker 1: any anonymity she had been hoping for. Indiana was quickly 324 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:14,239 Speaker 1: followed by another novel of Volentine in November of that 325 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:16,960 Speaker 1: same year, and at that point George was kind of 326 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: the it writer in Paris. So keep in mind that 327 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 1: this is a time when novels were sort of equivalent 328 00:17:22,600 --> 00:17:25,320 Speaker 1: to film or television today in terms of their prominence 329 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:28,879 Speaker 1: as entertainment, so she became something of an overnight celebrity 330 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: following Indiana's publication. 331 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,520 Speaker 2: The Volentine of this novel is the story is heroin, 332 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,159 Speaker 2: and she's an aristocrat who falls in love with a 333 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,280 Speaker 2: poor farmer. In addition to the theme of true love 334 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 2: that can never be actualized because of a class disparity, 335 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:45,399 Speaker 2: this book also serves as a feminist critique of the 336 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:50,919 Speaker 2: poor standards of education for women. Volentine is prepared only 337 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:53,640 Speaker 2: to be a wife and nothing more, and even if 338 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 2: she were to end up with her farmer love, she 339 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:58,840 Speaker 2: would not be prepared well for the rigors of that 340 00:17:58,920 --> 00:17:59,679 Speaker 2: kind of a life. 341 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 1: In early eighteen thirty three, George Sond had a brief 342 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: romantic relationship with a woman, and this was the actress 343 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,439 Speaker 1: Marie d'Orval. This was a heady time for Sond. Newly 344 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,119 Speaker 1: famous and free from the domestic life that she had fled, 345 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: she really had her pick of suitors. Eighteen thirty three 346 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: was also the year that George published her third novel, Lealia, 347 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: and not long after she began her relationship with d'rval 348 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:26,200 Speaker 1: sond met fellow writer Alfred de Mussey, who also became 349 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: her lover and with whom she had an on again, 350 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: off again romance that would rival any fiction. 351 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,359 Speaker 2: Lealia gave readers a heroine who was a lot like 352 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 2: Sound herself, an iconoclast who did not care about societal convention. 353 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:42,680 Speaker 2: The titular character finds happiness neither with her many love 354 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 2: affairs nor in being celibate. When Lalia tells her courtesan 355 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:50,560 Speaker 2: sister of this whole situation, the sister suggests that Lealiah 356 00:18:50,560 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 2: should become a Cortazan herself. This catalyzes a plot that 357 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:57,879 Speaker 2: involves a poet who's in love with Lealiah whose life 358 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 2: falls apart after she tries to seduce him and then 359 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 2: betrays him. I've not read this book. It sounds very 360 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 2: complicated to me. Lalia was also panned by the press. 361 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: Yeah and again. In some ways she is pulling from 362 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: her own life and her various relationships, like it is 363 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,360 Speaker 1: not a surprise that at a time when she has 364 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: met Alfred de Mussey, with whom she had a very 365 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:26,120 Speaker 1: volatile relationship, that she was also writing about these sort 366 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:30,560 Speaker 1: of complicated romantic matters. The end of eighteen thirty three 367 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,520 Speaker 1: in the beginning of eighteen thirty four were very chaotic 368 00:19:33,600 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: and fraught. George and Mussey decided to go away to Italy, 369 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,399 Speaker 1: but that trip turned very sour. And this really sounds 370 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: like a Telenevella plot. Things went completely awry. First when 371 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: George got dysentery. Mouse then began having episodes of delirium 372 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:54,920 Speaker 1: because it turned out he had typhoid fever. Then George 373 00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: began an affair with the Italian doctor who came to 374 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:01,240 Speaker 1: treat Moosey. His name was Luigi Pegelle, and when mose 375 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: recovered enough to return to Paris, Sond decided that she 376 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:07,959 Speaker 1: would stay behind in Venice with her new beloved doctor. 377 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,439 Speaker 2: Three months after Jose's return to Paris, Desors also felt 378 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:14,920 Speaker 2: as though she could go back to France, particularly to 379 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 2: see her children, so in June of eighteen thirty four, 380 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,840 Speaker 2: she left Italy for Paris. She brought the doctor with her, 381 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 2: but not long after getting there, George split up with 382 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 2: him to return to Mousey. Although the reunion lasted less 383 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 2: than a month. 384 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:31,960 Speaker 1: I certainly would not recommend it as a piece of 385 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,879 Speaker 1: historical information, but if you have ever seen or have 386 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,639 Speaker 1: not seen the movie Impromptu, which is about George Sond, 387 00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 1: in which the incomparable Judy Davis plays George, Mandy Patinkin 388 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 1: plays Mouse, and he is spectacular. You get a sense 389 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:51,359 Speaker 1: of all of their levels of drama when the two 390 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,240 Speaker 1: of them are together on screen. Throughout all of this drama. 391 00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:58,639 Speaker 1: Though in her personal life, Sond was writing and publishing. 392 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,960 Speaker 1: She published a series of stories in the literary magazine 393 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: Revue de du Monde during her turbulent eighteen thirty four, 394 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:09,639 Speaker 1: including Leon, Leoni and Jacques, and at the beginning of 395 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:13,520 Speaker 1: eighteen thirty five, Sons and Muse reunited one last time, 396 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,360 Speaker 1: but their relationship was completely over by March of that year. 397 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,800 Speaker 1: Post Mouse, George began seeing a lawyer in Noan named 398 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 1: Louis Michel. 399 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 2: The next big event in George Son's life was finally 400 00:21:26,800 --> 00:21:31,040 Speaker 2: legally separating herself from Casimir du Devon. This was a 401 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 2: significant legal battle. Her lawyer, Paramore could not continue their relationship. 402 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,399 Speaker 2: He was married. He did not wish to disrupt his 403 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 2: life with a long term affair, but he did manage 404 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 2: George's legal separation before they split up, getting significant judgment 405 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,400 Speaker 2: wins for her. In July eighteen thirty six, the separation, 406 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 2: although it was not a divorce, was finally settled. The 407 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:59,240 Speaker 2: two key aspects of the legal decision that her lawyer, 408 00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,720 Speaker 2: Louis Michelle had fought for were that a George got 409 00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:06,360 Speaker 2: custody of the children and b her chateau and property 410 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,679 Speaker 2: in noan reverted entirely back to her. Her son Maurice 411 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 2: would have been thirteen at this point and Solange was seven. 412 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: On the verge of turning eight. And once she had 413 00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 1: married Dudu Vont he had become the controller of the 414 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:21,840 Speaker 1: family finances. So she had been given an allowance out 415 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 1: of what was rightfully her own inheritance, so that was 416 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 1: what she was seeking to reverse at this point. Even 417 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 1: after the separation, Soam did provide her husband with an 418 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:33,240 Speaker 1: annual income. 419 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 2: Around this time, Son met previous podcast subject Franz List 420 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,120 Speaker 2: and his paramour Marie du Gout. Franz and Marie traveled 421 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,080 Speaker 2: to Nowant to visit Son twice in eighteen thirty seven, 422 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:47,320 Speaker 2: and it was through this friendship that George met the 423 00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:50,720 Speaker 2: man she's most often associated with, who we referenced back 424 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:55,040 Speaker 2: at the top of the show, Friedrich Chopam. The friendship 425 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:59,399 Speaker 2: with Marie in particular, would disintegrate in time. It was 426 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 2: revealed to that she had been gossiping about her and 427 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:07,560 Speaker 2: generally scheming against her. Son eventually wrote, quote, your understanding 428 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,640 Speaker 2: of friendship is different than mine. You just won't give 429 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,639 Speaker 2: up being a beautiful and witty woman who slaughters and 430 00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:15,320 Speaker 2: smashes all the others. 431 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: And while Palmde was instantly taken with Chopin when she 432 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,040 Speaker 1: met him, largely because of his musical skill, that interest 433 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,440 Speaker 1: was not initially reciprocated. In a letter that he wrote 434 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,879 Speaker 1: to family, Chopin wrote something about her repels me. But 435 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: by May of eighteen thirty eight, the two were lovers. 436 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 1: They stayed together for nine years, and both of them 437 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: were incredibly productive during their romance. It's kind of considered 438 00:23:41,280 --> 00:23:43,879 Speaker 1: like their golden period for both of them as creators. 439 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:47,280 Speaker 2: Their relationship was perplexing to their friends. 440 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:47,879 Speaker 1: At first. 441 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,800 Speaker 2: Chopin was quiet and reserved, with delicate health. He was 442 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,879 Speaker 2: the polar opposite of George, who lived however she wished 443 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 2: and was unafraid of just about everything. There were whispers 444 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 2: in their social circle that the match might take a 445 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,240 Speaker 2: toll on Chopin, who was perceived to be pretty fragile, 446 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 2: and during their first winter together, she took him along 447 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,480 Speaker 2: with her two children to New Yorca to stay in 448 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,720 Speaker 2: a monastery. The weather and the meager accommodations there were 449 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 2: really rough on the composer. He coughed up blood throughout 450 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 2: this whole stay. After that debacle, they returned to Nowant, 451 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:27,480 Speaker 2: where George fond over Frederick and nursed him back to health. 452 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: In addition to Chopin, Song's friendship with Liszt and Dagou 453 00:24:31,359 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: connected her to many of Europe's most popular writers and artists. 454 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 1: Many of those people spent time with her at the 455 00:24:37,400 --> 00:24:41,000 Speaker 1: Chateau in Noan, including Honore de Balzac and Eugene de 456 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 1: la Croix, who employed her son Maurice as an apprentice 457 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:44,679 Speaker 1: for a time. 458 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 2: In April of eighteen forty, George San tried her hand 459 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:50,159 Speaker 2: at a different kind of writing, which was theater, and 460 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,720 Speaker 2: this did not go so well. Her play Gozima, which 461 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 2: was also titled La Han da Lamour Hate in Love, 462 00:24:57,440 --> 00:24:58,240 Speaker 2: was a flop. 463 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,560 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty one, Saw found herself in a battle 464 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:04,680 Speaker 1: with the leadership of the Review de du Monde over 465 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: her new novel Horus. The periodical's editor had no wish 466 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:11,200 Speaker 1: to publish this work, and this led to George Song 467 00:25:11,359 --> 00:25:15,920 Speaker 1: developing her own literary periodical, Revue and Dependent, in which 468 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 1: Pierre LaRue and Louis Viardeau were her partners. This offered 469 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:22,199 Speaker 1: her a vehicle to publish her own work whenever she 470 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:23,840 Speaker 1: wanted and as she saw fit. 471 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,959 Speaker 2: She had an increasing interest in political matters at this point, 472 00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:31,400 Speaker 2: and so George Sound was inspired in eighteen forty four 473 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:35,439 Speaker 2: to start another periodical. While Law Review into Pendent was 474 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 2: an outlet for her romantic literary work, her second paper, 475 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 2: La Claire, which is The Scout, gave her a place 476 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:45,280 Speaker 2: to print her increasingly political and particularly socialist writing. 477 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: In eighteen forty seven, after nine years together, a permanent 478 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:53,320 Speaker 1: rift formed between Son and Chopin. In February of that year, 479 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:56,879 Speaker 1: Sond and her daughter Solange sat for sculptor Auguste Clesigner, 480 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,159 Speaker 1: and Solange and the sculptor fell madly in love of 481 00:26:00,760 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 1: This was a little bit complicated because Solange was engaged 482 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:07,000 Speaker 1: to someone else, but she broke off that relationship to 483 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,200 Speaker 1: Mary Clesignier three months after meeting him. 484 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,640 Speaker 2: Two months after the wedding, which George had not really 485 00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 2: supported the writer got into a huge fight over money 486 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,919 Speaker 2: with her daughter and her new son in law, Klasagnier 487 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 2: pulled a gun and threatened sound in the midst of 488 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,520 Speaker 2: this high tenent family conflict. It was Solange and not 489 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:30,919 Speaker 2: George that Chopin ultimately sided with. He broke up with 490 00:26:31,040 --> 00:26:35,720 Speaker 2: son by letter, and that's Son's version. At least, Chopin 491 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:38,240 Speaker 2: had come to think of Solange as his own daughter, 492 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,159 Speaker 2: and he was not willing to cut her out of 493 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,280 Speaker 2: his life. When the composer and the writer did see 494 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:46,159 Speaker 2: each other again the year after their breakup, that's kind 495 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 2: of written about as though they kind of ran into 496 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,919 Speaker 2: each other accidentally. Chopin gave George the news that Solane 497 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 2: had given birth to a daughter. That was to be 498 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 2: the last time that Sond and Chopin saw each other. 499 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:02,360 Speaker 2: Chopin died on October seventeenth, eighteen forty nine, of tuberculosis. 500 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 2: Cleisinger actually cast his death mask. When George Son did 501 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:10,879 Speaker 2: not attend Chopin's funeral, many people actually blamed her for 502 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,679 Speaker 2: his death, even though his health improved considerably during his 503 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 2: time at Nauan after that first slightly disastrous winter. Som did, however, 504 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:23,679 Speaker 2: later reconcile with her daughter. Next, we'll talk about George 505 00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,919 Speaker 2: Son's life after Chopin, But first we're going to pause 506 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:29,560 Speaker 2: for a word from one of our sponsors, because we 507 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:40,639 Speaker 2: could not do this show without them. The wave of 508 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,920 Speaker 2: revolutions that began in France in February eighteen forty eight 509 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:46,840 Speaker 2: led to the overthrow of King Louis Philippe and the 510 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:50,440 Speaker 2: rise of the Second Republic. The Second Republic, which Sohm 511 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,520 Speaker 2: believed would be closely aligned with her own personal ideals, 512 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 2: drew her back to Paris, and she started another new 513 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 2: periodical there, La Carse du Peubre, The Cause of the People. 514 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:02,959 Speaker 2: She also wrote for a number of other socialist papers 515 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,119 Speaker 2: during that time. But in the months after the overthrow 516 00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 2: of the monarchy, it became clear that the new government 517 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 2: of France was a lot more conservative than Son had 518 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:14,879 Speaker 2: hoped it would be. She was completely disillusioned by this 519 00:28:14,920 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 2: turn of events, and she went back to Noat, where 520 00:28:16,960 --> 00:28:19,159 Speaker 2: she spent most of her time for the rest of 521 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 2: her life. 522 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:23,199 Speaker 1: The rustic short novel Francois le Champi was published in 523 00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:26,160 Speaker 1: eighteen forty eight. It is the story of a champill 524 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,200 Speaker 1: that is a nickname that translates literally to little mushroom, 525 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,159 Speaker 1: but in this context it refers to a country orphan. 526 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,560 Speaker 1: This book was very popular, and in eighteen forty nine 527 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: it was staged as a play at the Odeon Theater 528 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:42,040 Speaker 1: in Paris, and, unlike her earlier foray into theater, Sahn 529 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 1: met with great success with Francois on the stage. 530 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:48,880 Speaker 2: For Christmas in eighteen forty nine, Son's son Maurice invited 531 00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:53,600 Speaker 2: his friend Alexandra Monceaux to Nowant. Monceaux, who was an engraver, 532 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,400 Speaker 2: moved into the chateau permanently as George's companion, and for 533 00:28:57,440 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 2: the next two years they agree did an assortment of 534 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,600 Speaker 2: visitors in Naant. They put on shows in the Parlor 535 00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 2: theater there. 536 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty two, after Napoleon the Third came to power, 537 00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: George used her considerable influence to broke her pardons from 538 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:15,280 Speaker 1: the new emperor for many of his political opponents. She 539 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:18,840 Speaker 1: continued to advocate politically with the Buonaparte family on behalf 540 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:21,880 Speaker 1: of peasants and the working class, and as a consequence, 541 00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:24,840 Speaker 1: she actually became pretty good friends with Prince Jerome Napoleon, 542 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: the cousin of Napoleon the. 543 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 2: Third, In eighteen fifty four, George's autobiography Istoi de m Ville, 544 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:36,360 Speaker 2: began publishing an installments in the journal La Presse. The 545 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 2: story of her life spooled out over the course of 546 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:42,040 Speaker 2: one hundred and thirty eight installments, and then it was 547 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 2: published in its entirety in book form over the course 548 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:49,480 Speaker 2: of twenty volumes, which gives you a sense of why 549 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:52,400 Speaker 2: we're not mentioning all of the individual details. 550 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:56,320 Speaker 1: As she approached her fifties, George wanted to ensure that 551 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:59,240 Speaker 1: her family would be taken care of long term after 552 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:01,800 Speaker 1: her death, and she began to work on selling the 553 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,960 Speaker 1: rights to future publication royalties for her work in an 554 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:08,800 Speaker 1: effort to secure financial stability for the family. Family life 555 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: itself remained complex. In eighteen fifty three, Solange had entrusted 556 00:30:13,280 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: George with the care of her second daughter, June, who 557 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 1: went by Nini, and as the marriage between Solange and 558 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: her sculptor husband broke down, Clesingay showed up at Noel 559 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,160 Speaker 1: to take the child from Sond, catalyzing a custody battle 560 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,280 Speaker 1: over the five year old, and though Sond was able 561 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: to get custody of Nini after a month's long legal fight, 562 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 1: the child contracted scarlet fever soon after and died in. 563 00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:40,440 Speaker 2: Eighteen fifty five. Sonde, who had continued to write prolifically 564 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,560 Speaker 2: throughout all of these personal dramas, signed a ten book 565 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 2: deal with Haschet three years later. She also made up 566 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 2: with Francois Bouleaus, who was the editor at Revue des 567 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,560 Speaker 2: deu Mont that she had fallen out with years earlier. 568 00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,440 Speaker 2: The literary magazine once again started publishing her work, starting 569 00:30:57,480 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 2: with Lome de la Neige or the Snowman in a 570 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 2: teen fifty eight. 571 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty nine, Songs set off a minor literary 572 00:31:03,920 --> 00:31:06,960 Speaker 1: war when she published El e Louis That's Her and 573 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:10,760 Speaker 1: Him in Installments, and this was a fictionalized version of 574 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,720 Speaker 1: her romance with Alfred de Mussey years earlier. Moose had 575 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:18,520 Speaker 1: died two years prior to Song's story coming out. Keep 576 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,880 Speaker 1: in mind this whole thing was more than twenty years 577 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:24,240 Speaker 1: after their relationship, and Mousey had had his say when 578 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,400 Speaker 1: he published his version of their story in eighteen thirty six. 579 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: But just the same Saul's story earned the ire of 580 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 1: Mousey's brother, who wrote his own book titled Louis Eel 581 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:38,240 Speaker 1: and once again represented his brother's side of the story. 582 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,920 Speaker 2: Despite the skirmish over her past romance in eighteen fifty nine, 583 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:46,000 Speaker 2: Song remained a celebrity and a success. At the end 584 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 2: of that year, one of the first celebrity licensed luxury 585 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 2: sense was created. That was Ou de George sound for 586 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,200 Speaker 2: the body and for the hanky. 587 00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 1: Yet another illustrious writer was still to step into George's life, 588 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,160 Speaker 1: and that was Good Style Flaubert. The two met in 589 00:32:02,240 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty while Song was visiting Paris. Later became friends 590 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: and went on to exchange letters for years. This is 591 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: perhaps a surprising friendship since Flaubert's work Madame Beauverie, which 592 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: came out in eighteen fifty six, seemed to mock the 593 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:20,040 Speaker 1: very sort of woman George Sond writes about in her books, 594 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,720 Speaker 1: and indeed presented herself as Song, like her heroines, was 595 00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: obsessed with romance, with emotions, with this search for passion. 596 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:30,680 Speaker 1: And if you have read Madame Beauverie, you know that 597 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:34,400 Speaker 1: Emma Bovverie is ultimately consumed by those very behaviors, and 598 00:32:34,400 --> 00:32:37,760 Speaker 1: it is not always terribly flattering of her. We should 599 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,760 Speaker 1: note that the interpretation of Flaubert's intent had been argued 600 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 1: since the book's publication, and that quote the i all 601 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:48,840 Speaker 1: offense he attributed to him Madame Beauvrie semoi, might indicate 602 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,480 Speaker 1: that he was perhaps less condescending about romanticism than it 603 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:53,840 Speaker 1: might appear at first glance. 604 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:57,520 Speaker 2: Regardless, the writers seemed to adore each other, despite the 605 00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,720 Speaker 2: obviously different points of view that were presented in their correspondence. 606 00:33:02,280 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 2: Flaubert refers to Song as dear master. At one point, 607 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:10,120 Speaker 2: as they debated politics, he wrote quote, Ah, dear good master, 608 00:33:10,240 --> 00:33:13,280 Speaker 2: if you can only hate, that is what you lack hate. 609 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,200 Speaker 2: In spite of your great sphinx eyes, you have seen 610 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 2: the world through a golden color. 611 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:22,680 Speaker 1: Their letters, which you can read online, are absolutely darling, 612 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: some of them are. It's a very playful and sweet correspondence. 613 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: It kind of reminds me of the text that you 614 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:33,240 Speaker 1: might send to your best friend. And back and forth. 615 00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:36,400 Speaker 1: The two of them tease and chastise each other, and 616 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: at one point in eighteen sixty six, Flaubert suggests that 617 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,000 Speaker 1: if they stop joking in their letters, Song will become 618 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,520 Speaker 1: instantly bored with him, and they often just seem to 619 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: be trying to figure out times when their schedules intersect 620 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:49,640 Speaker 1: so that they can have dinner together. But it's all 621 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:53,440 Speaker 1: peppered throughout discussions of the human soul and the afterlife 622 00:33:53,480 --> 00:33:55,640 Speaker 1: and the nature of art. And as I said, it's 623 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:58,960 Speaker 1: a very charming read. In eighteen sixty one, Yours and 624 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:04,240 Speaker 1: Solage had another falling out. This time George accused Solange 625 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,200 Speaker 1: of basically allowing a man to pay to keep her. 626 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,640 Speaker 1: The two women had continued to butt heads over money, 627 00:34:10,920 --> 00:34:14,160 Speaker 1: and Solange had confided her financial problems to her mother. 628 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,080 Speaker 1: She got a less than cordial reply by letter that read, 629 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:20,560 Speaker 1: in part quote, you should live simply or learned to 630 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:24,080 Speaker 1: work to anything anyone ever says to you. You reply 631 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:28,200 Speaker 1: that it's impossible. My only advice is this, both privation 632 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:31,319 Speaker 1: and work require a strong will. And when you say 633 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:34,239 Speaker 1: how boring, I've got nothing more to say. As a 634 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: result of these disagreements, the two women did not speak 635 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:43,040 Speaker 1: for four years. Yeah, they a classic mother and daughter 636 00:34:43,120 --> 00:34:48,360 Speaker 1: conflict relationship. George's son Maurice also had some sort of 637 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:52,520 Speaker 1: falling out with alexandle Monceaux, that is, his friend who 638 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:56,200 Speaker 1: had become George Soon's companion and lover, and he asked 639 00:34:56,239 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: that his former friend leave Noah and It is unclear 640 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,280 Speaker 1: why this ultimatum was given. It is possible that Maurice, 641 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:06,719 Speaker 1: who had married in eighteen sixty two, suddenly saw Manceaux 642 00:35:06,800 --> 00:35:10,040 Speaker 1: as a freeloader in his mother's world. But we have 643 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:14,359 Speaker 1: to give Monceaux his due. He was absolutely devoted to Georgsand. 644 00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:17,880 Speaker 1: Many men had fallen in love with her during her life, 645 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,799 Speaker 1: but Manceaux supported her in ways that few people ever 646 00:35:20,920 --> 00:35:22,080 Speaker 1: experience in a partner. 647 00:35:22,600 --> 00:35:26,080 Speaker 2: Sound was a constant and prolific writer. She turned out 648 00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:30,040 Speaker 2: twenty pages a day every day. Because the chateau had 649 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 2: constant guests that had needs and cost money, and because 650 00:35:33,719 --> 00:35:37,400 Speaker 2: she paid allowances to her children and rented places in Paris, 651 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:39,840 Speaker 2: she just needed a constant stream of income, so she 652 00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,880 Speaker 2: wrote even when a party went on at the chateau 653 00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:45,799 Speaker 2: until the wee hours. She would then write and write 654 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 2: until sunrise, and when she would sit down for a 655 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:52,279 Speaker 2: long session, Monceaux would bring her everything she might need, 656 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,680 Speaker 2: her paper and her ink, her cigarette, papers and tobacco, 657 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:59,280 Speaker 2: any refreshments she might need. He actually purchased a small 658 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:01,799 Speaker 2: cottage near by for them to escape to when the 659 00:36:01,880 --> 00:36:04,319 Speaker 2: chateau got too crowded with guests for her to. 660 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:05,000 Speaker 1: Be able to write. 661 00:36:05,600 --> 00:36:09,120 Speaker 2: In short, he enabled her to continue her career uninterrupted 662 00:36:09,160 --> 00:36:10,440 Speaker 2: in the years that they were together. 663 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:15,320 Speaker 1: Yeah, he was so supportive Lake and Sik. What everybody 664 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:18,839 Speaker 1: dreams of in a partner that supports in and keeps 665 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:21,680 Speaker 1: him going and unconditionally loves them. He was there for 666 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:24,960 Speaker 1: all of that. So when Maurice insisted that Manceaux had 667 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,800 Speaker 1: to leave Noon, that is exactly what happened, and George 668 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 1: soAnd left with him, And after they traveled for a bit, 669 00:36:31,800 --> 00:36:35,880 Speaker 1: the pair landed in Palisseau, just outside of Paris. Manceau 670 00:36:35,960 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: died of tuberculosis a year later, but it would be 671 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,640 Speaker 1: two war years before George Sound would return to Noon. 672 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,000 Speaker 2: The last ten years of her life were a mix 673 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:47,640 Speaker 2: of the life that she loved so much at Naant 674 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,800 Speaker 2: and travel and politics. She criticized both the radical Paris 675 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,920 Speaker 2: Commune government which ruled for several months in eighteen seventy one, 676 00:36:55,400 --> 00:36:58,040 Speaker 2: and the toppling of that government because of the violent 677 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:01,400 Speaker 2: and bloody conflict that took place. She and her family 678 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:04,759 Speaker 2: fled no Want briefly due to a smallpox scare, and 679 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,400 Speaker 2: she entertained loads of visitors at the chateau. As always, 680 00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:11,920 Speaker 2: she still wrote constantly along with all of that. At 681 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:15,920 Speaker 2: sixty nine, she wrote Conte dun Grammer Tales of a Grandmother. 682 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:19,279 Speaker 1: In late eighteen seventy five, Sond organized all of her 683 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:21,600 Speaker 1: works so it could be published as a complete collection, 684 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,040 Speaker 1: and she wrote a preface for it. Soon thereafter, she 685 00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 1: started work on a new novel, Albinfiori. 686 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,200 Speaker 2: She died on June eighth, eighteen seventy six, just a 687 00:37:31,239 --> 00:37:33,840 Speaker 2: few weeks shy of her seventy second birthday. 688 00:37:34,239 --> 00:37:37,560 Speaker 1: In her lifetime, Sound wrote more than fifty novels, more 689 00:37:37,560 --> 00:37:43,080 Speaker 1: than a dozen play her extensive autobiography, and innumerable pamphlets, essays, 690 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:44,000 Speaker 1: and letters. 691 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:47,520 Speaker 2: In eighteen forty four, Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote a poem 692 00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:51,799 Speaker 2: titled Tou George Sond, a recognition in celebration of the 693 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:55,400 Speaker 2: controversial writer's ability to carve out her own exceptional life 694 00:37:55,440 --> 00:38:00,680 Speaker 2: that defied gender norms. Here's how that poem reads. Large 695 00:38:00,719 --> 00:38:05,120 Speaker 2: brained woman and large hearted man, self called George Sond, 696 00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:09,320 Speaker 2: whose soul amid the lions of thy tumultuous senses, moans 697 00:38:09,480 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 2: defiance and answers roar for roar, as spirits can I 698 00:38:14,040 --> 00:38:18,239 Speaker 2: would some mild miraculous thunder ran above the applauded circus 699 00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:21,840 Speaker 2: and appliance of thine own nobler nature's strength and science, 700 00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:26,239 Speaker 2: drawing to pinions white as wings of swan from thy 701 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,120 Speaker 2: strong shoulders to amaze the place with holier light that 702 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:34,160 Speaker 2: thou to woman's claim and man's might join, besides the 703 00:38:34,239 --> 00:38:38,680 Speaker 2: angel's grace of a pure genius, sanctified from blame, till 704 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:42,520 Speaker 2: child and maiden pressed to thine embrace, to kiss upon 705 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:44,760 Speaker 2: thy lips a stainless fame. 706 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:49,480 Speaker 1: Oh youorg song, I love you so much. Good her. 707 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:56,120 Speaker 1: Uh It's funny because I don't super love her novels. Sure, 708 00:38:56,719 --> 00:38:59,799 Speaker 1: this is not my jam, but I love her as 709 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:03,200 Speaker 1: a person and her biography. I think she's kind of 710 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:06,720 Speaker 1: fabulous in the way that you know, a saucy woman 711 00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:09,960 Speaker 1: who sets out to make her own life very much 712 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:15,120 Speaker 1: outside of the norms of societal mores. This is pretty fun. 713 00:39:15,520 --> 00:39:18,359 Speaker 1: And uh, yeah, I can't say I would I would 714 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:21,880 Speaker 1: want her romantic life. That sounds exhausting, but you know, 715 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:23,520 Speaker 1: she's still very fun. Yeah. 716 00:39:23,760 --> 00:39:26,400 Speaker 2: There are moments where I'm like, that sounds like a 717 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:28,479 Speaker 2: lot of fun, and other moments are I'm like, Okay, 718 00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 2: I'm tired now right, I just. 719 00:39:30,600 --> 00:39:33,880 Speaker 1: Want to lie down. I mean, I love the idea, like, oh, 720 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:36,400 Speaker 1: that's another good time travel thing. I would love the 721 00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:39,239 Speaker 1: chance to visit Noah and like hang out at some 722 00:39:39,320 --> 00:39:42,279 Speaker 1: of her epic like perpetual parties that seem to be 723 00:39:42,320 --> 00:39:45,960 Speaker 1: going on there with lots of interesting, fun, smart people. Right. 724 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:47,520 Speaker 1: Can I just hang out at Noah with De la 725 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:49,320 Speaker 1: Croix for a while. That sounds great? 726 00:39:55,160 --> 00:39:58,000 Speaker 2: Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday. Since 727 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:00,520 Speaker 2: this episode is out of the archive, at an email 728 00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:03,239 Speaker 2: address or a Facebook RL or something similar over the 729 00:40:03,280 --> 00:40:06,399 Speaker 2: course of the show that could be obsolete now. Our 730 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:12,120 Speaker 2: current email address is History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 731 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:15,840 Speaker 2: Our old house Stuffworks email address no longer works. You 732 00:40:15,880 --> 00:40:19,040 Speaker 2: can find us all over social media at missed Inhistory, 733 00:40:19,440 --> 00:40:22,440 Speaker 2: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 734 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,879 Speaker 2: Google Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, and wherever else you. 735 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:26,839 Speaker 1: Listen to podcasts. 736 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:33,480 Speaker 2: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 737 00:40:33,800 --> 00:40:38,399 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, 738 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.