George Sand, née Aurore Dupin (1804-1876), est une des écrivaines les plus prolifiques de la monarchie de Juillet (1830-1848). Son œuvre monumentale s’intéresse à une myriade de sujets, qui sont souvent étudiés dans la perspective de l’idéal. Sand s’intéresse entre autres à la notion de poète-artiste, qui désigne un artiste idéal. Cette notion, propre à cette période, se distingue de celle du poète, qui est écrivain. Alors que la signification de la notion de poète-écrivain est arrêtée, le poète-artiste fait l’objet d’une définition vague et subjective. Pour sa part, Sand considère que le poète-artiste désigne à la fois un artiste et un philosophe. Cette proposition, qui est clairement émise, constitue un axe central à toute la pensée artistique qu’elle développe. C’est ce qui est exploré dans le présent travail, à travers trois thématiques de la pensée artistique de George Sand. Ces thématiques feront chacune l’objet d’un chapitre. La notion de la fraternité des arts sera d’abord étudiée. Cette thématique typiquement romantique, omniprésente dans les écrits de Sand, perçoit les différentes disciplines comme formant un tout. Ensuite, il sera question de la hiérarchie des arts : George Sand considère que la musique est la discipline supérieure, comparativement à certains de ses contemporains qui accordent plutôt ce titre à la poésie. Enfin, George Sand perçoit une figure de génie à travers ses écrits, qui s’approche de l’artiste idéal. Toutes ces thématiques sont étudiées en étroite relation avec les visions habituelles de l’époque, soit la monarchie de Juillet. / George Sand, born Aurore Dupin (1804-1876), was one of the most prolific writers of the July Monarchy (1830-1848). Her monumental work focuses on a myriad of subjects, which are often studied from the perspective of the ideal. Among other things, Sand was interested in the notion of the poet-artist, which refers to an ideal artist. This notion, specific to this period, is distinguished from the other poet, which is a writer. While the meaning of the notion of poet-writer is well determined, that of poet-artist is subject to a vague and subjective definition. For her part, Sand considers that the poet-artist designates both an artist and a philosopher. This proposition, which is clearly stated, constitutes a central axis to all the artistic thought that she develops. This is what is explored in the present work, through three themes of George Sand's artistic thought. Each chapter is devoted to one of these themes, with an attempt to organize the artistic thought of Sand. The theme of the brotherhood of the arts will be studied first. This typically romantic theme, omnipresent in Sand's writings, perceives the different disciplines as forming a whole. Then, the hierarchy of arts will be reviewed: George Sand considers that music is the superior discipline, compared to some of her contemporaries who believe that poetry is the superior discipline. Finally, George Sand perceives a figure of genius in her writings, which comes close to the ideal artist. All these themes are studied in close relation to the usual visions found under the July Monarchy.

This dissertation explores the numerous literary representations of the femme de lettres during the first half of the nineteenth century in order to illustrate the complexities of women’s entrance into the male-dominated domain of literature and also to suggest the impact these fictional characters might have had on the reception of actual women writers as well as their omission from the century’s literary canon. The works that will be included in this analysis include: Mme de Staël’s Corinne, ou l’Italie, Stendhal’s Le Rouge et le noir, Honoré de Balzac’s Béatrix, La Muse du département and Illusions perdues, Delphine de Girardin’s La Canne de M. de Balzac, Napoline and La joie fait peur and George Sand’s Histoire de ma vie, Lettres d’un voyageur and Un Hiver à Majorque. In compiling such diverse works of literature, it becomes clear that both male and female authors from the early nineteenth century were unable to envision a publicly embraced female genius. Although almost all of the fictional femmes de lettres in this study faced a destiny of professional silence, the reasons given for their failures are split between the male and female authors. For the male authors, the woman as a successful intellectual, artist or author was ultimately impossible because of her inability to combine her female body and psyche with the “masculine” pursuit of knowledge. Conversely, the female authors wrote characters whose inability to fully embrace a public literary or artistic career stemmed from society’s unwillingness to tolerate her exceptionality rather than from an inherent disconnect between genius and the female sex. / text

Zugl.: Berlin, Techn. Univ., Diss., 2008