George-Sandizm

[Alexandra Smith]

Dear Francoise,

Ivachinsky's name contains an allusion to willow-tree (iva)!.. He is a  
person who goes with the flow of life and he depends upon his friends  
who clearly indicate to him that he didn't have to stay faithful to  
his wife. It seems to me that he is afraid of commitment and cares too  
much about fashionable trends and  his friends' opinion. But, having  
good intentions (Pavlova suggests that he appears to be a nice fellow  
but he is not mature enough to take any responsibilities), Ivachinsky  
might have written in his letters to Cecily that their marriage could   
be dissolved in due course if his bride would feel that he could not  
live up to her expectations, or they could have had an agreement to  
live separately in due course if she were to become a writer...
(Pavlova's own marriage was not a happy one and her husband was a  
gambler. She left him and settled in Germany.)
Since the general perception of George Sand in Russia in the 1830-40s  
was such that Russian readers saw in her works a call for women to  
embrace a notion of independence and self-determination that might  
lead either to marriage of convenience or to an independent career  
that lies outside marriage, Cecily's mother felt that any suggestions  
of this unusual way of life would corrupt Cecily's mind and could give  
her ideas that she could become a writer and earn her living from it.
I might be wrong though but that how I remember Pavlova's short novel.
There is an interesting discussion of Elena Gan's 1837 story "Ideal"  
and Sand's influence on Gan undetaken by the German scholar Elizabeth  
Cheaure. The article states:
"Однако, главное отличие Ган от Санд как возможного образца для  
подражания заключается не в позиции рассказчика. ... В критической  
литературе эти различия выявлялись обычно на уровне действия и  
морально-этической позиции. Это интерпретировалось следующим образом:  
Санд якобы побуждает к разрыву брачных связей, в то время как Ган  
видит счастье женщины исключительно в рамках этого общественно  
признанного союза. Более кроткий по сравнению с Санд тон произведений  
Ган объясняется тем, что на практике это обычно невозможно. Такого  
толкования, однако, недостаточно. Действительно, героиня Санд, даже  
когда она внешне терпит поражение, в моральном отношении выходит  
победительницей. Это всегда связано с легко расшифровывающимся  
призывом к самоопределению женщин." ("Elena Gan -- russkaia Zhorzh  
Sand")  
(http://www.a-z.ru/women_cd1/html/pol_gender_cultura_m2000_v.htm).  
(The German version is: Elisabeth Cheaure: Elena Can — die russische  
George Sand? In: Wechselbeziehungen zwischen slawischen Sprachen,  
Literaturen und Kulturen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart. Hrsg. von  
Ingeborg Ohnheiser. Innsbruck 1996, S. 307-318.)

All best,
Alexandra

=====================================
Alexandra Smith (PhD, University of London)
Lecturer in Russian
School of European Languages and Cultures
The University of Edinburgh
David Hume Tower
George Square
Edinburgh EX8 9JX
UK

tel. +44-(0)131-6511381
fax: +44- (0)131- 650-3604
e-mail: Alexandra.Smith at ed.ac.uk




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