A Winter in Majorca
A Winter in Majorca is an autobiographical travelogue written by George Sand, at the time in a relationship with Frédéric Chopin. Although published in 1842, it appeared for the first time in 1841 in the Revue des deux Mondes.
In it, Sand relates the details of her trip and stay with Chopin on the island of Majorca, due to the illness of the pianist. Sand, Chopin, and Sand's two children stayed in the Valldemossa Charterhouse for a few months, from the end of 1838 until February 1839, during which time they hoped that Chopin's tuberculosis would improve. However, the winter was hard and his health did not improve and so they soon returned to Barcelona and eventually to Marseille and then Paris.
Sand stretches the genre of autobiographical travelogue toward a more literary work, relating the experience of men and women, the experience of nature, and the experience of oneself during her encounter with the island of Majorca. Clearly irritated by the material conditions of this voyage, Sand expresses her clear intolerance towards the islanders, as many commentators, such as the writer Llorenç Villalonga, would later point out.
Travelogue as literary genre
At the time of writing Un hiver à Majorque, the genre of the travelogue was in full development. The first works of George Sand, Voyage en Auvergne and the unfinished Voyage en Espagne, were already travelogues. She had written Lettres d'un voyageur a few years before, a work which she nodded to in the preface of Un hiver by describing it as a "Letter from an ex-traveler to a settled friend".The travelogue is a flexible genre, and Un hiver is also the analysis of a political situation. Since 1835 George Sand had been looking for a political system capable of improving human life. She is interested in the person and ideas of Michel de Bourges, the socialist theories of Pierre Leroux and those of Claude-Henri de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon, among others. Saint-Simon's work described the importance of the economy, a recurring theme in Un hiver. Sand's humanitarian ideal is developed clumsily in Un hiver, but will be further developed in her later novel Consuelo. In 1833, the Spanish reign of Isabella II began, characterized by political tensions, a strong military power, and no major economic difficulties. Liberal progressivism gradually established itself under the direction of Espartero. When George Sand arrived in Majorca, the writer's lessons praising free enterprise were a little excessive, but in line with her concern for social justice, efficiency and the fair distribution of wealth. She wrote, "he Majorcans are not yet ripe enough for a revolution". These reflections were her inspiration, however, and her dialogue in an "Inquisition convent" conveys a more open understanding of the island's realities and perspectives.
As a literary work Un hiver relates the experience of the men and women she met on the island, the experience of nature and the experience of herself. As a conduit for the experience of the inhabitants the novel is a failure: steeped in the ideas of the French Revolution and the Enlightenment, George Sand did not understand the Majorcans. She shows arrogance and disdain for their traditions as well as for their daily life. Sand relates that the experience of nature gave her a strong creative energy, which Chopin apparently also experienced. However, she would write Un hiver later, after her return to France, piqued by the publication of a Majorca travelogue written by Jean-Joseph Bonaventure Laurens. When relating her experience of herself, Sand blurred or erased everything concerning her life with Chopin; departing from the autobiographical genre. Rather, she relates her inner experience, consisting of solitude in a sublime landscape. She addresses the nature of religious experience, drawing on the ideas of Manuel Marliani. She reflects on the demands of household chores, describing all the logistics and all the effort they require.
Intolerance and revenge
Sand espoused freedom and progress, values she represented for her admirers and supporters.However, in this work Sand delivers a full-throated attack on the Majorcans. Her mood reflected in part the hostile attitude of the natives towards a foreign and free woman. But she does not hesitate to refer to the Majorcans as monkeys:
Sand tells the reader that they initially wanted to write a story, but ultimately delivered "personal impressions". Sand's haughty attitude towards the Spanish is constant:
Sand constantly reproaches them for their religious feelings, and expresses antisemitism:
The Spanish reaction was strong, sometimes full of lies and slander. Spanish critics reproached her for not having been able to fit into their environment, and for wanting revenge—which is indeed reflected in her correspondence. Her detractors claimed that since she was able to appreciate and describe the charms of the Valldemossa Charterhouse, where she stayed, in high literary style, she could have written equally well of those who built it and of the spiritual motivation for its construction; instead of referring to the values of the French Revolution, machines and hard work.
The work triggered Parisian mockery against Majorca. For example, in Un hiver Sand related an anecdote from a neighbor about Majorcans singing Ave Marias to their pigs, which apparently amused Parisians and offended Majorcans. Georges Lubin, Sand's editor, then argued that Marjorcan offense at this anecdote showed they lacked wit.
Finally, Robert Graves, the English translator of the work, raises the question of the strange description of Chopin in this text. Was Chopin really as ill as George Sand describes him? Testimonies collected elsewhere seem to indicate he was not. Is the fact that Chopin is never explicitly named justified solely by questions of modesty, or was Sand deliberately foregrounding herself? Chopin, referred to only as "the sick man", suffering from tuberculosis, coughs up blood, which frightens and worries the islanders. But then Sand appears to deny the severity and even existence of Chopin's disease:
Summary
Consistent with her male pen name identity, Sand portrays the entire visit as if she were a male friend of Chopin's. In the winter of 1838, the author takes the boat to Majorca and docks at Palma, accompanied by Sand's children and Frédéric Chopin, seriously ill. They stay in the city, then at the Cartoixa de Valldemossa. Sand writes that the food is expensive, contains too much pork, and that the peasants are unpleasant and dishonest. Sand complains about the smell of poor quality olive oil.The author discovers and recognizes the architectural and natural beauties of the island, which, however, do not always resemble how they were described in the books Sand had read. The author proposes that "he character of a people is revealed in its costume and furnishings, as well as in its features and language" and concludes the absence of any "intellectual life" in the Majorcan.
Sand claims that the absence of hardship has made Majorcans lazy:
Agriculture is no less backward there than in some French regions, but, for George Sand, the Majorcan peasant is incredibly poor, soft and slow:
In the spring of 1839 they return on the Méléagre, from Barcelona to France, feeling liberated: