-the interior soul of Nature, that vibrates in everything and
everybody." With Lamartine and Michelet, she has best reflected and
expressed the dreams and hopes and loves of the first half of the
nineteenth century.

George Sand saw Nature, lived in her, sympathized with her, and loved
her as did few other French writers; therefore, she showed more memory
than pure imagination in her work, for she always found Nature more
beautiful in actuality than she could picture her mentally, while
other great writers, like Lamartine, saw her less beautiful in reality
than in their imagination; hence, they were disappointed in Nature,
while for George Sand she was the truest friend. The world will always
be interested in her descriptions of Nature, because with Nature she
always associated something of human life--a thought or a sentiment;
her landscapes belonged to her characters--there is always a soul
living in them, for, to George Sand, man and Nature were inseparable.

Thus, every novel of this authoress consists of a situation and a
landscape, the poetic union of which nothing can mar. "Man associated
with Nature and Nature with man is a great law of art; no painter has
practised it with instinct more delicate or sure." Because Nature,
in her early youth, was her inspiration, guide, even her God, she
returned to her later in life. M. Jules Lemaitre wrote that her works
will remain eternally beautiful, because they teach us how to love
Nature as divine and good, and to find in that love peace and solace.
There are many parts of her work which show as detailed, accurate, and
realistic descriptions as those by Balzac. She constantly employed two
elements--the fanciful and the realistic.

George Sand never studied or knew how to compose a work, how to
preserve the unity of the subject or the unity in tone in characters;
hence, there was nothing calculated or premeditated--everything was
spontaneous. No preparation of plan did she ever think of--a mode of
procedure which naturally resulted in a negligent style and caused
the composition to drag. Her inspiration seemed to go so far, then
she resorted to her imagination, to the chimerical, forcing events
and characters. "There are many defects in the style--such as
the sentimental part, the romanesque in the violent expression of
sentiments or invention of situations, the exaggerated improbabilities
of events, the excessive declamation; but how many compensating
qualities are the