What do you think?
Rate this book
A Mind of Her Own: A Life of the Writer George Sand
A biography of the nineteenth-century French author who defied many social conventions in order to live and write as she wanted.
211 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 1977
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 14, 2011
This is well written biography of a woman I knew little about. She was amazing! She would be amazing today, so imagine amazing of a woman born in 1804. Whe was a prolific writer, when woen were never published because women were considered 1)not intelligent enough to write anything of value and 2) women had virtually no rights whatsoever and 3) in her case was a Frenchwoman where not only was the state opposed to women's rights so was (and is) the church. She had ideas and opinions of political and social value and she expressed them. She lived life on her own terms.
The book for me brought up several questions about our American cultural status today. Is there even a CAUSE in American any longer? I mean is there anything that we discuss with any seriousness, as a nation? People do not discuss unless they are with like minded individuals and then there seems to be not much of that. Salons of Sand's day were filled with folks who had similar ideas to be sure - it is what brought them together. However, they did not fear disagreeing with one another and did not see those disagreements as reason to end relationships or down-grade one another personally. The discussions were meant to be ways to learn, grow and encourage one another - that doesn't happen if everyone is agreeing with each other or fears to speak because one will be cast out of the group. The only place left for discussion seems to be the classroom and possibly that is because of the temporary nature of the situation. If "grades" depend on agreement with the professor - so much for meaningful discussion.
Her life was interesting. She had a huband from whom she soon parted upon discovering he was more interested in drinking, hunting and bedding other women, not to mention uneducated and uninterested in being so. Divorce was not an option in the France of her day - she took lovers, led her own life, made her own rules and her own way in life. She was not a narcissist, but she did not believe in a double standard. What was ok for men, was ok for women and what was good for the rich, was good for the poor. She had the good sense and intelligence to figure all this out at a young age and lived by it.
The book for me brought up several questions about our American cultural status today. Is there even a CAUSE in American any longer? I mean is there anything that we discuss with any seriousness, as a nation? People do not discuss unless they are with like minded individuals and then there seems to be not much of that. Salons of Sand's day were filled with folks who had similar ideas to be sure - it is what brought them together. However, they did not fear disagreeing with one another and did not see those disagreements as reason to end relationships or down-grade one another personally. The discussions were meant to be ways to learn, grow and encourage one another - that doesn't happen if everyone is agreeing with each other or fears to speak because one will be cast out of the group. The only place left for discussion seems to be the classroom and possibly that is because of the temporary nature of the situation. If "grades" depend on agreement with the professor - so much for meaningful discussion.
Her life was interesting. She had a huband from whom she soon parted upon discovering he was more interested in drinking, hunting and bedding other women, not to mention uneducated and uninterested in being so. Divorce was not an option in the France of her day - she took lovers, led her own life, made her own rules and her own way in life. She was not a narcissist, but she did not believe in a double standard. What was ok for men, was ok for women and what was good for the rich, was good for the poor. She had the good sense and intelligence to figure all this out at a young age and lived by it.
Displaying 1 of 1 review