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A Cow that Writes, Nietzsche ~
Why I changed my name — George Sand
“ There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.” Sand.
What fascinates me about George Sand is not so much because she was under five-feet tall, smoked cigars, and had an affair with Chopin: rather how she became a successful writer after changing her name.
She did not always dress as a man, thus the fact she was a woman writing under a male nom de plume was no secret: especially, to her publishers.
French literary historian, Sainte-Beuve wrote: “He couldn’t imagine anything worse than an affair with a woman writer — because your private life would always end up in print. Shame on Nietzsche — calling her ‘A fat cow who writes.’
The important issue here, it satisfied the male dominated publishers of the day. Based on her story, we have come a long way since the 1800’s, as far as accepting female authors.
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin-George Sand?
George Sand was a Romantic novelist, one of the first female French writers to establish an international reputation. She never allowed her unusual behavior to interfere with her writings, often weaving her romantic partners into her stories. One biographer described her as having “huge devouring black eyes who could…