Indiana by George Sand

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By finally transitioning from Raymon to Ralph in a sudden act of freedom, Indiana shows how the limits of her life have extended past the restrictions of a woman in her societal class. As her character developed to the peak of her growth, Indiana begins to finally accept Ralph who is offering her exactly what she wanted; sacrificial love. “‘You ask that I should forgive you, I who caused the unhappiness of your life, I who requited such a pure, generous love with incredible blindness and fierce ingratitude! It is I who should go on my knees to you and ask for forgiveness’” (Sand 259). By finally realizing that by trying so hard for a companionate marriage and sacrificial love, she pushed away Ralph who unconditionally loves her.

By allowing herself too finally break free of social norms and boundaries of society, her self-realization brings her to the peak of her freedoms. Indiana is unable to move any further and is brought face to face what she has wanted all along that Delmare and Raymon would not and could not provide for her; sacrificial love. Which, in turn, allows Ralph to step in and declare his love for her. At the end of the novel, Indiana and Ralph just into the water in order to kill themselves to be together forever. This in itself is ironic as in the beginning of the novel Indiana is dying because of how morally lost she is but as the writing ends she is attempting to kill herself with Ralph in a desperate attempt for her to finally receive a fulfilling love.

Her transitions from Delmare, to Raymon, and finally to Ralph exhibit the limits to a woman’s freedom in the 19th century. Sand uses the three men to represent exactly how far Indiana is allowed to grow and progress as a woman in a male dominated society. The search for the deep passionate love Indiana craved the attention and the thrill of being enticed by Raymon. She drops barriers by sacrificing everything in the search for moral self-realization. This alone breaks the norms of the 1800’s and male bourgeois mindset. The conventional attitude towards women were no-where near a woman’s freedoms allowed in 21st century which makes Sand’s writings all the more impactful to 19th century society. This novel depicted what a woman would go through in order to reach a state of fulfillment and affection by men and readjust thinking about a woman’s place in society.

the central conflict of the novel is concluded by the apparent deaths of Indiana and Ralph.

Works Cited

Sand, George. Indiana. New York: Oxford UP, 1994. Print.