Indiana (novel)

Indiana

Cover to the 1870 translation of Indiana by George W. Richards
Author	George Sand
Language	French
Genre	Romantic
Publication date	1831
Publication place	France
Pages	344
ISBN	2-07-037604-4

Indiana is a novel about love and marriage written by Amandine Aurore Dupin; it was the first work she published under her pseudonym George Sand. Published in April 1832, the novel blends the conventions of romanticism, realism, and idealism. Set partly in France and partly in the French colony of Réunion, Sand had to base her descriptions of the colony—where she had never been—on the travel writing of friend Jules Néraud.

The main character is Indiana, a young woman who is weak in body but strong in mind.

Summary

One edition illustrated by Maurice Toussaint

In the story an attractive, young Creole from Réunion named Indiana is married to an older ex-army officer named Colonel Delmare. Indiana does not love him, and searches for someone who will love her passionately. She overlooks her cousin Ralph, who lives with her and the colonel and who has loved her steadfastly from a young age. When their young, handsome, and well-spoken neighbor, Raymon de Ramiere declares his interest to Indiana, she falls in love with him. Raymon has already seduced Indiana's maid, Noun, who is pregnant with his child. When Noun finds out what is going on, she drowns herself.

Indiana's husband decides that they will move to the Île Bourbon. Indiana escapes the house to faithfully present herself in Raymon's apartments in the middle of the night, expecting him to accept her as his mistress in spite of society's inevitable condemnation. He at first attempts to seduce her but, on failing, rejects her once and for all. He cannot bear the thought that her will is stronger than his and writes her a letter intended to make her fall in love with him again, even though he has no intention of requiting it.

Indiana has moved to the Island with the Colonel by the time she reads the letter but does not fall under Raymon's spell again. She escapes once again to France, where the Trois Glorieuses revolution of 1830 is taking place. In the meantime, Raymon has made an advantageous marriage and bought Indiana's house. The stoic Sir Ralph, whom she has always seen as 'égoiste', comes to rescue her and tell her that Colonel Delmare is dead from illness. They decide to commit suicide together by jumping into a waterfall at the Île de Réunion. But on the way home they fall in love. Just before the suicide, they declare their love for one another and believe they will be married in Heaven. At the end of the novel comes a conclusion, a young adventurer's account of finding a man and woman, Ralph and Indiana, living on an isolated plantation.

Principal characters

• Indiana Delmare - young, attractive Creole married to an older man. She does not love her husband.
• Sir Ralph - Indiana’s cousin who loved her from a young age.
• Raymon de Ramiere - young, handsome man who was Noun's lover, then fell in love with Indiana, but later marries another woman.
• Colonel Delmare - Indiana’s husband, an elderly ex-army officer.
• Noun - Indiana’s maid who grew up with her as a sister.
• Madame de Ramiere - Raymon’s mother who wanted him to marry Indiana.