We now have two fresh personages for novels, the misunderstood woman and
the frenzied lover. It is a pity they do not marry each other, and so
rid us of them.

We must not lose sight, though, of the fact that, contestable as
_Valentine_ certainly is as a novel of passion, there is a pastoral
novel of the highest order contained in this book. The setting of the
story is delightful. George Sand has placed the scene in that Black
Valley which she knew so well and loved so dearly. It is the first of
her novels in which she celebrates her birthplace. There are walks along
the country pathways, long meditations at night, village weddings
and fetes. All the poetry and all the picturesqueness of the country
transform and embellish the story.


In _Jacques_ we have the history of a man unhappily married, and this,
through the reciprocity which is inevitable under the circumstances, is
another story of a woman unhappily married.

At the age of thirty-five, after a stormy existence, in which years
count double, Jacques marries Fernande, a woman much younger than he
is. After a few unhappy months he sees the first clouds appearing in his
horizon. He sends for his sister Sylvia to come and live with himself
and his wife. Sylvia, like Jacques, is an exceptional individual. She
is proud, haughty and reserved. It can readily be imagined that, the
presence of this pythoness does not tend to restore the confidence which
has become somewhat shaken between the husband and wife. A young man
named Octave, who was at first attracted by Sylvia, soon begins to
prefer Fernande, who is not a romantic, ironical and sarcastic woman
like her sister-in-law. He fancies that he should be very happy with the