Aurore Dupin, aka George Sand, began her relationship with Frederik Chopin in 1837. Before it began, however, he was disgusted by her appearance. She wore trousers and smoked in public. Chopin and Sand stayed in Nohant, her home, where one can still see the sound boards Sand installed to keep out the sound of the piano when Chopin was composing. [Ironically, my piano teacher married a man who could not stand to hear her play.] Sand and Chopin lived in Nohant for half the year and in Paris the other half. While in Paris they did not live together, but their respective apartments were just a few blocks away. In 1843, they moved into adjacent apartments.
After a falling-out in 1848, Chopin was never invited back to Nohant. He died in 1849, alone and poor. Check out my story labeled Piano under the More tab for a painting of Chopin on his deathbed to understand that he died poor but, technically, not alone. There were close to 3,000 people at Chopin’s funeral at the Church of the Madeleine in Paris. Sand was not one of them.
It is difficult to figure out their relationship, which is for the best. Chopin was deeply Catholic, and that makes it problematic, for Chopin would have pursued a life in accordance with the faith. In today’s culture, every item of a person’s life is revealed. Personally, I find the culture of today, not Aurore and Frederik, sickening. I am not interested in celebrity. I just have a soft spot for Frederik that is only distant in time.
Sources – Molli, a travel guide in Paris, and Wikipedia.com
Anyway, I have a session with Alexander today. I’d rather spend time with kids because they believe me, know I’m not selling them a load of garbage, and don’t get nosy. Most adults don’t believe me, so to hell with them.