Indiana is a book about love and marriage written by Amantine Aurore Dupin. She published it in April 1832 using the name George Sand, which was her pseudonym. The story combines elements of romanticism, realism, and idealism. Part of the novel takes place in France, and part takes place in the French colony of Réunion. Since Sand had never visited Réunion, she used descriptions from the travel writings of her friend Jules Néraud to create the setting.

Summary

Indiana is the story's main character. She is a young noblewoman with ancestors from French colonial settlers on Île Bourbon (now Réunion) and currently lives in France. She is married to an older former army officer named Colonel Delmare. Indiana has several unknown illnesses, which may be because she does not feel passionate about her life. She is not in love with Delmare and searches for someone who will love her deeply. She ignores her cousin Ralph, who lives with her and the colonel. However, Ralph is in love with Indiana.

When their young, handsome, and well-spoken neighbor, Raymon de Ramière, expresses interest in Indiana, she falls in love with him. Raymon has already seduced Indiana's maid, Noun, who is pregnant with his child. When Noun discovers this, she drowns herself.

Indiana's husband decides they will move to Île Bourbon. Indiana leaves the house at night to visit Raymon's apartment, hoping he will accept her as his lover despite society's disapproval. Raymon tries to seduce her but, when he fails, rejects her completely. He cannot accept that her will is stronger than his and writes her a letter meant to make her fall in love with him again, even though he has no intention of returning her love.

By the time Indiana reads the letter, she has already moved to Île Bourbon with the Colonel. She resists the letter but eventually returns to France on a dangerous sea journey. When she arrives in Paris, the French Revolution of 1830 is happening. Meanwhile, Raymon has married someone wealthy and bought Indiana's house, where he and his wife now live.

Sir Ralph, who Indiana has always seen as selfish, suddenly helps her and tells her that Colonel Delmare has died from a fever. Indiana and Ralph decide to take their own lives by jumping into a waterfall on Île Bourbon. However, on the way home, they fall in love. Just before their planned suicide, they declare their love for each other and promise to marry in Heaven. At the end of the novel, a young adventurer describes finding Ralph and Indiana living on an isolated farm on the island.

Themes

The novel discusses common themes found in stories from the nineteenth century. These themes include cheating in relationships, the rules society imposes on people, and the sadness of not finding love. The story explores how women in the nineteenth century wanted love and respect, but faced challenges because of their social class and strict rules about being unfaithful. At the same time, the novel shows how French laws at the time treated women unfairly. For example, the main character, Indiana, cannot leave her husband, Colonel Delmare, because the law did not protect her rights. Under the Napoleonic Code, women could not own property, care for their children, or end their marriages. Lastly, the novel also addresses how French colonies were controlled by the French Empire.

Main characters

• Indiana Delmare – a young, attractive noblewoman in a marriage without love
• Sir Ralph – Indiana's cousin and possible marriage partner
• Raymon de Ramière – a handsome but unkind young man who pursues wealth and has relationships with Noun and Indiana
• Colonel Delmare – Indiana's husband
• Noun – Indiana's lady's maid, who grew up with her on the Ile de Reunion
• Madame de Ramière – mother of Raymon, who carefully plans to arrange a marriage between Indiana and Raymon
• Madame de Carvajal – Indiana's wealthy and affluent aunt

Legacy

In 2023, the Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto put on a play version of the novel in English at Alliance Française. That same year, Claire Bouilhac and Catel Muller created a graphic novel version of Indiana, which was released by Europe Comics.