At the end of her novel Consuelo, George Sand made a brilliant advertising move for the time. She wrote about
that anyone who wants to know the future fate of the heroine, as well as what happened to Count Albert after his death, can not guess on the coffee grounds, but simply read the next novel entitled "Countess Rudolstadt." For those who have forgotten the contents a bit, we recall that at the end of the
first book, Consuelo secretly married Count Albert, after which he died, and the newly-made widow, vowing to keep the circumstances of her marriage secret, went, as they say now, to continue her musical career .
“Countess Rudolstadt” - the book is quite voluminous, although smaller than Consuelo, but it will take quite a while to read. In addition, she is heavily overloaded with philosophical discussions on the topic of good and evil, and many pages in it are devoted to the Masonic movement. And to isolate from this sea of information a love line that most readers are interested in is quite problematic. So for those who are interested in the plot itself, and not numerous deviations from it, we suggest reading its abridged version.
Summary
Countess Rudolstadt begins with a performance by Consuelo at the Berlin Opera. First of all, King Frederick favors her, and, well, the audience follows him. Everything would be just great, but our heroine is constantly haunted by the ghost of her late husband. He flickers in the palace, sneaks into the theater during the performance, bringing the singer to a nervous breakdown. Being unwell, she receives a letter from her friend Baron von Trenk, who asks her to convey the news from him to her lover - the sister of King Friedrich, Princess Amalia. Faithful to friendship, Consuelo comes to the princess and receives from her an invitation to a friendly "brawl". During a pleasant dinner in a close and warm company, she is surprised to learn from the princess that her secret is not at all as secret as it seemed to her. The doctor who was present at the death of Albert talked about the wedding, and the princess is aware that not just the singer Porporina is sitting at the table with her, but Countess Rudolstadt.
King Friedrich found out about this private meeting and wanted to find out from our heroine the details, but having received a firm refusal, he decided the matter simply - he sent Consuelo to prison and forgot about it. But Countess Rudolstadt was not left without help - a mysterious stranger rescued her from captivity, whose face she never saw, since it was constantly covered with a mask. A young girl, a mysterious savior ... well, how can you resist and not fall in love? So Consuelo could not resist - she gave her heart to a masked stranger.
After a fairly short time after the escape, she was informed that she was not a widow at all, and her husband was alive. The fact is that the count did not die at all, but fell into a lethargic dream, which the ignorant physician who was present at this event took for death. Albert's mother, who knew that her son inherited a tendency to lethargy from her, secretly stole her son and thereby saved his life. Why secretly? Yes, the fact is that the senior Countess Rudolstadt was officially considered to be deceased for a long time, although in fact, she was not only completely alive, but also held a rather high post in the Masonic lodge. Consuelo, having talked with his mother-in-law, and learning from her that Albert is practically at the head of the box, also decides to join Freemasonry and forget about his criminal love, remaining a faithful wife.
But can a count, who is noble and generous, accept such a sacrifice from his wife? In no case - he gives his wife complete freedom of action and love. Eaten by conflicting feelings, the poor thing rushes between duty and love, but here fate itself comes to her rescue. A mysterious stranger takes off his mask and ... turns out to be Albert. She fell in love with her own legal spouse. It would seem that you can put an end to this, but George Sand is not like that . The happy ending of the novel is too fresh and boring, because the singer and the aristocrat with an exalted soul cannot live peacefully in their ancient castle. Albert decides to announce that he is alive, and his decision ends very sadly.
Epilogue
Our Countess Rudolstadt loses her voice when she learns that her husband was recognized not as a Count, but as an impostor, and was sent to prison. Her further fate, according to the author, is lost in the darkness of obscurity. However, the echoes of the fate of the heroes still convey to the reader. He, the reader means, meets on the page of the book a large roving family, headed by a holy hermit. The elder is accompanied by a wife, whom the neighboring peasants call the “Gypsy-Comforter”, and with them is almost always the half-crazy old man Zdenko. Everything converges - this is Consuelo with his beloved husband. They are happy, wandering from village to village, surrounded by the care and love of local peasants.