Sand’s play, Gabriel, has many themes that emerge from the gender confusion of Gabriel. Gabriel is born female but is raised like a man. Her grandfather, the prince of Bramante, hires a preceptor who raises and educates her like a man. The plan to conceal Gabriel’s gender identity is only known to few people; her grandfather, the preceptor, Mark, the servant, and her nanny. Gabriel herself at the beginning does not know her gender identity, although she would experience some revelations or hints but she would not pay much attention to them. Her grandfather did not want the rightful heir, Astolphe, to inherit his wealth, and had to hatch such a plan to leave his wealth in the hands of Gabriel. Most profoundly, in the play, Gabriel’s gender confusion portrays her as an angel, who is capable of demonstrating the strength of a woman, bravery, purity of heart, and as an individual who had been born to accomplish a certain mission before going back to her rightful place.
The first conversation between the preceptor and Gabriel portrays her as a progressive person who is opposed to gender stereotypes. She does not understand why the preceptor has the obsession of portraying women as inferior beings. Gabriel says “That, since I, a child of ten years old, was not aware of the danger, I was more reckless than you, a man of wisdom and foresight, it follows that absolute bravery is not the exclusive sharing of man, but rather that of the child, and who knows? Perhaps also that of the woman” (Sand, Scene III). In this conversation, Gabriel challenges the preceptor that although he was a fully grown up man, he feared more than a child, especially when he was aware of danger. Gabriel had not yet discovered her gender identity, but from the conversation it is evident that she was more courageous than a man.
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Although the Prince of Bramante and the preceptor had raised Gabriel like a man, her female traits seemed to have overridden her upbringing. Firstly, she was more inquisitive, and emotional. The receptor might have believed that by isolating her and teaching and treating her like a man, she would automatically behave like a man. However, the preceptor was surprised when she talked to him about the dream. She had dreamt of being a woman, “I was a woman; because suddenly my wings became numb, the ether closed on my head, like an impenetrable crystal vault, and I fell, fell ...” (Sands, Scene III). Secondly, her staunch defense of women confused the preceptor. She questioned why women were despised not knowing that she was a woman herself. Perhaps the preceptor was afraid that if she inherited her grandfather and proceeded with her ideas, she would break norms, where only men were allowed to lead. Unbeknownst to them, they were empowering a woman and also realized how brilliant a woman can be. One of the gender confusions portrayed through Gabriel is that her grandfather and the preceptor were empowering a woman instead of a man, especially a time when gender stereotypes were very prevalent.
Gabriel also takes the form of a man, and even performs better than ordinary men. At the beginning of the play, she rides a horse and is obsessed with manly sports such as hunting. She demonstrates so much prowess riding the horse that her grandfather is impressed and feels his plan has succeeded. The Prince stated, “What! This young man riding a black horse, fast as the storm?” (Sands, Scene II). Secondly, when Gabriel goes out to drink wine with Mark, their servant, she does not hesitate taking her pistol out and shooting attackers. The attackers had underestimated her and labeled her a child because she did not have a beard. She also took out a dagger and placed on the throat of one of the attackers before letting him escape. Through these scenes, Gabriel emerges an extraordinary man who is ready to defend himself and others. Gabriel had just been told about her gender identity and one would expect her to stay indoors and feel sad about the revelations. Besides, knowing that she was female, one would have expected her to freak out when the attackers pounced on them. Contrary to that, she gained courage, used her pistol, and grabbed a man, and placed her dagger against his throat until the man begged to be spared.
Most profoundly, Gabriel behaved like an angel. Firstly, she detested the unfair treatment of women by men. She wanted all genders to have equal chances at inheritance and leadership. Secondly, when she met Astolphe for the first time, she offered to clear his debts and even willingly accompanied Astolphe to prison after they were attacked, “Shut up, sir, my cousin's debts will be paid. My steward will come to your house tomorrow morning” (Sands, First Part, Scene I). She did not understand why Astolphe was to be arrested and herself spared when she had also killed. Thirdly, she refused to be part of the scheme to deny Astolphe his rightful chance as heir. She had planned to kill herself before she was murdered. Therefore, her death was akin to a sacrifice for justice to prevail.
To conclude, Gabriel is portrayed as an angel, just like angel Gabriel. Firstly, she does not have a clear gender. She fits any gender role; she rides horses, and takes part in hunting but she is also capable of demonstrating love, the way she loved Astolphe. She uses her position to fight bad cultural practices, such as mistreating women. However, she is pure of heart because she does not want to be part of her grandfather’s plot to deny Astolphe the chance to rule. Therefore, her actions and ideas portray her as a selfless person, who sacrificed herself for a good course.
Reference
Sand, G. (1839). Gabriel . Meline, Cans.
