Introduction to Madame Bovary

By Grace Parker

Overview of the Realism Movement

• Realism: truthful representation of reality including the “sordid”

• Time period from 1830-1900• Predominant themes were liberty, science, progress• A time of > increased speed in transportation > widespread wealth > decreased religious influence > middle class triumph > class barrier erosion( Lawall, 997-1002 )

Brief Word About the Author:Gustave Flaubert

• Born in Normandy• Began writing at age 16• Studied law, but failed the exam• Devoted life to writing after suffering a nervous breakdown from failed law exam• Took a mistress in 1846• Finished writing Madame Bovary in 1856• Went to trial over Madame Bovary for inciting adultery and was acquitted( Lawall, 1033-34 )

Short Background on Madame Bovary

• Written over a five year span of time• Intended to portray the “vanity of dreaming (Lawall, 1035 )• Depicts “the impossibility of escape from one’s own nature” ( Lawall, 1035)• Represents a clear picture of life and society during that time period (Lawall, 1034 )• Hailed as an exceptional narrative style for the realism period

Main Characters• Emma Bovary: Madame Bovary, the protagonist• Charles Bovary: Emma’s dull, trusting husband who finds her faultless • Rodolphe Boulanger: Emma’s first affair (wealthy man)• Leon Dupuis: Emma’s second affair ( law student, full of himself )• Monsieur Lheureux: Merchant causing Emma’s financial ruin• Monsieur Homais: Atheist pharmacist

Plot• Emma marries Charles, a less than successful doctor and soon becomes bored and disappointed in the marriage• While dreaming of a more sophisticated wealthy life she becomes pregnant with a son, another disappointment• To manage her unhappy life she begins an affair with a wealthy man named Roldolfe. She goes into debt to buy his affections but he leaves her eventually.• She goes on to a second affair after her husband bails her from debt and while never suspecting her infidelity• She falls in debt again and tries unsuccessfully to borrow money to pay it. This failure results in her suicide and her husband finally seeing the truth after she is dead.( www.sparknotes.com)

Themes• Inadequacy of language * > Words try but fail to capture the depth of emotion throughout the piece ( Birkirts, 138 ) • Powerlessness of women* > Seemingly only men have the power to change Emma’s life > Emma wishes for a male child because “ a woman is always hampered” *

• Failure of the bourgeoisie ( middle class) * > The middle class has dissatisfaction with material things and aspirations for “more” in life > Mockery is made of middle class pretense and knowledge ( Champagne, 107-109)

* ( www.sparksnotes.com )

Concluding Thoughts

Madame Bovary, written in the “realism era,” was part of the movement away from romanticism. It was a more realistic story that readers could relate to their own lives as opposed to romanticized mystical works of the proceeding era.

Flaubert took five years to write it and struggled to get every word “just right.” The work was initially condemned for inciting immorality but has remained a valued piece of literature. Today it is known for its narrative style and for the detachment the author makes from his opinion about the characters and the substance of the story.

Sources

Birkerts, Sven. “Rereading.” American Scholar 73.1 ( 2004): 137. MasterFILE Premier. Web 15 Mar. 2013.

Champagne, Roland A. “Emma’s Incompetence As Madame Bovary.” Orbis Litterarum 57.2 (2002): 103-119. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Mar. 2013.

Lawall, Sarah. “The Nineteenth Century: Realism and Symbolism.” The Norton Anthology Western Literature. Ed. 8. Sarah Lawall. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. 997-1005. Print.

http://www.google.com/imageshttp://www.sparknotes.com/lit/bovary/summary.htmlhttp://www.wikipedia.org/wik/Madame_BovaryPhotos are from internet sources and clip art.