1. We would like to think that everything in life is
capable, or beyond the brink of reaching perfection. It would be an
absolute dream to look upon each day with a positive outlook. We try to
establish our lives to the point where this perfection may come true at
times, although, it most likely never lasts. There's no real perfect life by
definition, but instead, the desire and uncontrollable longing to reach this
dream. In the novel Madame Bovary, it's easy to relate to the
characters as well as the author of this book. One can notice that they
both share a fairly similar view on life, and that their experiences actually
tie in with each other. Emma Bovary dreamed of a life beyond that of
perfection as well. She realizes that she leads an ordinary and average
life, but simply does not want to abide by it. In the novel, Emma meets a
pitiful doctor named Charles Bovary. The first time they meet, Charles
falls instantly in love with her. They begin to see more and more of each
other until Charles asks Emma's father for her hand in marriage. They
end up getting married and everything goes fine, just like a normal
couple, for awhile. They did things with each other, went out, and were
extremely happy. Although, this love and passion for life shortly ended
when Emma's true feelings began to come about. We soon come to
realize that "the story is of a
2.woman whose dreams of
romantic love, largely nourished by novels, find no fulfillment when she is
married to a boorish country doctor" (Thorlby 272). This is completely
true because Emma really does get caught up in her reading. She
wonders why she can't have a flawless love as well as a flawless life, just
as the characters do in the novels she reads. Once Emma becomes fed
up and realizes that he is "a sad creature" (Flaubert 78), she begins her
little quest to find the right man through a binge of affairs and broken
hearts. The author of Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert, was born
in Rouen France (Kunitz 280). He grew up in a rather wealthy and
prosperous family as a result of his father being a successful doctor
(Kunitz 280). This could easily relate to the fact that Charles Bovary was
a doctor too. During Flaubert's younger years, he was alone most of the
time. He didn't have any friends and normally spent his days in solitude.
This gave him time to focus on his literature (Flaubert i). Since Flaubert's
academics and knowledge of literature were released at such an early
age, it is explainable to see how his profound talent was released
(Flaubert i). He began to write plays at around the age of ten. These
were in-depth, romantic plays that adults would learn to appreciate
(Kunitz 280). At that time Flaubert focused his attention on the study of
History and the
3.writings of numerous romantics as well
(Kunitz 280). Flaubert was later sent to an intermediate school in Paris to
further strengthen his academic standings (Kunitz 280). Upon completion
of that, he enrolled into law school but found no interest in it (Thorlby
250). This allowed him to do some drifting, while taking the time to
realize that literature would be his destiny (Kunitz 281). Although all
of this schooling and work helped Flaubert become an extremely talented
writer, he thought writing to be one of the most difficult things (De Man xi).
He wrote very slowly in fact, while reflecting on his painful life
experiences. It took over five years to perfect his most famous novel,
Madame Bovary (Thorlby 272). Although some people, as well as I,
believe that Flaubert based the character of Emma Bovary on himself, he
was very unhappy with the subject of the book upon finishing (Thorlby
272). Maybe Flaubert figured her character to be too provocative and
heartless. Otherwise, he might have simply reflected upon the theme,
and thought it to be uninteresting.In 1856, the novel MadameBovary was
actually condemned as being pornographic. This was a result of
Flaubert's eminently honest and descriptive themes. He, along his
publisher were charged with offending public morality and went to trial,
but were soon acquitted (Magill 616). This publicity obviously helped
bring the book out into the public while
4.establishing popularity
and praise. Sure, Flaubert was probably disappointed when this
negative publicity about Madame Bovary. But, he realized that criticism
could be ignored and his objective is "to understand humanity, not to
explain or reform it" (Magill 616). By reading Madame Bovary, it's easy to
notice that Flaubert is a perfectionist. In fact, he sometimes rewrites his
books 3-4 times to establish perfection. When he finished Madame
Bovary, he said, "C'est Moi," meaning in French, "that's me" (Kunitz 281).
This could symbolize the incredible comparison between Flaubert and the
character Emma Bovary. Although Flaubert detested the thought of
being famous, his work titled him France's most renowned writer (Magill
617). According to Sainte-Beuve, Flaubert's scenes were "pictures
which, if they were painted with a brush as they are written, would be
worthy of hanging in a gallery beside the best genre painting" (Kunitz
281). In 1846 Flaubert met the poet Louis Colet, who became his
mistress. Although he admired her, he couldn't "find the ideal love"
(Kunitz 280). This could symbolize the comparison between Flaubert and
Emma as well. Along with Louis Colet, Flaubert had a few more
adulterous relationships too. But, when his work became too important,
Flaubert gave up
5.everything to devote himself to his writing.
He even broke off his affair with Mme. Colet because got in the way
(Thorlby 272). Flaubert soon became a pessimist and basically had
a cheerless view of life (Magill 617). He became the victim of nervous
apprehension and depression (Kunitz 282). Flaubert frequently felt with
drawled from society and longed to commit suicide (Kunitz 282). It's plain
to observe that Flaubert was an idealist that dreamed, just as the
characters in his novel did. "These perpetual conflicts," writes Troyat,
who has been listing some of the paradoxes in Flaubert's life, "made him
a profoundly unhappy man" (Kunitz 282). Emma would sit on the
grass into which she would dig the tip of her parasol with brief thrusts and
would ask herself, "My God, why did I get married" (Flaubert 108)?
Flaubert was the same way, deliberating whether marriage was one of
the biggest mistakes to have been made or not. "Madame Bovary,"
writes A de Pontmartin in the correspond and, "is the pathological
glorification of the senses and of the imagination in a disappointed
democracy." "It proves once and for all that realism means literary
democracy" (De Man ix). Emma and Flaubert are very ordinary
middle-class people, with banal expectations of life and an urge to
dominate their surroundings. Their personalities are remarkable only for
an unusual defiance of natural feelings (Flaubert 152). People even say
6.that the myth surrounding the figure of Emma Bovary is so
powerful, that one has to remind oneself that she is fiction and not an
actual person (De Man vii).By reading this book, and accurately analyzing
the author's significant events, one can plainly conclude that Flaubert
actually did tie in those events with the theme of Madame Bovary.
Madame Bovary is a creation of one's conscience which can only be
explained through the eyes of another. It's about love, hate, and destiny,
while holding every true emotion in the context as well. "Something in the
destiny of the heroine and of the main supporting characters, as well as in
the destiny of the book itself, surrounds it with the aura of immortality that
belongs only to truly major creations" (De Man vii). And it is fair to say
that MadameBovary is a true creation, at least one in the eyes of
Gustave Flaubert. Gustave Flaubert and Madame
Bovary-comparisons Nick Groth
hour 3
2-29-96WORKS CITED De Man, Paul, ed.
Gustave Flaubert: Madame Bovary: Backgrounds and
Sources, Essays in Criticisms. New York: W.W. Norton and
Co., 1965 Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary. New York, New
York, 1964 Kunitz, Stanley J., Vineta Colby, eds.
European Literature (Authors) 1800-1900: A Biographical
Dictionary of European Literature. New York: The H.W. Wilson
Co., 1967 Magill, Frank N., ed. Critical Survey of Long
Fiction: Foreign Language Series. vol. 2; New Jersey: Salem
Press Inc., 1984 Magill, Frank N., ed. Cyclopedia of World
Authors. New Jersey: Salem Press Inc., 1958 Thorlby,
Anthony, ed. The Penguin Companion to European Literature.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1969
. say that Madame Bovary is a true creation, at least one in the eyes of Gustave Flaubert. Gustave Flaubert and Madame Bovary- comparisons Nick Groth hour 3 2-29-96WORKS CITED De Man, Paul, ed. Gustave. Man, Paul, ed. Gustave Flaubert: Madame Bovary: Backgrounds and Sources, Essays in Criticisms. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1965 Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary. New York, New York, 1964 Kunitz,. about Madame Bovary. But, he realized that criticism could be ignored and his objective is "to understand humanity, not to explain or reform it" (Magill 616). By reading Madame Bovary,