- 03/12/2012
- Posted by: essay
- Category: Free essays
“Madame Bovary” is one of the greatest literary works that was written by Gustave Flaubert in 1856. It was the writer’s first novel, however it had the unusual success.
The major conflict of “Madame Bovary” consists in Emma’s desire of true love. She also wishes for money, high social status. But she cannot get it, as her husband is a middle-class doctor who will never enter the world of rich people. Emma feels utterly frustrated about this and starts borrowing money that she spends on her lover. That is the rising action. Emma likes buying things and her tastes constantly grow. The climax of the novel is the visit of Lheureux, Emma’s primary creditor. She is to pay everything back; besides, she receives a court order according to which all her property will be arrested. She can do nothing; no one is going to help the poor woman. That leads to the resolution: she decides to commit a suicide. The falling action of the novel is very sad. Charles loses everything. He learns the truth about his wife’s lovers and dies being broken. Emma’s daughter is sent to work.
The actions in the novel take place in France in the towns of Tostes, Yonville, and Rouen. All the events happen in the mid-1800s.
The protagonist in the novel is Emma Bovary. She is the central character of the story; her personality is revealed in most profound and realistic way. Flaubert depicts her intimate thoughts and inner motions of her heart. As the novel ends, Emma seems almost real to a reader. Her husband, Charles Bovary, is the antagonist in the novel. However, he did not mean to antagonize anyone in the world, especially his wife. He desired to make her happy; his only problem was that he did not understand Emma’s needs. Without comprehending that he became Emma’s worst enemy. It was not his fault that Emma did not belong to the society she lived in.
There are some vivid and bright symbols in the novel. One of them is the blind beggar who follows Emma’s carriage. He is the symbol of Emma’s moral corruption. Dead flowers are another symbol in the novel. Emma sees the wedding flowers of Charles’ dead wife. Later she burns her own wedding bouquet. This action is symbolic; she regrets her marriage and spoiled life.
One of the major themes in the novel is the powerlessness of women in society. That is revealed in behavior of the characters. Thus, Emma hopes that she will have a baby boy, as she comprehends that a girl will suffer in an unfair world. “A woman is always hampered” (Flaubert) in her world. Besides, wishing terribly to change her life for the better, Emma does not possess the power to do so. Still some other men can influence her life, even if their impact is not always of a positive character. Even Charles adds to Emma’s powerlessness. And men despise that feature: Rudolph can help to change her life, but he does not do it as she too week for him. Another theme that is present in the novel by Gustave Flaubert is the failures of the bourgeoisie. The world of French bourgeoisie is one of the reasons of Emma’s dissatisfaction with the world that surrounds her. She seems to have more sophisticated tastes, wishes and dreams than men and women of her class. But the inability to get higher, the impossibility of getting to the upper class makes madam Bovary suffer.
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