Name: Madame Bovary
Author: Gustave Flaubert
ISBN: 9780192833990

Madame Bovary

Gustave Flaubert

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Author Description

Gustave Flaubert so scandalized readers with the publication of his first novel, Madame Bovary, he was put on trial for offending the public morality. This now-classic novel tells the story of a young country doctor's wife who seeks refuge from the boredom of her existence in love-affairs and romantic yearnings, ultimately finding herself doomed to disillusionment. Establishing the realistic novel in France, Madame Bovary remains a lasting fascination and a landmark in world literature.

Menrva's Summary

THE PULSE

Emma Bovary, a provincial doctor's wife, attempts to escape the suffocating monotony of her marriage through a series of illicit affairs and extravagant spending. Driven by a desperate need for the romantic ideals she consumes in literature, Emma constantly clashes with the mundane reality of her domestic life and the limitations imposed upon her by 19th-century French society. Her pursuit of passion leads to financial ruin and moral decay, as she struggles against the indifference of her husband, Charles, and the constraints of her social standing. The narrative employs a detached, third-person perspective that meticulously documents the psychological decline of its protagonist.

INSIDE THE PAGES

Precise, clinical prose style that emphasizes objective observation
Detailed exploration of provincial French social hierarchies
Satirical critique of romanticism and bourgeois values
Use of free indirect discourse to bridge the gap between narrator and character
Symbolism centered on material objects and domestic spaces
Non-linear psychological progression of the protagonist
Focus on the tension between expectation and reality
Examination of the consequences of debt and social aspiration

THE COLLECTIVE ECHO

Readers and critics frequently highlight the novel's technical precision and its role in establishing the realist movement in literature. Discussion often centers on the character of Emma Bovary, with many debating whether she is a victim of her environment or the architect of her own destruction. The narrative's cold, analytical tone is often contrasted with the intense, often irrational desires of the protagonist. Scholars frequently point to the book's influence on later psychological fiction and its enduring critique of societal expectations. The work remains a subject of intense study due to its complex structure and its unflinching portrayal of human dissatisfaction.

Page Count:
400

Publication Date:
1998-05-28

Publisher:
Oxford University Press

ISBN-10:
0192833995

ISBN-13:
9780192833990

Realism

Social Commentary

Physicians fiction

France fiction

Historical

Classic Literature

French literature