Madame Bovary (Bantam Classics) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

...that is to say : this is one the books that can't be translated, becauses it uses all potentialities of french language. Those who admire in this book the cruelty and truth of the psychological portraits mustn't forget that Flaubert's dream was to write a "book about nothing, that would be held only by the force of the style". The story didn't interest him and in his correspondance you see how he got bored while writing it. Personnaly I don't like this kind of "feminine life in the country and loss of illusions that is to entail" but the style is just amazing. Proust said that Flaubert had "a grammatical genius". That's why anyone who can read french might throw his english version. Also, don't be obsessed by the famous "Madame Bovary, c'est moi". Flaubert wrote this book to get rid of his romantic tendancies : hence this mix of sympathy and deep cruelty about the stupidity of his heroin. This cruelty is reinforced by the use of the "focalisation interne" (when the writer writes from the point of view of the character) and the perfect neutrality : we live from the inside Emma's dreams and feel how ridiculous they are, and then, from the outside, we see them being slowly destructed. Read this masterpiece, and focus your attention on the style, and the construction (otherwise the book has little interest!)

I found this novel to be well written, provocative and rather unique in that the author (Gustave Flaubert) wrote with a pronounced dislike for the main characters, Charles and Emma Bovary. The story follows the life of Emma, a young woman of rural France who is absorbed in her fantasies of romantic love, the aristocratic lifestyle and conspicuous consumption. Marrying Charles, a widowed country doctor, Emma quickly becomes dissatisfied with the unfulfilled expectations of her marriage. She views all domestic aspects of her life as boring. When she and Charles are invited to a dinner/dance at a nobleman's home, Emma is asked to dance by a dashing gentleman, which causes the seeds of infidelity to take root. Emma envisions "what if" scenarios in her mind about her dance partner and begins to criticize her husband. Charles, in his own unreality, is swept away by Emma's charms, he views his life as domestic bliss. Emma realizes Charles's domestic satisfaction and egotistically attributes it to her influence and bemoans her dissatisfaction with the relationship. In an effort to play the domestic role, Emma fills her time with music, sewing, and domestic chores, but drifts into daydreams which, unrealized, cause physical illness. Eventually, Charles moves his medical practice to a village closer to Paris to facilitate Emma's health. Here, we meet a whole raft of new characters. Emma health improves and she bears a child, Bethe. She begins to daydream about a young lawyer's clerk, Leon, who also dreams of Emma. Mentally, both have committed adultery, although not physically consummated. Being frustrated with the moral dilemma, Leon moves to Paris to pursue law school. We see Emma rejecting her child and her husband in favor of her own selfish ends. We meet Rodolphe, the local playboy who sees Emma and formulates plans for the conquest. Emma is swept up in Rodolphe's smooth talking lines, aggressive lovemaking techniques and together they embark on an adulterous affair. Emma becomes brazen in her pursuit of the relationship, while Rodolphe becomes more aloof. Emma makes plans to abandon her husband and child and go away with Rodolphe to achieve her ideal relationship. Rodolphe postpones Emma's plans then writes a letter which ends the relationship. Emma is devastated and reacts with something akin to an epileptic seizure or "brain fever". With Charles help, she requires many months to recover her health. As therapy, Charles makes arrangements for Emma and he to attend the theater in Paris. While at the theater Charles meets Leon (the law student) and the stage is set for a relationship between Leon and Emma. Emma makes arrangements to meet Leon every week under the pretense of a piano lesson. Emma finances the extramarital relationship with Leon, which drives her and Charles into debt. Over time Emma becomes a moral monster, being driven into a carnal quagmire. As debt collectors lay claims on all their household possessions, Emma is driven (in a dazed state) to seek the financial assistance from her friends and neighbors. Finding refusal from all, she elects to visit Rodolphe to ask for money, who also refuses. Without foreseeable options, Emma, in a state of moral depravity and financial ruin, commits suicide. Flauberts approach to this novel is unique in several ways. His character description is often vague or lacking, relying on the reader imagination to picture the character. He is not explicit in many of his scenes but seems to rely on the reader's imagination to complete the scene. In other scenes he is explicit, for example in Emma's preparation for burial, the words produce a mental image which is sickening. Still other parts are wordy, for example his opera scene at the theater. His characters often make statements which are profound and 'ring true' even in today's society. He seems to have some insight in the emotions of women or perhaps the feelings he describes are not gender specific.

This is a pretty good book. It is a satire about the absurdity of people. It is also about how reading corrupts people. Flaubert uses very inovative writing for his time. The narrator is all but invisable, there is no editorializing; the reader can make his/her own opinions and judgements about the characters. All the narration takes place from inside the characters' minds rather than from the outside. It is a dark comedy that reads like a soup opera.