Madame Bovary

It’s time for a classic in realism… Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.  The story of the “plain Jane” person, in this case “plain John” guy named Charles Bovary.  Bovary is a rather non-descript gentleman who grows up under the very careful eye of his mother, Madame Bovary #1.  She gets him married and ready for a life in the world of medicine, though not a doctor.  He does provide medicines and advice to people for their ailments.  Unfortunately, Bovary’s first wife dies fairly soon into their marriage and he is smitten with another woman, the daughter of a farmer, whom he meets while setting the father’s broken leg.  He waits the “proper time” after the death of his first wife and then goes after Emma Rouault, the new Madame Bovary!  This Madame has an expansive taste for everything and soon makes her decision to marry Charles, thinking he is a rich doctor.   Emma will be sadly reminded over the course of their marriage that she has limited means, though she has no reason to stop her splurges on herself.  Over time Emma realizes that Charles is “a bore” and she falls for a young law student, Léon Dupuis.  Though she has strong attachment, she recommits to her marriage with the birth of a daughter.  Emma doesn’t lose her wandering eye and next falls infatuated with a rich land-owner, Rodolphe Boulanger.  The two have a long term extra-marital affair.  Emma is so smitten with Rodolphe that she decides to leave her husband.  Rodolphe becomes aware that being attached is more than he bargained for and leaves Emma on the eve before the two are to leave town.  Emma is completely destroyed by his departure and eventually turns to religion to take away the loss of Rodolphe.  But wait!  Guess who is back in town?  Léon is back, now a lawyer, as they meet at the opera.  Charles is still unaware of his wife’s affairs, and this time Emma goes about trying to buy Léon’s affection as they meet weekly at the local hotel for their rendezvous.  Leon too eventually grows bored of Emma’s ecstatic connection and he leaves her.  Emma is now being called by the merchant whom supplied her with all of the gifts she bestowed upon her lovers to “pay up.”  She is so distraught she sees only one way out of all of this, to poison herself with arsenic she finds at her home.  She commits suicide and after her death Charles finds out what his wife was doing during their marriage!  Charles dies of an unfulfilled heart and broke!  He has nothing to leave for the upbringing of his daughter and she is sent away to live with an aunt, with no money she ends up having to work at the mill!  Wow, this book is the advent of the movement to realism.  Jodi Piccoult, I now see where you get your stories from!  This is the beginning of the movement we read daily in our novels.  Flaubert’s characters and story are representative of the life of today.  A great classic read.  Highly recommend!  Flaubert’s story is well crafted with intricate character development.  You learn how to hate the ones you should!