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Madame Bovary begins when Charles Bovary is a young boy, unable to fit in at his new school and ridiculed by his new classmates. As a child, and later when he grows into a young man, Charles is mediocre and dull. He fails his first medical exam and only barely manages to become a second-rate country doctor.
- Part Three, Chapters Iv–Xi
A summary of Part Three, Chapters IV–XI in Gustave...
- Character List
Emma Bovary. The novel’s protagonist, the Madame Bovary of...
- Key Facts
Full Title Madame Bovary Author Gustave Flaubert. Type of...
- Madame Bovary: Study Guide
Madame Bovary is considered a seminal work of literary...
- Part Three, Chapters Iv–Xi
Intro. Madame Bovary Summary. Next. Part 1, Chapter 1. The novel begins by introducing us to a teenaged Charles, awkward, mild, dull, and studious. After struggling though primary school and a series of courses in medicine that he finds inscrutable, Charles passes his exams and becomes a doctor.
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Madame Bovary, novel by Gustave Flaubert, serialized in the Revue de Paris in 1856 and then published in two volumes the following year. Flaubert transformed a commonplace story of adultery into an enduring work of profound humanity. Madame Bovary is considered Flaubert’s masterpiece, and, according to some, it ushered in a new age of realism in li...
Madame Bovary tells the bleak story of a marriage that ends in tragedy. Charles Bovary, a good-hearted but dull and unambitious doctor with a meagre practice, marries Emma, a beautiful farm girl raised in a convent. Although she anticipates marriage as a life of adventure, she soon finds that her only excitement derives from the flights of fancy she takes while reading sentimental romantic novels. She grows increasingly bored and unhappy with her middle-class existence, and even the birth of their daughter, Berthe, brings Emma little joy.
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Grasping for idealized intimacy, Emma begins to act out her romantic fantasies and embarks on an ultimately disastrous love affair with Rodolphe, a local landowner. She makes enthusiastic plans for them to run away together, but Rodolphe has grown tired of her and ends the relationship. A shocked Emma develops brain fever and is bedridden for more than a month. She later takes up with Léon, a former acquaintance, and her life becomes increasingly chaotic. She embraces abstractions—passion, happiness—and ignores material reality itself, as symbolized by money. She is utterly incapable of distinguishing between her romantic ideals and the harsh realities of her life even as her interest in Léon wanes. Her debts having spun out of control, she begs for money, but all turn her down, including Léon and Rodolphe. With seemingly nowhere to turn and on the verge of financial ruin and public disclosure of her private life, Emma swallows arsenic and dies a painful death.
Madame Bovary: moeurs de province (“Madame Bovary: Provincial Customs”) first appeared from October 1 to December 15, 1856, in installments in the Revue de Paris. Upon its release, the French government accused Flaubert of obscenity. The ensuing trial and his acquittal only heightened interest in the work upon its release in book form in 1857.
In its portrayal of bourgeois mentalities, especially its examination of every psychological nuance of its title character, Madame Bovary came to be seen as both the principal masterpiece of realism and the work that established the realist movement on the European scene. The novel was also notable for the brilliance of its style, its carefully cadenced prose drawing comparisons to poetry. Flaubert placed great importance on style, and he spent some five years on Madame Bovary, constantly rewriting it.
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Plot synopsis. Illustration by Charles Léandre Madame Bovary, engraved by Eugène Decisy [ fr]. (Illustration without text on page 322: Emma in male costume at the ball) Charles Bovary is a shy, oddly dressed teenager who becomes an Officier de santé in the Public Health Service.
- 1856 (in serial) & April 1857 (in book form)
- Realist novel
A comprehensive guide to Flaubert's classic realist novel about a dissatisfied wife who has affairs and racks up debts. Learn about the plot, themes, characters, and context of this influential work of literature.
Madame Bovary study guide contains a biography of Gustave Flaubert, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes.
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