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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
Well written and engaging, but an analysis short of sexist af would be too generous. Literature corrupts the mind of a women to fancy men and wealth above her station. If only she’d been satisfied with her lot in life she could have been happy, she learns on her deathbed. A cautionary tale for the married men of France in the late 19th century. No doubt this is where the contrast between good women and bad women was scorched into the popular conscious, and persists in the minds of men’s rights activists today. Au dieu.
I was amazed at the readability and accessibility of this novel and enjoyed every word. The lesson of finding joy and contentment in one's life is timeless, but I also loved the glimpses into 19th century French life and customs.
adventurous
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was somehow both boring and entertaining at the same time? I think I liked it?
So we have the classic tale of young, hot wife who is bored by her lame, older husband and seeks excitement somewhere else (usually in the form of an affair). Arguably, Flaubert canonized the genre with Madam Bovary.
So.... Emma Bovary. Is it weird that she made me think of Kim Kardashian? Specifically of that clip when she lost one of her diamond earrings while swimming in the ocean. Yeah it sucks that she lost her earring but to quote her sister Kourtney, “Kim, there’s people that are dying.”
ANYWAY, what Emma Bovary needs (and what she never got) is some perspective. Yes, her husband is boring and she’s unfulfilled, but people are dying Emma! She is so vapid, so empty I could not stand her. I kept waiting for her ‘Come to Jesus’ moment, but Flaubert kept her selfish to the bitter end. I read all those pages for a payoff like that. That’s the French for you.
So we have the classic tale of young, hot wife who is bored by her lame, older husband and seeks excitement somewhere else (usually in the form of an affair). Arguably, Flaubert canonized the genre with Madam Bovary.
So.... Emma Bovary. Is it weird that she made me think of Kim Kardashian? Specifically of that clip when she lost one of her diamond earrings while swimming in the ocean. Yeah it sucks that she lost her earring but to quote her sister Kourtney, “Kim, there’s people that are dying.”
ANYWAY, what Emma Bovary needs (and what she never got) is some perspective. Yes, her husband is boring and she’s unfulfilled, but people are dying Emma! She is so vapid, so empty I could not stand her. I kept waiting for her ‘Come to Jesus’ moment, but Flaubert kept her selfish to the bitter end. I read all those pages for a payoff like that. That’s the French for you.
Excellent book, though the Project Gutenberg translation was not the most refined. Emma Bovary is one of those characters that everyone disdains, while at the same time they can identify with her, a tabula rasa on which we can project the things we like least about ourselves. She is venal and frustrating, but wholly understandable. She only feels dissatisfied with her life when she sees what other people have that she does not. She wants something more from her life, but is incapable of earning it for herself and so turns to a series of sleazy lovers and crooked merchants to satisfy her sense of entitlement.
I think this book is often read as a simple morality tale, but it's actually quite nuanced. Flaubert never seems to feel the scorn for Emma that his readers often do, though he does not shy away from displaying her foibles and providing her with a suitably awful ending.
I think this book is often read as a simple morality tale, but it's actually quite nuanced. Flaubert never seems to feel the scorn for Emma that his readers often do, though he does not shy away from displaying her foibles and providing her with a suitably awful ending.
Kitabı güzel yansıtamamışlar gerçi kitabı sevmediğimden yanlı söylüyor olabilirim.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It makes sense that a lot of the novel is inspired by Flaubert's own life. She's manipulated left, right, and centre. By the books she reads, by the men she's around, by the society, by her own delusions. She cannot live without a man loving her. She's on a constant cycle of bad decisions, with her lovers and money. What put me off the most is that she spent money that wasn't hers, on credit, so recklessly.
There wasn't a single likeable character in the story. If the novel was intended to portray social climbing of French bourgeoisie, the pharmacist did it best. If the author wanted to mock the fickleness of middle class women full of romantic delusions, he created with his words, the epitome of one. There was no end to her ruining herself, so the end was more than apt. Charles and Berthe have my sympathy.
There wasn't a single likeable character in the story. If the novel was intended to portray social climbing of French bourgeoisie, the pharmacist did it best. If the author wanted to mock the fickleness of middle class women full of romantic delusions, he created with his words, the epitome of one. There was no end to her ruining herself, so the end was more than apt. Charles and Berthe have my sympathy.
This is the second time I have read it. Enjoyed it much more the second time. It is a masterpiece.