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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism
Possibly the driest book I've ever read. I loved Madame Bovary, so was excited for this one but was very sorely disappointed.
The characters are so flat and difficult to connect to in any way, and Flaubert seemingly jumps from thought to thought which had me turning back pages to find out what was going on.
Very much agree with Henry James's assessment of this book!
The characters are so flat and difficult to connect to in any way, and Flaubert seemingly jumps from thought to thought which had me turning back pages to find out what was going on.
Very much agree with Henry James's assessment of this book!
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
The plot is dragging a bit, the characters aren’t particularly endearing. I may give it another chance later on when I don’t have books out from the library.
This is a bit of a letdown after Madame Bovary. Henry James called the book "elaborately and massively dreary," and there are definitely parts in the middle, repetitive satirical portraits of the leisure class, that are a hard slog. Nevertheless, there are also passages of stunning prose (judging from the English translation) and penetrating insights on the social upheavals of France in the years before and after the revolution of 1848. The main character, Frédéric Moreau, is an interesting example of an ambitious but aimless bourgeois who proclaims his undying love for a married woman but at the same time turns his attention to several other, more available women.
Embarrassed to admit I DNF at a staggering 80% of the way through the book. Granted, I probably enjoyed it more than most others who threw in the towel--but a woman only has so much stamina and goodwill to give a book, and by God, Flaubert completely exhausted mine.
I'm genuinely disappointed, as the initial plotline of Frederic trying to seduce Mdme Arnoux kept me turning pages right at the cusp of giving up. But right when the book commences Part III, it virtually deserts all character development and suspense in favor of interminable, inscrutable diatribes about the French Revolution. Though I welcome reading books in areas that are not part of my niche, it doesn't generally portend good tidings when the lamentations of a particular historical event completely drop any momentum that had previously built up. It seems as if Flaubert confusingly wanted to write two diametrically opposed novels in one go; a scintillating, passionate romance, and an exhaustive history of a political revolution. As a result, neither idea can be fully developed, and SE is rendered a chore to get through in the 21st century.
I'm genuinely disappointed, as the initial plotline of Frederic trying to seduce Mdme Arnoux kept me turning pages right at the cusp of giving up. But right when the book commences Part III, it virtually deserts all character development and suspense in favor of interminable, inscrutable diatribes about the French Revolution. Though I welcome reading books in areas that are not part of my niche, it doesn't generally portend good tidings when the lamentations of a particular historical event completely drop any momentum that had previously built up. It seems as if Flaubert confusingly wanted to write two diametrically opposed novels in one go; a scintillating, passionate romance, and an exhaustive history of a political revolution. As a result, neither idea can be fully developed, and SE is rendered a chore to get through in the 21st century.
I will read any Bildungsroman that I come across and that is a fact.
I will also read anything that falls under the category of 19th-century realism.
To make it short, I knew I was going to either like or love this book, and it turned out to be the latter, which makes me so happy because I love discovering new favorite books.
This novel is so good and so complex that there is no way I could write a short review on this so bear with me.
Frédéric Moreau, the hero of the novel, and his unfortunate love life may seem like the key character and the strongest, most dynamic part of the novel but his character is a study of a certain kind of people, and this novel is a novel about the passing of time, a novel of a change in the social and political life of men and woman in 19th century France.
It encapsulates the mentality, social classes, and life situations of the time that are universal to this day, making this novel a truly great piece of realistic fiction.
Moreau isn’t a likable character, he doesn’t undergo a change within his character by the end of the novel. He is in one hand an antihero, the one responsible for his own demise. His fickle attitude that isn’t rooted and learns nothing from experience doesn’t change by the end of the novel, so the title Sentimental Education is in one hand ironic.
He is a passive character, indecisive and maddened by his love for Madame Arnoux, and his ignorant wish to be part of a higher social class makes him a dislikable protagonist.
Moreau never self reflects and never changes, prescribing all of his mishaps and hardships as “Bad luck”. His life is a life spent in chasing the ideal of love and the end of the novel shows him ending up unfulfilled in both love and social life.
Madame Arnoux is an ideal of love, one that he never really grasps, and when he finally does have a chance of having her, he sees that she isn’t an ideal, only a woman that he used to build his dreams around. He loved the idea of having her, not the actual person that she was.
(A little side note, because this has happened to me too// Aren’t we all frustrated over how easily people do this every day, I mean the manic pixie dream girl trope should be destroyed, if you want a good movie recommendation for that I suggest the movie called The eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and another one called 500 days of Summer, these ones nailed with the deconstruction of the trope)
There are so many characters in this novel, and the main character is always in motion, meeting new people and giving us a vivid view of the French society.
The years that are passing in the book are the years of reformation and reconstruction of a whole society, the end of the monarchy and the rise of the republic. One social ideal, of the aristocratic refined man, is thrown and now we have a new ideal, one of a hard-working middle-class man, one that deserves to earn property and improve his life. Flaubert, disapproving of the high class doesn’t stay blinded by the politics, the new philosophy is not deprived of flaws, as the revolutionaries are capable of the same gruesome acts that they are fighting against.
Dussardier, a character that has fought for social injustice is deeply disappointed by the acts that have been committed in the name of the new social structure, and his death is one of the most emotionally packed moments in the book, especially since he was killed by Senecal who was a character of strong political belief that is on the line of madness, but he ultimately succeeds in life, while Dussardier’s life ends tragically.
Pellerin and his character are a critic of how fickle people are with art and how what is acceptable and valuable changes over time, and most of the time what is of quality isn’t appreciated in the time it is made.
One way of doing art is one day ridiculed only to be glorified the other day. The way Flaubert chose to show the desecration of art is one way that he comments on the declining culture of the time.
The high-class lifestyle that Moreau blindly pursues turns out to be full of shallowness, presented in the character of, Madame Dambreuse who was considered the beautiful and refined high-society lady.
On the other hand, there are characters of Rosanette – Marshal, Mademoiselle Vatnaz, Delmar, Regimbart, Hussonnet, Louise Roque and her father, the Arnoux family that depict the lifestyle of another class, composed of courtesans, actors, drunks, journalists, middle-class art sellers/dealers.
Flaubert’s writing and the way he composes a sentence is masterful. Not one word feels out of place, not one paragraph feels excessive, he is like a painter with a brush – illustrating the passing of time, the ever-changing nature of everything on Earth, the varieties of character and social life. One truly great novel that I am glad I have read, one I will be returning to surely in the future.
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How do I even write a review for this book? Review to come 5/5.
I will also read anything that falls under the category of 19th-century realism.
To make it short, I knew I was going to either like or love this book, and it turned out to be the latter, which makes me so happy because I love discovering new favorite books.
This novel is so good and so complex that there is no way I could write a short review on this so bear with me.
“I'm the sort of man who's doomed to be a failure and I'll go to my grave without ever knowing whether I was real gold or just tinsel!”
Frédéric Moreau, the hero of the novel, and his unfortunate love life may seem like the key character and the strongest, most dynamic part of the novel but his character is a study of a certain kind of people, and this novel is a novel about the passing of time, a novel of a change in the social and political life of men and woman in 19th century France.
It encapsulates the mentality, social classes, and life situations of the time that are universal to this day, making this novel a truly great piece of realistic fiction.
Moreau isn’t a likable character, he doesn’t undergo a change within his character by the end of the novel. He is in one hand an antihero, the one responsible for his own demise. His fickle attitude that isn’t rooted and learns nothing from experience doesn’t change by the end of the novel, so the title Sentimental Education is in one hand ironic.
He is a passive character, indecisive and maddened by his love for Madame Arnoux, and his ignorant wish to be part of a higher social class makes him a dislikable protagonist.
Moreau never self reflects and never changes, prescribing all of his mishaps and hardships as “Bad luck”. His life is a life spent in chasing the ideal of love and the end of the novel shows him ending up unfulfilled in both love and social life.
Madame Arnoux is an ideal of love, one that he never really grasps, and when he finally does have a chance of having her, he sees that she isn’t an ideal, only a woman that he used to build his dreams around. He loved the idea of having her, not the actual person that she was.
“It’s hard to communicate anything exactly and that’s why perfect relationships between people are difficult to find.”
There are so many characters in this novel, and the main character is always in motion, meeting new people and giving us a vivid view of the French society.
The years that are passing in the book are the years of reformation and reconstruction of a whole society, the end of the monarchy and the rise of the republic. One social ideal, of the aristocratic refined man, is thrown and now we have a new ideal, one of a hard-working middle-class man, one that deserves to earn property and improve his life. Flaubert, disapproving of the high class doesn’t stay blinded by the politics, the new philosophy is not deprived of flaws, as the revolutionaries are capable of the same gruesome acts that they are fighting against.
Dussardier, a character that has fought for social injustice is deeply disappointed by the acts that have been committed in the name of the new social structure, and his death is one of the most emotionally packed moments in the book, especially since he was killed by Senecal who was a character of strong political belief that is on the line of madness, but he ultimately succeeds in life, while Dussardier’s life ends tragically.
Pellerin and his character are a critic of how fickle people are with art and how what is acceptable and valuable changes over time, and most of the time what is of quality isn’t appreciated in the time it is made.
One way of doing art is one day ridiculed only to be glorified the other day. The way Flaubert chose to show the desecration of art is one way that he comments on the declining culture of the time.
The high-class lifestyle that Moreau blindly pursues turns out to be full of shallowness, presented in the character of, Madame Dambreuse who was considered the beautiful and refined high-society lady.
On the other hand, there are characters of Rosanette – Marshal, Mademoiselle Vatnaz, Delmar, Regimbart, Hussonnet, Louise Roque and her father, the Arnoux family that depict the lifestyle of another class, composed of courtesans, actors, drunks, journalists, middle-class art sellers/dealers.
Flaubert’s writing and the way he composes a sentence is masterful. Not one word feels out of place, not one paragraph feels excessive, he is like a painter with a brush – illustrating the passing of time, the ever-changing nature of everything on Earth, the varieties of character and social life. One truly great novel that I am glad I have read, one I will be returning to surely in the future.
--------------------------------------------------------
How do I even write a review for this book? Review to come 5/5.
This took 4 days to read, which is a very long time for me for finishing a book. I just didn't have the urge to pick it back up and while I was reading it I was either zoning out or very bored. Well all classics can't be a winner for me, maybe if I read it in a later date I'll think different from this. As I often give classics more chances but for now, I'm very glad it's done.
Des fois, on lit un supposé chef-d'œuvre et on se dit: «Ouais, bof, pas grand-chose à voir finalement». Pas ici. Le génie est bien présent, en particulier dans ce ton austenien qui n'épargne personne, l'air de rien, et la brutale honnêteté. Probablement dans mes meilleures lectures à vie.
I classici vengono maneggiati con troppa cura e ossequiosità. Se è vero che da una parte il messaggio contenuto in un classico letterario non ha ancora terminato il suo percorso, dall’altro alcuni classici vengono etichettati come ‘figli del suo tempo’ e quindi posizioni non inclusive vengono deglutite senza un dibattito adatto, ‘tanto stiamo parlando di un classico, si è già detto tutto’.
E invece no.
Un classico deve essere letto come ogni altro libro, senza una particolare soggezione. Ci possono essere elementi di modernità, ma anche elementi di chiusura.
Ne L’educazione sentimentale il grande elemento moderno è l’atteggiamento del protagonista Frédéric Moreau, il quale avverte il bisogno fisico di manifestare la propria emotività, distruggendo così decenni di retorica con l’uomo virile, duro e puro, che non deve chiedere mai.
Flaubert, probabilmente perché il romanzo è vagamente autobiografico, è cattivo con il suo protagonista, che non quaglierà mai con la donna per anni amata e venerata. Frédéric Moreau apparirà agli occhi degli altri personaggi come un ridicolo, che perde il suo tempo dietro ad una donna immaginata. In realtà è un uomo che non rinnega la propria emotività, ma allo stesso tempo è schiavo dei suoi sogni. Al punto che rinuncerà alla realizzazione delle sue fantasie perché non all’altezza della fantasia stessa.
Un perfetto bovarismo, sempre più moderno.
‘Siamo pieni di bovarismo dalla testa ai piedi, sempre ansiosi, nostalgici, indifferenti’.
E invece no.
Un classico deve essere letto come ogni altro libro, senza una particolare soggezione. Ci possono essere elementi di modernità, ma anche elementi di chiusura.
Ne L’educazione sentimentale il grande elemento moderno è l’atteggiamento del protagonista Frédéric Moreau, il quale avverte il bisogno fisico di manifestare la propria emotività, distruggendo così decenni di retorica con l’uomo virile, duro e puro, che non deve chiedere mai.
Flaubert, probabilmente perché il romanzo è vagamente autobiografico, è cattivo con il suo protagonista, che non quaglierà mai con la donna per anni amata e venerata. Frédéric Moreau apparirà agli occhi degli altri personaggi come un ridicolo, che perde il suo tempo dietro ad una donna immaginata. In realtà è un uomo che non rinnega la propria emotività, ma allo stesso tempo è schiavo dei suoi sogni. Al punto che rinuncerà alla realizzazione delle sue fantasie perché non all’altezza della fantasia stessa.
Un perfetto bovarismo, sempre più moderno.
‘Siamo pieni di bovarismo dalla testa ai piedi, sempre ansiosi, nostalgici, indifferenti’.