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itsbobbielee 's review for:
Madame Bovary: Contexts, Critical Reception
by Gustave Flaubert
Here's the thing: I enjoy knowing about canonical literature and how a text may be a first of its kind or notorious for some reason. I even did some light research about which translation I should read and how various translators had to grapple with the nuances of literal translation, stylistic translation, or general plot translation. Enjoying literary studies about a book, however, does not mean the same thing as really liking the book itself.
Do I appreciate that Flaubert influenced realist literature and also had to defend his novel in literal court for obscenity charges? Sure!
But did I enjoy reading Madame Bovary? Not really, no.
Much like my issue with Wuthering Heights, there aren't really any characters to root for in this book. I know that's to Flaubert's point, that life is full of the mundane (including people) and that there isn't always a clear hero and villain; life just is. Emma had romantic ideals about what love, marriage, and life were supposed to be like, but nothing ever met her expectations. She was unhappy and made some really bad decisions. The differences in her and Charles's selfishness to that of characters like Rodolphe and Lheureux is that the former were ignorant of the long-term consequences of their actions and focused only on their personal desires, while the latter knew how to read others as well as how to manipulate them while still thinking about long-term cause and effect.
I don't feel sorry for Emma. I don't feel much about most of these characters except mild to severe disgust. I do feel badly for the man who had to have his leg amputated because Emma and Homais selfishly wanted more in their own lives, heedless of the costs to others, while dangerously ignorant of their own ignorances. And I feel sorry for Berthe who is stupid and destitute as a child because her parents were selfish and irresponsible.
I think this would be an excellent book for those studying French life in the 1850s or those with deep knowledge of the significance of various errant details Flaubert painstakingly documents about building moldings and village setups. I am not that person, but I did finish the book, foot notes and all, so there's that.
Do I appreciate that Flaubert influenced realist literature and also had to defend his novel in literal court for obscenity charges? Sure!
But did I enjoy reading Madame Bovary? Not really, no.
Much like my issue with Wuthering Heights, there aren't really any characters to root for in this book. I know that's to Flaubert's point, that life is full of the mundane (including people) and that there isn't always a clear hero and villain; life just is. Emma had romantic ideals about what love, marriage, and life were supposed to be like, but nothing ever met her expectations. She was unhappy and made some really bad decisions. The differences in her and Charles's selfishness to that of characters like Rodolphe and Lheureux is that the former were ignorant of the long-term consequences of their actions and focused only on their personal desires, while the latter knew how to read others as well as how to manipulate them while still thinking about long-term cause and effect.
I don't feel sorry for Emma. I don't feel much about most of these characters except mild to severe disgust. I do feel badly for the man who had to have his leg amputated because Emma and Homais selfishly wanted more in their own lives, heedless of the costs to others, while dangerously ignorant of their own ignorances. And I feel sorry for Berthe who is stupid and destitute as a child because her parents were selfish and irresponsible.
I think this would be an excellent book for those studying French life in the 1850s or those with deep knowledge of the significance of various errant details Flaubert painstakingly documents about building moldings and village setups. I am not that person, but I did finish the book, foot notes and all, so there's that.