Places Discussed

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*Rouen

*Rouen (rew-AN). City in Normandy where Emma Bovary is educated in a convent school. The home of Gustave Flaubert in his youth, Rouen represents Emma’s first moment of happiness—one that she later regrets. After her first lover abandons her, she returns to Rouen to attend an opera that she hopes will distract her and be a source of healing. This visit to Rouen serves as a transition between the second and third parts of the novel. At the opera Emma again meets the young Léon Dupuis, whom she met in Tostes. The affair they conduct in Rouen effectively replaces the spectacle they have both come to see. However, Rouen proves to be no different for Emma than Tostes, as Léon, too, abandons her.

*Tostes

*Tostes (tahst). Town south of Rouen that proves to be an ideal place for Dr. Charles Bovary to set up his medical practice and live a married life with his first wife, Héloïse, who soon dies. Emma Rouault marries him—and becomes “Madame Bovary”—but finds life in Tostes to be boring. Her only moment of relief comes when she is invited to a ball at a nearby château that symbolizes her ideal. This interval of happiness only serves to emphasize the general tedium that Emma experiences in Tostes and the disappointment she feels in her married state. To make her happy, her husband leaves his medical practice in Tostes and goes to Yonville-l’Abbaye, which he hopes will become their promised land.

*Yonville-l’Abbaye

*Yonville-l’Abbaye (YAHN-veel lah-BAY). Town near Tostes to which the Bovarys move in the hope of finding a better life for Emma Bovary. After entering the town and meeting its leading residents, who gather at the town inn to greet their new doctor and his wife, Emma spends most of her time talking about literature with the young Léon Dupuis and the life they have seen idealized in their readings. However, this romantic ideal is in strong contrast to the reality of Yonville. Described in great detail at the beginning of the second part of the novel, Yonville is situated in the region where Normandy, Picardy, and the Ile-de-France meet, a region characterized by poor soil and a people resistant to change. It is said to be a bastard part of France. This description echoes the meeting of the three main places of the novel and its three parts.

Flaubert describes Yonville in far more detail than he does Tostes and singles out the town’s civil and religious authorities for criticism. Yonville’s church, for example, uncharacteristically bears no proper name, and although it has been recently renovated, it remains in a state of disrepair. Just as Emma replaces Héloïse and Yonville replaces Tostes in the narrative, so does the pharmacy replace the church as the center of community activity, and its pharmacist becomes the town’s new priest and doctor. For this reason, Yonville turns out not to be a good place for Charles to practice medicine. As a solution to Emma’s boredom, the town offers Emma distraction in the form of two men who will become her lovers, Léon with whom she will eventually carry on an affair in Rouen, and Rodolphe Boulanger, who enters her life only because he has sought out the new Yonville doctor to care for one of his workers.

Yonville, thus introduced as a solution to Emma’s discontent in Tostes, will itself be replaced by Rouen in the third part of her search for a place in which to satisfy her desire.

(This entire section contains 603 words.)

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Historical Context

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Realism
The term realism first appeared in a Parisian periodical in 1826, as noted by Haig in his article on Flaubert in the Dictionary of Literary Biography. The journalist described realism as a movement aimed at imitating not artistic masterpieces but the natural world. Later in the article, the writer suggests that realist works could eventually be considered "the literature of truth." Realism gained popularity in painting, especially in the works of Gustave Courbet, and in literature during the mid-nineteenth century. Novelists of this movement turned away from what they saw as the artificiality of romanticism, focusing instead on the ordinary aspects of contemporary life. They rejected the idealism and imaginative celebration typical of romantic novels, opting instead to portray believable characters and their often problematic interactions with society. To achieve this, realistic novels emphasize the commonplace and avoid unlikely coincidences and excessive emotionalism. Authors like Samuel Clemens discarded traditional sentimental novelistic forms, chronicling the strengths and weaknesses of ordinary people facing significant social challenges, such as the restrictive conventions that oppressed nineteenth-century African Americans. Writers who embraced realism used settings and plot details that mirrored their characters' daily lives and incorporated realistic dialogue that mimicked natural speech patterns.

Realism in Madame Bovary is evident in Flaubert's rejection of the idealism found in traditional romantic literature, instead exploring the day-to-day life of Emma Bovary. While other writers like Honoré Balzac and Stendhal also focused on their characters' daily lives, those characters led exciting lives and were not considered "ordinary." Flaubert was among the first to depict the often monotonous and sordid life of the middle class in his fiction.

Censorship in Nineteenth-Century France
During France's Second Empire (1852–1870), ruled by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte III, the government enforced a moral code by suppressing challenges to traditional conduct. Authors were allowed to write about characters who defied societal norms, but those characters were expected to be justly punished for their actions. The government supported didactic literature that encouraged readers to condemn immoral behavior, such as adultery. However, when Flaubert refused to denounce Emma in Madame Bovary for her actions and Emma herself did not seek forgiveness, Flaubert was charged with pornography and blasphemy, leading to the book being banned. Eventually, all charges against him were dropped, and the ban was lifted. Haig notes that the judge who dismissed the case did so with a warning about the excesses of realism, a literary form he deemed both "vulgaire et souvent choquant" (vulgar and often shocking). Although Flaubert did not consider himself a realist, critics have categorized the novel within this literary school.

Literary Style

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Structure
Flaubert frequently reveals Emma’s character and circumstances by juxtaposing various scenes in the novel. Many of these moments involve Emma blending past memories with her current reality. One such instance occurs at the ball. As Emma gazes out the windows, observing the servants on the lawn, detached from the evening's splendor and festivities, she imagines herself as she once was on her father’s farm. This contrast between past and present underscores Emma’s fixation on the opulent lifestyle she witnesses at the ball. Another example takes place when she looks at Léon. While staring at him, she conjures up an image of Charles, as she has seen him countless times before. The contrast between her vision of Charles and her gaze at Léon leads her to compare the two. Concluding that Charles is vastly inferior, she quickly falls in love with Léon.

Flaubert employs a different type of juxtaposition during the agricultural fair scene. Here, he alternates between two concurrent events: Rodolphe’s initial seduction of Emma and the awarding of prizes at the fair. This technique emphasizes Rodolphe’s deliberate and self-serving attempt to entice Emma into an affair.

Symbol
Flaubert also utilizes symbolism to reinforce his themes. He introduces an element of foreshadowing at the ball when Emma notices a guest rumored to have been Marie Antoinette’s lover. The depiction of the disheveled man with bloodshot eyes and “drops of gravy falling from his lips” highlights his “life wild with debauchery” and hints at Emma’s own impending downfall. In another scene, at the conclusion of the agricultural exposition, the crowd is treated to a fireworks display. To alleviate concerns about potential fires, Monsieur Binet remarks that no sparks have fallen. Nevertheless, destruction looms for Emma, as her affair with Rodolphe has been ignited.

Compare and Contrast

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Mid-nineteenth century: In 1835, French philosopher Victor Cousin coins the term “l’Art pour l’Art” (“Art for Art’s sake”) to describe a burgeoning literary movement that emphasizes style over other literary elements. This movement significantly influences Flaubert.

Today: Confessional narratives have become a dominant form in contemporary literature.

Mid-nineteenth century: The first American women's rights convention takes place in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.

Today: Women have made substantial progress in their quest for equality. Although certain measures, such as the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment Bill, have yet to be passed, gender discrimination is now illegal.

Mid-nineteenth century: The Second Empire commences in France in 1852. Under the rule of Bonaparte III, French society adheres to a rigorous public moral code.

Today: Some interpret the election of George W. Bush as a reflection of America’s longing for a more conservative moral framework.

Media Adaptations

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There have been eight movie adaptations of Madame Bovary and five television adaptations. The most renowned version was directed by Vincente Minnelli in 1949 for MGM. Jennifer Jones played the role of Emma, while Van Heflin portrayed Charles.

Bibliography and Further Reading

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Sources
Davis, Lennard J., “Gustave Flaubert,” in European Writers, Vol. 7, Scribner’s, 1985, pp. 1373–94.

Haig, Stirling, “Gustave Flaubert,” in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 119: Nineteenth-Century French Fiction Writers: Romanticism and Realism, 1800–1860, Gale Research, 1992, pp. 120–51.

Hemmings, F. W. J., ed., The Age of Realism, Penguin, 1974.

Lee, Susanna, “Flaubert’s Blague Supérieure: The Secular World of Madame Bovary,” in Symposium, Vol. 54, No. 4, Winter 2001, pp. 203–17.

Further Reading
Ginsburg, Michal Peled, Flaubert Writing: A Study in Narrative Strategies, Stanford University Press, 1986. Ginsburg provides an insightful analysis of Flaubert’s narrative techniques and stylistic choices.

Green, Anne, Flaubert and the Historical Novel, Cambridge University Press, 1982. Green contextualizes the novel within its historical and cultural background.

Knight, Diana, Flaubert and the Historical Novel, Cambridge University Press, 1985. Knight delivers an in-depth psychological exploration of Emma Bovary, comparing her with other characters created by Flaubert.

Levin, Harry, The Gates of Horn: A Study of Five French Realists, Oxford University Press, 1963. Levin situates the novel within the realist tradition and contrasts it with other works in the same movement.

Bibliography

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Bloom, Harold, ed. Emma Bovary. New York: Chelsea House, 1994. Includes excerpts from reviews and articles (some contemporaneous with the novel), as well as ten essays that analyze the heroine in light of twentieth century and feminist perspectives and understanding. Extensive bibliography.

Bloom, Harold, ed. Gustave Flaubert’s “Madame Bovary.” New York: Chelsea House, 1988. An excellent and balanced collection of some of the best and most provocative essays published in the last third of the twentieth century. Topics range from thematic to linguistic and from deconstructionist to psychoanalytical.

Fairlie, Alison. Flaubert: “Madame Bovary.” London: Arnold, 1962. A well-written, sensitive, and insightful interpretation that provides a thorough examination of the themes, characters, narrative structure, style, and importance of the masterpiece.

Gans, Eric. “Madame Bovary”: The End of Romance. Boston: Twayne, 1989. A brief but very good introduction that covers the work’s essential points, influence, and critical reception. Also places it in its historical and sociological context.

Giraud, Raymond, ed. Flaubert: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964. Includes essays dealing with Flaubert’s literary theories and his other works. Also reprints several stimulating pieces on the novel (two not translated elsewhere) that include a perceptive reading by the poet Charles Baudelaire and thoughtful character analyses by Martin Turnell and Jean Rousset.

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