God and Organized Religion

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In "A Simple Heart," Flaubert revisits themes of simplicity, sainthood, religious faith, and duty, similar to those in his previous works. Many critics see this story as a nuanced critique of organized religion, particularly the Roman Catholic Church in 19th-century France, and its unquestioning acceptance by the bourgeoisie, or middle class. As a realist writer, Flaubert believed that an artist should refrain from expressing personal opinions in their work. The story's perceived critique of the Church is not explicit; rather, critics discern it through techniques like irony and symbolism. Félicité's profound devotion to the church, ignited by Virginie's first communion, is both fervent and circumstantial. She encounters her faith by coincidence, simply because she is obligated to accompany her young charge to religious classes. Her dedication is not based on an understanding of its doctrines: "Of doctrines she understood nothing—did not even try to understand." Instead, it stems from an emotional reaction to the priest's tales, rich with familiar rural imagery, and the mystery and grandeur of the communion ceremony. Over time, Félicité's religious fervor becomes indistinguishable from her attachment to her deceased parrot.

Duty and Responsibility

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A recurring theme is duty and responsibility. With her simple nature, which enables her boundless capacity for love, Félicité never doubts her sense of duty or responsibility. Her resolve is steadfast, regardless of whether it is commendable. She labors tirelessly for fifty years for a paltry salary, never complaining. She risks her life without hesitation to protect the family from a charging bull. She travels through the night to say goodbye to Victor, not questioning the prudence or purpose of her mission. Even when knocked down while carrying her deceased parrot to be preserved, she merely stands up and continues on her way. Her simplicity makes her nearly unstoppable, except by death. Although Félicité herself is never portrayed in a negative light, her repeated encounters with disappointment, loss, and exploitation by others prompt reflection on the worth of such blind and unwavering dedication in a world that offers little gratitude or reward.

Innocence and Ignorance

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Félicité embodies purity and Christian compassion; she is virtuous, self-sacrificing, and kind-hearted. At the age of eighteen, she is initially unaware that Theodore, the young man she meets at a dance, has ulterior motives. When he makes sexual advances, she becomes scared and cries out. The narrator later notes that "she was not innocent as young ladies are—she had learned knowledge from the animals—but her reason and the instinct of her honour would not let her fall." After saving her mistress's family from a bull, she has "not the barest suspicion that she had done anything heroic." She remains unaware in many ways—for example, "so stunted was her mind" that she believes one can see a particular house on a map, and although she takes Virginie to catechism, she understands nothing about the doctrine. She is unable to read or write. When Virginie dies and Félicité keeps vigil, the narrator comments that if Virginie had come back to life during her watch, Félicité "would not have been immensely surprised ... to minds like hers the supernatural is quite simple."

Wealth, Poverty, and Exploitation

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Félicité, a woman of simplicity, limited education, and poverty, faces constant exploitation and victimization throughout her life. From her early employment on a farm to her interactions with Theodore and her service to Madame Aubain, she is consistently taken advantage of by those she cares for. Everyone she loves eventually leaves her, and sorrow continually threatens to crush her spirit. Despite this, her ignorance of malice and her acceptance of goodness keep her...

(This entire section contains 96 words.)

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untainted. As the title implies, her heart is simple enough to stay pure, and her ability to love is her greatest treasure.

Death, Time, and Loss

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Although death is a recurring theme in "A Simple Heart," the ideas of time and loss hold greater significance within the story. Death is ever-present, emerging from the passage of time and acting as a trigger for loss. From a young age, Félicité becomes an orphan and is separated from her siblings. When she finally reunites with one sister, the sister appears more interested in taking advantage of her. Over time, Félicité suffers numerous losses: her only human love, Theodore; Virginie; Victor; Paul; and even Madame Aubain. Constantly living in poverty, she faces the threat of eviction after her employer's death and seems helpless in the face of these losses. When her parrot goes missing, her frantic efforts to locate him are unsuccessful, though he eventually returns on his own. Victor's ship disappears just as she arrives to say goodbye. She misses the chance to see Virginie before her death, arriving too late because she stayed behind to ensure Madame Aubain's house was secure. Toward the end of the narrative, Félicité physically withers, becoming smaller and losing her hearing. She only hears the parrot, both literally and metaphorically, and the parrot can only repeat empty phrases. "The little circle of her ideas grew narrower and narrower." As a result, her already limited world contracts even further, ultimately focusing on a single vision of a dead parrot as the Holy Ghost. As her death approaches, the intertwined themes of time as a corrosive force and loss as inevitable merge into a unified concept.

Transcendence of Love, Courage, and Faith

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Gustave Flaubert uses the story of Félicité to study the transcendence of the qualities of love, courage, and faith in a life firmly anchored in the most tragic, sordid, and limited circumstances. Félicité has no pretensions to beauty or intellect, and every aspect of her life has its burden of sorrow. She has glimpses of the tragically barren nature of her life in general, forever a servant, her loves lost to death or betrayal. However, her own capacity to love and serve beautifies and transforms this life. It is impossible to discuss Félicité without reference to the strong Christian framework given by the writer, both through Félicité’s faith and through her embodiment of an ethic expressed in the Gospels. She is a loving, suffering servant, feeding the hungry, caring for the dying, ever humble and childlike in her faith.

Symbolism of the Parrot, Loulou

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The parrot, Loulou, invested by Félicité with qualities of a religious image, embodies the paradox of Félicité’s faith. There is much that is comical and grotesque in the old servant’s love for the gaudy bird. However, there is much that is also an element of purest mysticism, which transforms Loulou into a fully satisfying symbol of the divine in Félicité’s life, the power of the Holy Spirit, imperfectly understood yet leading the soul to transcendence. The reader shares Félicité’s deathbed vision and trusts its clarity as the heavens open before her.

Autobiographical Elements

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It has been suggested that Flaubert based the characters and plot of this story on autobiographical elements. Félicité corresponds to Julie, a faithful servant in his mother’s house; Mme Aubain resembles the author’s mother; geographical names and descriptions are those of Flaubert’s youth; and some specific incidents of the plot, such as the death of Virginie Aubain, parallel events in the life of the author’s family. Such biographical details, however, are not essential to an understanding of “A Simple Heart” and, in fact, may detract from the impact of the story. By the power of art, deeply felt, intimately personal material is generalized and transformed, and the transfiguration of the simple Félicité parallels the reweaving of Flaubert’s story into hers.

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