Madame Bovary (Bantam Classics)

formidable

one of my all time favorites...terrific book

I can appreciate Emma Bovary's dissatisfaction with her life and her resulting pursuit of her passions, but as a mother it pains me to read the descriptions of how she ignored her child. Certainly a cautionary tale for women who think that taking a lover will solve deeper problems in their own lives.

Madame Bovary caused a scandal when it was first published by Flaubert in the 19th century- he was actually taken to court and sued for indecency. His poetic and higly moving potrayal of a bored, vapid housewife who embarks on an affair with two men in order to relieve her boredom could hardly be considered shocking in today's more indecent literary scene. What struck a nerve in French...more

Madame Bovary caused a scandal when it was first published by Flaubert in the 19th century- he was actually taken to court and sued for indecency. His poetic and higly moving potrayal of a bored, vapid housewife who embarks on an affair with two men in order to relieve her boredom could hardly be considered shocking in today's more indecent literary scene. What struck a nerve in French bourgeoise society- what probably offended them- was the novel's not so indirect indictment of the hypocricsy and narrow mindedness of that society: a people who embraced a conservative world view that persecuted personal ideals that did not conform to the status quo.   hide

One thing that's so great about this book is the tension Flaubert creates in the reader between, on the one hand, wanting to condemn Emma for her immoral, or at least unkind, acts and, on the other, wanting to cheer her on as she strives to be the best she can be in an extremely repressed society in which women simply didn't have very much power. She asserts her ambition in the only way she knows...more

One thing that's so great about this book is the tension Flaubert creates in the reader between, on the one hand, wanting to condemn Emma for her immoral, or at least unkind, acts and, on the other, wanting to cheer her on as she strives to be the best she can be in an extremely repressed society in which women simply didn't have very much power. She asserts her ambition in the only way she knows how: by charming the only available men in the backwoods town of Yonville. But poor Charles, lame as he is, never knew what hit him. The French government charged Flaubert with immorality, but their real problem with the book was that is showed rural French society for what it really was: shallow, provincial, self-important, and not very smart or sophisticated. At least in Flaubert's opinion. Baudelaire was prosecuted for the same thing that same year, but he lost. You can sort of see why as Flowers of Evil is chock-full of vampires, prostitutes, and blood, as poetic as the writing is. But Flaubert? They were just plain scared of him. Someone once said that all novels are really just retellings of Madame Bovary (I think a character in a novel called She Is Me by Catherine Schine said that -- a must-read if you like Bovary). There are a lot of movies that (re)tell this story too. Lots of modern poetry presents vivid images and specific details the way Flaubert does -- revealing character gradually, believably, and ironically. Writers today owe him a lot. So: I liked it. A lot.   hide

Easy to understand Emma's frame of mind and her motivations, although her stupidity made it difficult to sympathize with her. For one so obsessed with money and love, she didn't nurture either one at any point in her life. As for Charles, although simple minded and inattentive to his wife's emotions, one can't help but feel sorry for him, as he loved Emma so purely and unconditionally. The...more

Easy to understand Emma's frame of mind and her motivations, although her stupidity made it difficult to sympathize with her. For one so obsessed with money and love, she didn't nurture either one at any point in her life. As for Charles, although simple minded and inattentive to his wife's emotions, one can't help but feel sorry for him, as he loved Emma so purely and unconditionally. The ultimate tragedy occurs when sorrow overwhelms an individual (as it happened to both Emma and Charles) to a point where it becomes an act of selfishness, in this case leaving young Berthe poor, simple, and alone.   hide

I realize I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I absolutely hated this book. Emma Bovary is a self-absorbed, stuck up, hideously annoying main character, and most of the time I found myself wanting to reach into the book, grab her by the neck and shake her. The only even slightly loveable character, Emma's husband, Charles, who is loving, kind and goes out of his way to make his...more

I realize I probably shouldn't admit to this, but I absolutely hated this book. Emma Bovary is a self-absorbed, stuck up, hideously annoying main character, and most of the time I found myself wanting to reach into the book, grab her by the neck and shake her. The only even slightly loveable character, Emma's husband, Charles, who is loving, kind and goes out of his way to make his impossible wife happy, ends up dying of sorrow. The whole book is an endless tragic affair, of course, so it is to be expected that the characters all end up miserable (most of them, anyway), which usually isn't something that bothers me, but in Madam Bovary there just wasn't anything interesting enough to make me care about them. Most of the book is made up of eternally long, descriptive paragraphs. There is little dialogue and little character development. Flaubert definitely isn't for me.   hide

This is supposed to be a classic. I guess my problem is that I'm reading it with a post-feminism mind. Madam Bovary doesn't have a lot of options, so she marries a doctor and goes live in a small town with him. There she moans and groans about how unhappy she is. She has and affair with the local playboy, then gets all guilty about it. She is supposed to be a paragon of woman's rights but I just...more

This is supposed to be a classic. I guess my problem is that I'm reading it with a post-feminism mind. Madam Bovary doesn't have a lot of options, so she marries a doctor and goes live in a small town with him. There she moans and groans about how unhappy she is. She has and affair with the local playboy, then gets all guilty about it. She is supposed to be a paragon of woman's rights but I just don't see it. She is ungrateful for what she has. Hates her husband, who might not be the best in bed but considering the time beggars can't be choosers. And eventually gets herself into so much debt she can't take it and commits suicide. She is so pathetic I don't even sympathize with her. Her pain is in her own head or of her own creation, and honesty most women in her position at that time would be thankful for what they had. Terrible story. Hated it front to back. I even tried it in the original French- it wasn't any better.   hide

Who was Emma? Nobody knows her expanded horizont, her dreamy wolrd of balls and cavaliers, But were testiminy of her tragic self- killing. Her tendency to not divide dreams by reality destroyd her, her husband and her doughter. She was victim af her dreams, inspirated by chivaleri books. She was victim of her uncontrolled passion. Lastly, She was vicktim of the peasant background, where she was...more

Who was Emma? Nobody knows her expanded horizont, her dreamy wolrd of balls and cavaliers, But were testiminy of her tragic self- killing. Her tendency to not divide dreams by reality destroyd her, her husband and her doughter. She was victim af her dreams, inspirated by chivaleri books. She was victim of her uncontrolled passion. Lastly, She was vicktim of the peasant background, where she was destinated to live.   hide