Madame Bovary in Classics Without All the Class

Nov 18, 2012 Annie rated it liked it

One of the acknowledged masterpieces of 19th century realism, Madame Bovary is revered by writers and readers around the world, a mandatory stop on any pilgrimage through modern literature. Flaubert's legendary style, his intense care over the selection of words and the shaping of sentences, his unmatched ability to convey a mental world through the careful selection of telling details, shine on every page of this marvelous work.
Madame Bovary scandalized its readers when it was first published ...more

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Jan 06, 2013 Andrea rated it it was amazing

This book is indeed a worthwhile classic; I learnt a lot from it. I could get to know a little bit more about French culture, customs and traditions. I was very overwhelmed by the descriptions in the book, not only the ones which elaborated on the landscapes and scenery, but also the ones which pictured the personality, aspect, and mood of every character.

The transition Madame Bovary went through, from a naïve country girl to an adulterous and lying wife, kept me thinking a lot about human natu This book is indeed a worthwhile classic; I learnt a lot from it. I could get to know a little bit more about French culture, customs and traditions. I was very overwhelmed by the descriptions in the book, not only the ones which elaborated on the landscapes and scenery, but also the ones which pictured the personality, aspect, and mood of every character.

The transition Madame Bovary went through, from a naïve country girl to an adulterous and lying wife, kept me thinking a lot about human nature in general. She had everything a healthy woman could wish for: a house, a loving husband, a beautiful child, servants, and commodity. She could've been very happy if she had accepted those modest gifts from life, and stopped thinking of a life not worth living.

I understood that the reading she practiced had something to do with her change of mind. She was intoxicated with the heroes, love and adventure the books gave her, and therefore, she wanted something of that for her life. She kept picturing a surreal life in which she could experience the depths of the unknown, yet she had no idea of the consequences that life entailed.

In this book I could also experience the usual prejudice social life is very characterized by. She worked really hard on keeping appearances when she was having her affair with Rodolphe, and then with Leon. It was also very easy to infer her lack of great intelligence, for her actions and ideals were deeply screaming of ignorance. Perhaps the lack of education in that time (some books were prohibited and many people kept their wives from reading some books) combined with the small glimpses of the literal world gave her something too tempting to ignore. This is also a great reason to believe books shouldn't be taken lightly, for they feed our mind, and if the books you give your mind to feed of are sick and twisted, that's how your mind will develop in turn.

I definitely scorned her actions and thinking, since I was able to see a pattern in all of them: all of them were product in whole or in part of her selfishness. The lack of natural conscience for the feelings of her close acquaintances or family said much of her twisted mind. The perfect culmination of such selfishness was expressed in the final action she performed: suicide. There is nothing in the world of selfish actions that can tell of the capacity a human being has to ignore other people's feelings than suicide. It is the ultimate form of selfishness.

As a whole this book was incredibly informative, and I enjoyed the way Flaubert put together the psychological deficiency of a human mind. A perfect piece of literature, and I wish I could read it some day in French, which is its original language. ...more

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Nov 24, 2011 Katherine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literary, 2011

This new translation of Madame Bovary by Lydia Davis won the French-American Foundation Translation Prize. I realized that I had not read it before. I recommend finding a copy of this edition (1010)to read. As I read, I alternated between pity for Madame Bovary and anger at her romantic notions that led to her downfall. I felt that her husband should have been more aware of her, her emotions and her actions. She lived in a fantasy, where she denied inconvenient realities - a little like Scarlet ...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Sara rated it it was amazing

**Some spoilers**

Emma Bovary, physically, is a beautiful striking young woman. Mentally, emotionally, she is a little dissatisfied girl, a child, and not a pleasant one. It is almost exhausting reading this book because you can feel the hunger and starvation in this poor womans soul. Very rarely do I pity others or feel bad for them, but let me tell you, I felt pretty bad for this 'woman'. I didn't feel bad for her because she didn't get what she wanted nor did I feel bad when she found herself **Some spoilers**

Emma Bovary, physically, is a beautiful striking young woman. Mentally, emotionally, she is a little dissatisfied girl, a child, and not a pleasant one. It is almost exhausting reading this book because you can feel the hunger and starvation in this poor womans soul. Very rarely do I pity others or feel bad for them, but let me tell you, I felt pretty bad for this 'woman'. I didn't feel bad for her because she didn't get what she wanted nor did I feel bad when she found herself stuck in undesired situations.

My pity for her only grew because of the fact that you could feel that her soul was seriously fogged and dirtied (I feel that there is no better way to describe the defects in her character). Flaubert did a great job at pulling in the readers emotions, overwhelming the reader with what overwhelmed Emma. She is never fucking satisfied, never. Always reaching for things just out of reach for her, and when she gets it she reaches for something else. She is mental and delusional, which is what makes this story sad and so tension filled. Never is there a moment where Emma is honestly happy or honest with anyone, including herself. She never takes into account anybody else, including her husband and especially daughter. It is frightening and shocking.

The only thing that I find unclear is what made her this way. She is always like this but we aren't exactly sure why. It could have been the loss of her mother, which makes one wonder how would she be different if she had her mother or a maternal figure in her life. The loss of her mother does somewhat explain the careless way she treats her daughter, yet her behavior is still inexcusable. Yet it is mysterious overall as to what made her this y only guess is extreme lack of love. She is never happy and never will be.

Two interesting points in the book:
1. The way Emma at first holds back from Leon, when they love each other. Part of her is conscientious and this shows her awareness of wrong and right. So this shows that she is not totally delusional as to what she should and shouldnt be doing. Shes still pretty heartless though, and later gives into temptation not at all thinking of her husband.
2. Her only seemingly happy moment was at the ball, when she delusioned herself to a glamorous, rich and cultured life. Her husband was the reason for her being there yet she coldly pushed him aside and fell in love with an environment she didn't belong to,and dreamed of the event even after it happened. This part shows her strong delusion, and is what confirmed that no real things can make her happy.

This book was almost tiring to read, and frustrating at times. But I was so pulled in and it was worth every moment I put my time into. Flaubert is an interesting writer, and something tells me that he was writing about himself in a way because it seemed so deeply personal. That is what made me truly appreciate this book. As difficult of a read that this book was, whether it was due to the way Flaubert would exhaust his words in places or if it was because you just wanted to jump in the book and shake out everything in Emma, I would come back to this book. There was a way of traction that I really admired.

A very valuable lesson is taught in this book. I don't think it was one I wasn't aware of before, but it definitely animated this lesson strongly and emotionally and made you realize the importance of it. And that would be, happiness depends on you, not on outside forces. Emma depended on every outside force to bring her happiness and consistently was dissapointed, until she couldnt take it anymore. What a shame, I almost feel like she's a real person. She was miserable and sad and lonely, and the reason she was so heartless to others was because she was heartless to herself. I cant help but feel she hated herself. So love yourself and all will fall into place. Be satisfied with and make best of every situation, amd make things happen for yourself because the world, and all of life will not love you if you don't love it back. ...more

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