Week 4 Discussion: Part III - Chapters 1-11

[Lydia]

Post your comments on Part III - Chapters 1-11

[[deleted user]]

I am in not in love with this book. I found it slightly trite. Am I being harsh?

[Megan]

sonia, i completely agree. it was a struggle to finish it and by the end i could not have cared less WHAT happened to stupid madame bovary and her stupid pointless life. i didn't feel anything for her except boredom, and the same goes for her boring husband and boring lovers. lol.

[Lydia]

Megan wrote: "sonia, i completely agree. it was a struggle to finish it and by the end i could not have cared less WHAT happened to stupid madame bovary and her stupid pointless life. i didn't feel anything for ..."

hahaha THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL. I mean, I can't even get up the inclination to post about the book because it's like ... "meh".

I'm disappointed. I really thought this would be an interesting one.

[Lynnette]

I haven't finished (book club book got in the way) but while I find the writing enjoyable and somewhat education as to France during this time period, I do not find the subject to be enjoyable. I find it shows the despair of life when we are not content with what we do have. It hurt my heart, the way she treated her child.

But it also shows that human nature has not changed much. We see women and men still, never satisfied, and searching for more. Selfishness is a trait that harms a person the most but makes them unaware of it.

[Megan]

i thought it was quite cynical, but i disagree that it was her selfishness that was the problem. i think her problem was really more about cowardice and weakness. she wasn't bold enough to live the life she really wanted and it literally killed her. if she had been a little more selfish from the get-go (i know it was a different time and arranged marriage was more common, but still), she would have survived and been happy. instead, she pined after a life she didn't have and wasted away. stupid in my book.