Gustave Flaubert And Madame Bovary: Comparisons
...capable, or beyond the
brink of reaching perfection. It would be an absolute dream to look upon each
day with a positive outlook. We try to establish our lives to the point where
this perfection may come true at times, although, it most likely never lasts.
There's no real perfect life by definition, but instead, the desire and
uncontrollable longing to reach this dream.
In the novel Madame Bovary, it's easy to relate to the characters as
well as the author of this book. One can notice that they both share a fairly
similar view on life, and that their experiences actually tie in with each other.
Emma Bovary dreamed of a life beyond that of perfection as well. She
realizes that she leads an ordinary and average life, but simply does not want
to abide by it. In the novel, Emma meets a pitiful doctor named Charles Bovary.
The first time they meet, Charles falls instantly in love with her. They begin
to see more and more of each other until Charles asks Emma's father for her hand
in marriage. They end up getting married and everything goes fine, just like a
normal couple, for awhile. They did things with each other, went out, and were
extremely happy. Although, this love and passion for life shortly ended when
Emma's true feelings began to come about. We soon come to realize that "the
story is of a woman whose dreams of romantic love, largely nourished by novels,
find no fulfillment when she is married to a boorish country doctor" (Thorlby
272).
This is completely true because Emma really does get caught up in her
reading. She wonders why she can't have a flawless love as well as a flawless
life, just as the characters do in the novels she reads.
Once Emma becomes fed up and realizes that he is "a sad creature"
(Flaubert 78), she begins her little quest to find the right man through a binge
of affairs and broken hearts.
The author of...
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