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Summary: Emma Bovary is alive and well and thriving in the city...
Review: Emma Bovary is a wonderful character to study in the year 2000. I don't necessarily LIKE Emma Bovary; I didn't really like anyone in this novel, but I still think it is an important literary work. I don't think of Emma as a villain so much as her true nature was limited by the age she lived in; how doomed her choices were given her social class. Emma may have been selfish but how can we fault her in this age where advertising tells us "greed is good", "just do it" and "I'm worth it." Flaubert might have been interested to know that his Emma Bovary would be very much alive and well and living in these more "liberated" times. The Emma Bovary's of 2000 are much more cosmopolitan - they're out there racking up extreme credit card debt (via malls, the internet and the home shopping network); they're devouring the pulp fiction that fosters those unrealistic expectations of romance; they're demystifying their own self destructive tendencies via self help books...they're just "modern girls"...but they're no less pathetic. Poor Emma...if she had only been a neurotic baby boomer career girl...her biological clock might be ticking and she still might welcome any marriage, even to a dullard like Charles...just so she could say she was married to a doctor! MADAME BOVARY is a book I'll probably read repeatedly as time goes by and we human beings "evolve". Flaubert's jabs at society have become universal and subsequently, highly amusing. Billy Crystal might say Emma is an HM - "definitely high maintenance!"
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Summary: A very descriptive book
Review: The author of this work of literary merit uses vivid description and imagery in his novel. I clearly remember a scene in which the Good Doctor Charles comes to treat a young woman's dad's broken leg. He describes the man's torment and anguish and the simple procedure taken to heal the man. Then, he sees the woman's hand and thinks it looks like an almond and is impressed with it because she is ugly and her nutty hand is beautiful and he falls in love with her. The rest of the book is this good too. You will really regret your life if you do not read it!
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Summary: un baluarte de la literatura francesa
Review: esta historia nos nuestra la vida de la senora bovary que dejo su apacible vida con su padre para casarse con un medico que es lo mas mediocre y soso de la literatura que jamas haya visto. charles bovary es un ejemplo de atraso y conformismo y es por eso que ella se revela ante eso y al final muere, pero como dicen es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas y vivir junto a un mediocre es peor que eso. que entendia charles de las inquietudes que se movian en el alma de su esposa. el un medicucho que no podria haber llegado mas alla de sus narices. no sentire pena por el y por el adulterio contra el cometido. en una sociedad mas moderna ella habria optado por el divorcio, pero en donde le toco vivir era un medio que la ahogaba. excelente novela aunque para algunos con el tiempo y los cambios ha perdido arrastre, siempre debemos recordar en la epoca en que fue escrita y en la condicon de la mujer en esa epoca.LUIS MENDEZ
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Summary: A Fabulous Classic with Modern Appeal
Review: I think this is a wonderful novel. Although it carries around the "classic" label, I think Madame Bovary is an enjoyable, accessible, reader-friendly read. The story is actually quite simple. A French woman marries too rashly, for the wrong reasons, is unhappy, conducts two affairs, and eventually gets into tremendous debt and commits suicide. With that plot, Flaubert manages to create a masterpiece that subtly ridicules all types of human folly, not just Emma's overwhelming romanticism. Science, religion, realism as embodied by various characters all come off unsympathetically, yet the book is still a joy to read, which I believe is Flaubert's brilliance. The only drawback to the novel is that it is in translation (at least it is for me). There are some passages that are stunning, yet I know in French they would be even more so. That being said, I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in literature.
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Summary: Romantic Satire
Review: Madame Bovary, I must emphasize, is not a romantic work. In fact, it is quite the satire. Emma's romantic excesses are portrayed as a *bad* thing. It is interesting in its own way to observe the ways in which romanticism can be made fun of, but the novel tends to drag on and on somewhere near the middle chapter, after the move to Yonville. At the end, its almsot a delight to see Emma die already, and put herself out of her misery.
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Summary: Madam Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Review: I found this novel to be well written, provocative and rather unique in that the author (Gustave Flaubert) wrote with a pronounced dislike for the main characters, Charles and Emma Bovary. The story follows the life of Emma, a young woman of rural France who is absorbed in her fantasies of romantic love, the aristocratic lifestyle and conspicuous consumption. Marrying Charles, a widowed country doctor, Emma quickly becomes dissatisfied with the unfulfilled expectations of her marriage. She views all domestic aspects of her life as boring. When she and Charles are invited to a dinner/dance at a nobleman's home, Emma is asked to dance by a dashing gentleman, which causes the seeds of infidelity to take root. Emma envisions "what if" scenarios in her mind about her dance partner and begins to criticize her husband. Charles, in his own unreality, is swept away by Emma's charms, he views his life as domestic bliss. Emma realizes Charles's domestic satisfaction and egotistically attributes it to her influence and bemoans her dissatisfaction with the relationship. In an effort to play the domestic role, Emma fills her time with music, sewing, and domestic chores, but drifts into daydreams which, unrealized, cause physical illness. Eventually, Charles moves his medical practice to a village closer to Paris to facilitate Emma's health. Here, we meet a whole raft of new characters. Emma health improves and she bears a child, Bethe. She begins to daydream about a young lawyer's clerk, Leon, who also dreams of Emma. Mentally, both have committed adultery, although not physically consummated. Being frustrated with the moral dilemma, Leon moves to Paris to pursue law school. We see Emma rejecting her child and her husband in favor of her own selfish ends. We meet Rodolphe, the local playboy who sees Emma and formulates plans for the conquest. Emma is swept up in Rodolphe's smooth talking lines, aggressive lovemaking techniques and together they embark on an adulterous affair. Emma becomes brazen in her pursuit of the relationship, while Rodolphe becomes more aloof. Emma makes plans to abandon her husband and child and go away with Rodolphe to achieve her ideal relationship. Rodolphe postpones Emma's plans then writes a letter which ends the relationship. Emma is devastated and reacts with something akin to an epileptic seizure or "brain fever". With Charles help, she requires many months to recover her health. As therapy, Charles makes arrangements for Emma and he to attend the theater in Paris. While at the theater Charles meets Leon (the law student) and the stage is set for a relationship between Leon and Emma. Emma makes arrangements to meet Leon every week under the pretense of a piano lesson. Emma finances the extramarital relationship with Leon, which drives her and Charles into debt. Over time Emma becomes a moral monster, being driven into a carnal quagmire. As debt collectors lay claims on all their household possessions, Emma is driven (in a dazed state) to seek the financial assistance from her friends and neighbors. Finding refusal from all, she elects to visit Rodolphe to ask for money, who also refuses. Without foreseeable options, Emma, in a state of moral depravity and financial ruin, commits suicide. Flauberts approach to this novel is unique in several ways. His character description is often vague or lacking, relying on the reader imagination to picture the character. He is not explicit in many of his scenes but seems to rely on the reader's imagination to complete the scene. In other scenes he is explicit, for example in Emma's preparation for burial, the words produce a mental image which is sickening. Still other parts are wordy, for example his opera scene at the theater. His characters often make statements which are profound and 'ring true' even in today's society. He seems to have some insight in the emotions of women or perhaps the feelings he describes are not gender specific.
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Summary: Madame Bovary
Review: A colossally influential work and one of the finest examples of pure literary ability ever published. It seems to me that both those who are praising the work and those who are lambasting it for offending closeted democratic Puritan sexual prurience have missed the point. This is not a book about adultery nor is it wholly a novel about the flowering or birth of a woman or whatever pseudo-Freudian pratter one prefers. There is a reason the work ended not with the fate of Ms. Bovary, but with that of Homais. I must agree with the review titled "On Consumption." Flaubert was taking direct aim at the provincial bourgeois French society he despised. To paraphrase F. Scott, Homais surges on, borne forward by the current, hurtling heedlessly into the future.
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Summary: Madame Bovary
Review: Book Review for Madame Bovary By: Eva Krauss "She bent over him, and murmured, as if choking with intoxication: 'Oh, do not move! Do not speak! Look at me! Something so sweet comes from your eyes that helps me so much!' She called him 'child. 'Child, do you love me?' And she did not listen for his answer, so eager were her lips to fasten on his mouth." As women are unhappy with their marriage they turn to adultery to satisfy their needs. Gustave Flaubert presents an exceptional novel that follows the life of Emma Bovary as she falls prey to adultery and dept during her short but eventful life. Madame Bovary takes place in the countryside surrounding Paris shortly after the exciting 1848 French Revolutions. The novel is packed with vivid description of the countryside and cities that portray lavish lifestyles. Most of the action in the novel occurs in the home of a small town doctor, various powerful scenes takes place in secluded areas that only the two characters involved are aware of their occurrences. Secret meetings dominate a majority of the novel; theses meetings are between the main character (a married woman) and a man. All of these meetings are keep secret from her husband. Emma Bovary is the novels main character; she is a very dynamic character because her mindset changes, as she becomes experienced in the outside world. After her first visit to the city to attend a ball she becomes captivated by a Viscount who danced with Emma for a couple of hours during her night at the ball. Emma was a character that grew with each turn of the page, she started out as a typical young woman and ended up becoming corrupt and deceitful as she held secrets about her love affairs and her enormous dept she had accumulated during the course of her life. Charles Bovary was Emma's faithful husband who supported Emma during her many ordeals. Which included the loss of one of her secret lovers and the shock that Emma received when she was unable to obtain money from anyone further deter her enormous depth. You need to be content with your situation in life, things will get better but you need to understand unlike Emma that you need to think of the results of your action because it might come back to haunt you. Madame Bovary may seem like a long and tedious novel, but as soon as you get started you realize the talent of Flaubert as he explicated the use of literary devices to convey the life of Emma Bovary. As you begin to read, you are introduced to the main characters and their ambitions in life, this may not seem exciting at first, but as the novel progresses you are engrossed in the story line so much that the tedious first few chapters are all worth the trouble. The strong and deep story line keeps you on the edge of your seat because you never know what the next page will reveal. Will Charles Bovary find out about his wife's numerous affairs with other men? Or will Emma from her distraught state commit suicide because she feels that there is no way out? All of these exciting questions will keep you wondering you will not want to put down this exciting novel. Flaubert is a master in describing the society of the Parisians in the late 19th century, he successfully incorporates vivid descriptions and colorful dialogue to show us how Emma Bovary falls into adultery and depth and eventual death at her own hand. If you read this novel you will gain insight into the various lifestyles of not only the country folks but the life of the rich and prosperous. After reading this novel you will also understand the destructive nature of both adultery and uneconomical spending. Both of which might aid you in pursuing and reaching you life goals with the least amount of bumps. Madame Bovary is a master piece in historical literature because it has withstood the test of both time and society, each new generation clings to this novel as a dear sister because of the life lessons that can be gained form reading this powerful novel.
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Summary: A truly excellent novel, a classic
Review: Anyone who calls this book boring is probably not giving it a chance. This novel is truly excellent, and stacks up well against other great 19th century novels.
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Summary: Still luscious after all these years
Review: 150 years on, this reads as freshly as anything published this year. The point, surely, is not whether Emma Bovary is a good woman, or a bad mother, as some reviewers seem to think. What we get is a woman who is entirely human. Her ultimately fatal desires are believable, her weaknesses as common today as they ever were. A post-modern Emma Bovary would divorce, take the kid, and juggle childcare with a career in casting or magazine journalism. Flaubert's heroine had no such options. Her dreams manifested themselves in the futile search for a transforming love - a goal as seductive today as ever. Just as Cervantes wrote "Don Quixote" in part as satire on the literary tastes of the day, Flaubert takes aim at the unrealistic romance novels of his time. His antidote is a story of such realism we recognise every character and every human foible. The sexual descriptions, while not explicit in a modern sense, are still remarkably frank, their power transparent. The author most similar, in my view, is Flaubert's English contemporary Thomas Hardy. I am a huge fan of Hardy, but none of his heroes, not Jude nor the Mayor of Casterbridge nor even Tess comes to us as intimately as the beautiful, ardent, bored and ultimately wasted Emma B.
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