grahamsoper's review against another edition
3.0
Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert
This is a charming tale in which Flaubert describes the life of a young woman who, whilst enjoying life on her father’s farm, also studies in a convent. And when she reaches adulthood, she marries a doctor, Charles. It looks like things are looking good for her.
Emma Bovary is a beautiful woman. And yet, now a married woman, she finds herself feeling bored with her life. With the glowing first few weeks of married life behind her, she realizes that she wants something more exciting than simply the love, care and patience of her husband. She had been excited about being part of something new in her life. But now it seems like the rosy future she had imagined for herself has faded. She even starts to detest the man who is so clearly in love with her. But he never sees the true Emma.
Emma feels trapped in her marriage to Charles, a man who she considers mediocre at best. She also feels disappointed with French provincial life in general. She is a big fan of reading and consumes much sentimental literature. But now all she longs for in her life is passion and an escape from the reality of her life.
From that point on, she starts to lose her reservations. Her previous good character and her emotional maturity fall away, little by little. She finds herself exploring her fantasies for high romance, with extravagant spending and, eventually, in adultery, as she seeks happiness and real feelings elsewhere – in luxury, in other men, and in increasingly risky and uninhibited behaviour. To put it simply, she starts to live her life in the fast lane.
But even her affairs bring her disappointment, and when real life continues to fail to live up to her romantic expectations, the consequences are devastating. Flaubert's psychologically acute portrayal of Emma Bovary caused a moral outcry on its publication in 1857. Her actions seem even more drastic because of her Christian upbringing and having adhered to strict convent life. It almost seems at the end that the author is pulling us towards a conclusion that “She got what she deserved. She had it all but lost everything with her silly notions.”
The primary characters in the book are complex and have many issues. The men are either ignorant or they are out to get you. The women are either happy with their husband and children or have affairs.
Emma’s death is perhaps the final judgment on her character and the way Charles continues to adore her and tries to justify her actions after finding her love letters only proves the underlying theme.
This is a charming tale in which Flaubert describes the life of a young woman who, whilst enjoying life on her father’s farm, also studies in a convent. And when she reaches adulthood, she marries a doctor, Charles. It looks like things are looking good for her.
Emma Bovary is a beautiful woman. And yet, now a married woman, she finds herself feeling bored with her life. With the glowing first few weeks of married life behind her, she realizes that she wants something more exciting than simply the love, care and patience of her husband. She had been excited about being part of something new in her life. But now it seems like the rosy future she had imagined for herself has faded. She even starts to detest the man who is so clearly in love with her. But he never sees the true Emma.
Emma feels trapped in her marriage to Charles, a man who she considers mediocre at best. She also feels disappointed with French provincial life in general. She is a big fan of reading and consumes much sentimental literature. But now all she longs for in her life is passion and an escape from the reality of her life.
From that point on, she starts to lose her reservations. Her previous good character and her emotional maturity fall away, little by little. She finds herself exploring her fantasies for high romance, with extravagant spending and, eventually, in adultery, as she seeks happiness and real feelings elsewhere – in luxury, in other men, and in increasingly risky and uninhibited behaviour. To put it simply, she starts to live her life in the fast lane.
But even her affairs bring her disappointment, and when real life continues to fail to live up to her romantic expectations, the consequences are devastating. Flaubert's psychologically acute portrayal of Emma Bovary caused a moral outcry on its publication in 1857. Her actions seem even more drastic because of her Christian upbringing and having adhered to strict convent life. It almost seems at the end that the author is pulling us towards a conclusion that “She got what she deserved. She had it all but lost everything with her silly notions.”
The primary characters in the book are complex and have many issues. The men are either ignorant or they are out to get you. The women are either happy with their husband and children or have affairs.
Emma’s death is perhaps the final judgment on her character and the way Charles continues to adore her and tries to justify her actions after finding her love letters only proves the underlying theme.
onlyinbooksworlds's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
scostanzo42's review against another edition
3.0
Even though there was a love story buried in this novel, it was quite sad overall. I wasn't crazy about the side stories of the non-main characters and their politics, but overall it was good.
tamzy6's review against another edition
4.0
Started a while ago but got distracted with other books (oops)... Amazing to see how this has influenced Thomas Hardy and his work. Flaubert certainly wastes no words; each word carefully describes a scene, a feeling, a thought.
perfectly_reasonable's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tparsons2012's review against another edition
1.0
UGH. Let's use as many meaningless details as possible to describe things that have no bearing whatsoever on the main plotline of a novel!
asliozy's review against another edition
5.0
İnternetten satın aldığım ilk kitaptı Madam Bovary, iyi ki 2014 yılında değil de 2023 yılında okumuşum. 15 yaşındaki halimle anlayabileceğim ve içselleştirebileceğim bir kitap değilmiş. Belki 9 sene sonra tekrar okusam bambaşka çıkarımlarda bulunurum. Bazı kitaplar yaş aldıkça tekrar okunmalı, özellikle de klasikler.
solene_richard's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
snoopfrog's review against another edition
2.5
emma is her own worst enemy. this is a lesson in getting a prenup so u don’t acquire your wife’s debts after she dies. and there is so much boring dialogue between side character men that i listened to at 2x speed. also fun little racist bits that came out of nowhere.