Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

32 reviews

glorgona's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

m4rtt4's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

There's something magnetic about Emma Bovary — I can't say that I liked her, yet still I couldn't help rooting for her no matter what she did. Considering when this novel was written, she sure is an exceptional female protagonist, the OG Material Girl and even practices the gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss agenda, but if only her decisions had solely been based on her twisted mind and not on her "female fragility"!! I hated how so many of her traits were just explained by her sex, as if being a woman automatically makes one weak, stupid and gullible — I despise you, historical misogynists. 

since Emma was such an exceptional heroine, I expected her to do something brave like run away or get a divorce, but nah.. it fucking sucks that the only acceptable plotlines for historical heroines are all related to marriage — if it's a happy one, then they live happily ever after, and if it's an unhappy one (like Emma's), the woman must die.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Ableism and Classism

aiyam's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Racial slurs

vincef's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pregnancy

ru_th's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

[…] der Gedanke, dass ihr Kind ein männliches Wesen sein werde, war eine Art zukünftige Rache für ihre ganze eigene Ohnmacht in der Vergangenheit. Ein Mann ist wenigstens frei; er kann Leidenschaften und Länder erkunden, Hindernisse überwinden und kostet das fernste Glück. Eine Frau aber ist ständig eingeschränkt. Passiv und nachgiebig zugleich, hat sie gegen sich die Schwäche ihres Fleisches und die Abhängigkeit vom Gesetz. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Suicide

Moderate: Medical trauma and Injury/Injury detail

nachtvlucht's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Suicide, and Grief

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Minor: Child abuse

mollmccaff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Eating disorder, Racial slurs, and Death of parent

kmmiller28's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide

Moderate: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

stephaniet0021's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Suicide

mercedes's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Madame Bovary is perhaps the most controversial book I've read of late, scandalous at the time of release and still a point of debate nowadays, albeit for different reasons. Despite the harsh reviews and rating it receives, I found the novel simply fascinating.

(Spoilers below!)

One of the most common criticisms I've seen is precisely the reason I was so captivated by the story—that Emma Bovary has a comfortable life, a devoted husband and loving child, and she detests them both. She isn't a nice or agreeable person, she has no valid reason to hate her spouse, she hates him solely because he is dull, because their life isn't reminiscent of the sentimental romance books she reads. He worships her, never wants to leave her side when she becomes unwell, and has all the patience of a saint. Every so often she tries to commit to the loving housewife act, and quickly grows tired of it, pushing herself further into despair. Eventually she's drawn to more extreme methods of regaining any amount of happiness, and is tempted into affairs, while at the same time spending all of her husband's money on clothes and furniture for the house, anything to satiate her gluttony and imitate the high society life she dreamed of.

I think the most distinct aspect of Emma's downfall was her unrealistic ways of romanticising a life she couldn't ever lead and in overly relying on these dreamlike ideas as if they were fact. We see this first early on, before and directly after she marries Charles Bovary. Because married life with Charles isn't exactly what her idea of marriage is, it's almost immediately ruined in her mind.

We see similar things happen in her affairs, the initial excitement and infatuation which then falls back into the mundanity she despairs of when the lust dies down. Romance means nothing in Madame Bovary, because Emma is only happy in her relationships when sex is the core aspect—and vice versa for her partners. Once the novelty of Emma's sexuality wears off, and the men can see her selfish demands more clearly, they turn to cowardice and run away. Although Emma goes through the motions of this multiple times, she remains naive—because it doesn't suit her romanticisations... which eventually leads to her horrific suicide. Believing that she'll drop off to sleep and die peacefully, like the heroines in books she's read, Emma eats a handful of arsenic, and then spends the next day slowly dying in agony. Time and time again, she puts herself and her family through terrible situations because of how unrealistically she perceives bourgeois life.

I thought this book was incredibly interesting and I don't think people should be put off by the low ratings or of the fact it's primarily about infidelity. I don't like the topic of infidelity much in fiction but I didn't find this uncomfortable to read about at all. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity and Suicide

Minor: Sexual content