October Group Read - Madame Bovary

"Madame Bovary, c'est moi."

Discuss amongst yourselves.

Hmm, let's see.
She's described as a voracious reader, so yes. But the kind of books she reads sound like the 19th century equivalent of chick lit, so no.
She does what is expected of her by getting married, I can see myself doing the same thing in the same time and the same circumstances.
She gets bored and spends money like there's no tomorrow. Possibly.
She falls for an aristocratic philanderer. I don't think so.
She has a second affair with a budding lawyer who comes across as very limp-wristed. I think it would be very easy to fall into this trap if the man were as infatuated and submissive as Léon.
She is a hands-off mother. Giving your child to a wet nurse was still an accepted practice at the time, but she remains standoffish even when Berthe is back, spending very little time with her. It's in marked contrast to Madame Homais and paints her as unsympathetic. It's the most surprising aspect of the tale. I hope I wouldn't be like that...

I'm re-reading Nabokov's lecture on Madame Bovary in Lectures on Literature. Well worth a look if anyone is still pursuing this one.

Nabokov is mentioned several times in the notes and afterword of my edition, thanks for recommending that.

I also have a copy of the The Gates of Horn: A Study of Five French Realists on they way.

I've having a hard time but hoping to finish by Friday.

Is it me or is she a spoiled brat?

Finished - not sure that Emma is going to be one of my favorite characters ever.

>6 cyderry:

Why? Genuinely curious.

I read this a couple of years ago and have been checking in on this thread to see what you all thought. I also did not like Emma at all which really colored my reading of the book. With some space, though, I mainly think of the book with appreciation for the writing style - it was an interesting mix of romantic, flowery writing but stark realism at the same time particularly the gory details of Emma's death.

From my review after reading the book:

. . . It's the story of Emma Bovary who has multiple affairs to escape her boring marriage. I really despised Emma. At first I thought I didn't like Flaubert's writing because she's a very one-dimensional character, but now I think that was maybe his point. She spends her whole life waiting for someone else to make it exciting, instead of finding something worthwhile to be passionate about.

>>9 March-Hare: Emma seemed to just always be looking to have her way, what she wanted, never really taking into consideration the ramifications of her actions. Not the kind of person I would want to know.

Finally finished the book today. Emma may well be one of my least-favorite characters ever. Selfish, self-absorbed, shallow, narcissistic, spend-thrift, and probably more adjectives that I haven't thought of yet. I think she was intentionally written to be so. However, that didn't stop me from becoming disgusted by her when she - yet again - blamed the world at large for her own unhappiness. And especially when she so callously risked everything her family owned in order to cover up her own frivolous spending. The only other character that aroused such a strong reaction in me was the draper (I don't know his name, as I had the book on audio and don't speak French). Far more devious than Emma, he intentionally set out to take advantage not only of Emma, but also of Charles. And probably many other residents of the community. The fact that Emma and Charles both refused to speak openly of their money issues is what made it possible for him to get away with his deceit. What a crook. So here is my question about the story - was the entire thing set up by the apothecary? I can't quite figure how it could have been done, but in the end he seems to have finally gotten just what he wanted, and seemed to be very satisfied with himself.

>>12 sjmccreary: completely agree

Even today the British do not talk about money comfortably.