Character Analysis of Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert)

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Flaubert, again nails the way of shaping the character, so as Emma the perfectly rounded character in the history of modern novels. Though, Madame Bovary over figures the male chauvinism, it holds a subtle way of portraying characters in a different perception. Gustave Flaubert, as Simone de Beauvoir, draws the feminist ideology in disciplines of biology, psychoanalysis and historical materialism so, as Flaubert had also shaped Emma with the touch of those disciplines. Flaubert infuses the feminist ideology with the help of his own way of structuring the setting of Madame Bovary, for many instances, Flaubert projects the social constructivism of the period to criticize the modern human psyche.

As biology is concerned, Flaubert imposes the notion by Emma’s motherhood, as Emma’s daughter was the first break of her hope, when all the male characters posse power and social position to change Emma’s life, whereas Emma lacks that. Despite of this condition, she strengthens to sustain herself with the responsibility of being a mother, so she hopes to give birth for a boy but unfortunately it was a goal and that was the initiation of her disparity. Here, Flaubert implies the references of psychoanalysis, by reasoning why Emma expected a boy. Throughout the novel, Charles was the only male character who lacks external powers among other male dominant characters in spite of being a doctor. Charles was also the main cause for Emma’s powerlessness. His incompetence was a major part for dissatisfying Emma’s desires to get rid of the bourgeoise lifestyle, his reluctance to occupy power in the society of a doctor and his mistaken surgery to a club footed man leaves Emma to say, don’t touch me, Charles, and that’s the moment she completely hated him. As she was already suffering with her baby, by added to that her husband’s incompetence, makes her to break her morality and commit sex with other men. While men have access with their wealth, personality, power etc., the only access she had was her love with the trade of sex but at last she ended up with the loss of shame. Flaubert projects the patriarchal society with his subtle character sketch.

On the other hand, Flaubert tries to imply the nature and the sufferings of bourgeoise under the perception of Emma. The word bourgeoise referred to the middle class, people who lack their ancestry wealth and they allow themselves to be indulged within the level of expenses, sometimes their tastes were characterized as gaudy. At this part Flaubert introduces a ruthless character, Monsieur Lheureux, who’s a versatile merchant who has the skill to sync women and greed at the same point. As he was introduced in the initial part of the novel, Emma’s very first meeting with him pushes her in the greed for the sophisticated royal life. He never shows the bills and the costs of the products that he sells to Emma, and once she wore the clothes and ornaments, she completely becomes a doll for Rodolphe. She didn’t just buy the out wears but the attitude of the rich life because Monsieur Lheureux was skilled to sink people in that dream spell where Emma was also got stuck. In that journey Flaubert proves the failures of the bourgeoise in the modern society.

Ultimately, there’s only one thing in common with Emma and other characters which is to break the moral structure but this is where Flaubert proves himself a genius of placing the characters in a ‘walk on the line’ situations. On the other hand, in Emma’s situation the only two choices she had was to take lovers or to remain faithful in her dull marriage where other characters had no choices to ruin her life without her knowledge.

Thus, Emma’s life strongly says that deterioration is not a matter of fact but a progress.

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