Madame Bovary (French Edition)

[I read the French edition, but will write my review in English.] I found this book haunting. I thought about it much after I finished it, to me the ultimate sign of a good read. The language was beautiful, even if French is a distant third language for me, and Flaubert apparently was instrumental in bringing a gritty, amoral realism into French literature. That he did, to a fault. At times I struggled to understand the point, if any, he was trying to make, what did it all MEAN? I understood she was trapped, that she had a glimpse of something just beyond her narrow, provincial existence with her milquetoast husband and the ridiculous pharmacist (translated in some editions as chemist) and his schemes to win recognition which in the end against all odds he gets. As someone who is living in a small village outside Geneva for a few years, I could relate in some visceral way to Madame Bovary and given the ending, that frightened me. Is there a strong feminist undercurrent here, since clearly the protagonist would have had so many more options had she been male or had she been born a century later? There was a darkness and a cynicism to the book that left me as flat in places as Madame Bovary's ennui and lack of response to her own child, something that as a parent I found unconvincing. In his quest for realism, the author seemed to do something many "modern" writers (and film directors) do, namely avoiding anything that might remotely be seen as uplifting or steering us toward a happy ending. Any hope must be dashed, any attempt at "progress" ultimately must be absurd or even disastrous (as the botched surgery leading to an amputation). But is this really life and if so, do we read literature to have a somewhat tidier beginning, middle, and end than our own existences give us? I do. Nevertheless, I loved the playful back and forth between the priest and the pharmacist, especially with them all falling asleep with the corpse of Emma in the room, showing the absurdity of all arguments perhaps. So many words. But Flaubert's choice of them was beautiful.

The words are printed too close to the center, making it difficult to read

I would never think to look at the dimensions of a book. This thing is almost 10" tall. Because of the size its only 190 pages which actually makes it quite flimsy in paperback when trying to read a novel with one hand. On top of that, its printed in dark black on what feels like plain bright white printer paper. Its like a long binded academic paper. The penquin classic version is over 300 pages and more appropriately sized, I'm returning this copy for that one.

Flaubert's stylistics and subject matter have left an indelible mark in literature with his portrayal of human frailty in the face of overwhelming life encounters. Fatality is as incomprehensible as Emma's pursuit of an ephemeral world that remains elusive and outside of her reach. Coupled with her husband Charles' ineptitude, it is not surprising that her only way out is to escape the reality that finally crushes her. Highly recommended for the study of character development; gripping narrative and dialog; historic and cultural slices of 19th Century provincial France.

Du grand art - l'art du roman dans toute sa splendeur. Charles, Emma, Napoléon, Athalie, Irma, Homais, Lestiboudois, Lheureux, Léon, Rodolphe, quel ironique régal de vous revoir

A fine and almost universally known classic of 19th century fiction that I had not read before. The seeming shallowness and infidelities of the title character are sure to draw the early attentions of the reader, but what is equally if not more striking is the ingratiating, self-serving and pecuniary pettiness of many of the people who pretended to be serving the Bovary family. They shared in the downfall of Madame Bovary and the eventual ruin of the family.The writing is clear and accessible to readers with an intermediate or higher understanding of French.

Ce roman n'est pas seulement l'histoire de Madame Bovary et sa vie tragique. Il s'agit plutôt d'une description de la société française au 19ème siècle. Pour les femmes, le mariage était comme un carcan qui entravait leur liberté. La vie conjugale de Madame Bovary en est un exemple. Elle est mariée avec un homme ennuyeux et médiocre. Madame Bovary, par contre, est intelligente, cultivée et romantique. Elle s'ennuie avec son mari. Or, elle se trouve dans une situation sans issue. Elle ne peut pas divorcer. Gustave Flaubert a réussi à écrire un roman émouvant et fascinant. C'est un plaisir de lire ce livre. Je le recommande à tous ceux qui aiment les classiques de la littérature.

I never thought I would be able to finish this book but the writing is so remarkable that I finished it in a few days. You surprise yourself rereading a sentence or a paragraph just to savor the way the words are carefully stitched together.For Emma the "perfect" man only exists in her exacerbated self-centered mind. But those feelings and the world (19th century French countryside) she lives in are so amazingly well described that you feel you have become a time traveler. The book is a little heavy on melancholy but it was actually the literary trend of the times with the advent of this intense Romantic Movement all over Europe and the US.

Buena edición, para los que tenemos la espinita de ver ese vocabulario complejo en su idioma original.

Un livre classique qu"il fait bon de relire

著者36歳、1857年の作です。世界史上10大小説に入る、あまりに有名な本なので、簡単にあらすじを述べます。シャルル･ボヴァリは小学生で、転校してきたが新しい学校になじめず、同級生に馬鹿にされます。彼は平凡で陰気で,医学の勉強を努力し2流の田舎医者になる。母親は年上の寡夫と結婚するが直ぐに亡くなり、財産と一緒に公証人は消えます。シャルルは、患者の娘で、尼僧院で育ったエンマ･ルオを愛し、結婚を申し込む。彼らはノルマンディー地方の田舎、トストに住み着く。結婚はエンマのロマンチックな期待を裏切る。現実は本で読んだ物と一致しない。彼女は恋を夢見て、結婚は全ての問題の解決と思います。一方シャルルは、少し不満で、太り気味だが妻とは幸せ一杯で完璧と思います。パリを夢見て、バルザックを読みます。幻想と村の単調な生活を比較し、沈みます。ついに無感動は病気になり、妊娠した時、シャルルは彼女の健康を直そうと、別の村に引越す。ヨンヴィル･アベイで、エンマはオメ、町の薬局屋と、レオン･デュピュイ、公証人の書記、彼女のように田舎に厭きてロマンチックな小説へ逃げるのが好きな人に会い、彼らは共通の趣味を見つける。エンマは娘ベルトを生み、息子をほしかったので失望します。エンマとレオンはプラトニックな関係を続け、彼が彼女を愛してると知った時、罪悪感を感じ、献身的な妻の役目を演じる。レオンは期待で疲れ、永久にエンマを所有できないと考えパリに法律を勉強に行きます。エンマにとって、これ以上の悲しみはありません。農家市場で、彼女は金持ちの隣人ロドルフ･ブランジェに誘惑され身を任せ、熱情的な関係になります。エンマは直に誠実さが無くなり、全ての住人はこの件の噂をする。シャルルはしかし、何も疑わず,妻への憧れ、愚劣さはあらゆる噂話に聞く耳はない。イポリットの馬小屋の子の手術をしなければならない時、足を切り取るため別の医者を呼ばなければ成らない時、職業的能力の噂が最悪になります。夫の無能に嫌気が指し、エンマは益々ロドルフとの関係に熱中するが、彼は彼女を優しく扱わない。彼女は金を借り、贈り物を買い、ベルトと一緒にイタリアへ逃げる事を示唆しても彼は穏やかに宥めます。突然ロドルフはエンマの煩しい愛情に厭き、彼女と逃げる事を拒否します。彼女は病気になり、自殺を考えます。エンマが快復した時、シャルルは経済的に苦しくなる。妻の借金を返す為、金を借りざるをえない。しかし彼は隣町のルーアンのオペラを見に連れて行きます。そこで、レオンと会い、エンマは昔のロマンチックな恋の炎がまた燃えます。週毎のルーアンへの旅行に酔いしれる。高利貸しルルーへの借金が募り、膨大な金利を付加されます。レオンに対し、だんだん不躾になり、何度も会ってるのに、彼の浮気を発見します。時間が経ち、エンマとレオンはお互い に厭きて、どうやって分かれるか知らず、彼女は益々高圧的になり、借金は日に日に増え、彼女は絶望的にレオン、町の全ての仕事人を呼び出し、必要な金を集め、終にロドルフの所に行き、金をくれるなら娼婦になろうとします。彼は拒否し、突き飛ばす。彼女は青酸カリで自殺し、シャルルは何も出来ず、恐ろしい苦痛の中で亡くなります。シャルルは、ロドルフとレオンの手紙を見つけ、事実に直面し、債権者に攻撃され、破産、絶望し、庭で孤独に苦しみながら死にます。

Une oeuvre magistrale.

Histoire assez ordinaire et redondante.