In the same manner that the bourgeois class had 'imprisoned' the proletariat by letting them aspire to achieve the same wealth and social status that they had, came the looseness of morality required from the proletariat. This is what happened to Emma, whose internal conflict -- that is, whether or not to thoroughly embrace a rich and comfortable life despite her increasing commitment to immorality -- failed to give her the aspirations she had created from the time she had been exposed to the modern, yet sometimes vulgar, life of the rich and elite class.
Frustrated by the lack of fulfillment of her ambitions through her affairs, Emma had become restless and disillusioned in the same way an individual would have acted has s/he not achieved prosperity in the modern capitalist society: "The disappointment of her failure increased the indignation of...
Flaubert's novel also presents an overwhelming dissatisfaction over the French bourgeoisie at that time through the eyes and in the person of Emma. She only reflects the aspirations of her time for refinement and sophistication of the higher social classes where she desires to belong. Those of her class do not have the wealth and nobility of those in higher levels. Those above are materialistic, indulgent and wasteful without discrimination.
In service to this "religion," she is expected to offer her entire self. Ultimately, although unintentionally, she quite literally gives her life in this servitude. In The Awakening, religion also plays an important role in the female self-concept. Adele for example specifically refers to the Bible when attempting to convince Edna of the merits of self-sacrifice for husband and children. However, it is also true that Adele has no concept
There is a feminine side to his masculinity, that is, and this passage shows that Emma has an equal share in this dichotomy. Hours after she is back at home, after Charles has left her alone in the house to attend to something, Emma shuts herself in her room to contemplate her experience and her joy. It is here that the realization of her own feminine power, and the active
In any case, fate has sadly a very negative air about it in Madame Bovary. The most important use of Fate is acknowledged by the narrator in the novel. It is when Charles says that Fate is to blame for it had willed it this way. "[Charles] even made a phrase, the only one he'd ever made: 'Fate willed it this way'" (Flaubert 255). Flaubert's emphasis on the use of
Charles in Madame Bovary Charles in Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary represents a provincial archetype -- in fact, the exact sort of common countryside provincialism that his wife Emma comes to resent, find banal, and from which seek to escape. Yet, it is exactly this provincialism that allows Charles to remain grounded in his work and life: his "common sense" as it might be called keeps him, essentially, from becoming a "jealous
Flaubert believed the emerging middle class in nineteenth century Europe to be unrefined, pompous know-it-alls, and fundamentally stupid. This may help to explain some of Leon's lack of intelligence despite his success -- he has emerged from the middle class. Charles, however, represents many of the problems that Flaubert saw with the middle class, and Emma, additionally, grows to despise everything that her husband stands for. When Charles looks
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now