Flaubert / Dostoevsky Examples of Naturalism and Symbolism in Madame Bovary

In Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary, the narratorial voice carefully avoids direct comment upon the story. Flaubert maintains a tension between Naturalism and Symbolism by leaving it up to the reader to determine if certain episodes are intended to be read symbolically. Flaubert's contemporary readers, however, found the book scandalous -- in some sense, Flaubert's determination to present certain aspects of reality directly was understood as almost obscene. This certainly links him with the goals of the literary movement of Naturalism, which presented human life as being socially determined and a product of heredity and environment, and did not flinch in presenting disgusting details. But Flaubert's goals as an artist are bigger than those of mere Naturalism: the episode in which the adulterous title character experiences a sudden interest in religion demonstrates this.

We may observe that Flaubert seems to be writing almost satirically in his description of Emma Bovary's religious episode. After all, the passage begins with a paradox: the "pride" that led Emma into her sexual transgressions has now suddenly decided to approach "humility." The way in which pride can appear humble is certainly a hint at a larger symbolic meaning here, although...

Instead, Emma's religion is described in terms of its physical manifestation in consumer goods and knick-knacks:
Her soul, warped and twisted by the fires of pride, had at last found rest in Christian humility; and tasting the joys of weakness, Emma contemplated in herself the destruction of her will, a process bound to afford an easy access to the flowing tide of grace. So mere mundane happiness had given place to more transcendent bliss, a love high above all human passion, that knew neither end nor intermission, a love that would grow and grow eternally. And among the illusory visions conjured up by hope, she thought she saw a realm of purity floating above the earth, melting into the sky, and it was there, in that region, that she longed to dwell. She longed to become a saint. She bought rosaries, she wore amulets; she must needs have a reliquary set with emeralds to keep in her room, so that she could have it by her pillow and kiss it every night.

The 'cure' was wonderfully struck by this attitude of mind, although he thought that by reason of its very fervour Emma's religion might topple over into heresy, into extravagance. But not being very well up in such matters after they got beyond a certain limit, he wrote off to Monsieur Boulard, the Bishop's bookseller, asking him…