Customer Reviews
Which translation? - By: LL, 28 Apr 2008 
It's pretty much all been said & I gladly add my voice to the chorus of praise but I write to suggest reading the original translation by Eleanor Marx Aveling (daughter of Karl Marx); the more florid victorian prose is apposite for the era & truly spellbinding.
Fabulous - By: , 12 Dec 2005 I have just finished reading Madame Bovary for the first time. I write this with the ripples & textures of the novel freshin my mind. And what textures!
It is not a particularly considered evaluation then, nor is it a 'literary' perspective, simply the intial reactions of one very ordinary reader. Perhaps some will find it helpful.
I won't detail the plot here, other reviewers have already done so elsewhere. At the most basic level the book relates a simple, almost archetypal tragedy. To briefly outline the plot is to recite a familiar morality tale. Flaubert's brilliance is to subvert the form, subtly but to such a degree, that the morality ebbs away & is replaced by something far more sinister, & far more interesting: humanity. Naturally, the book's power to shock & scandalize has diminished considerablyin the century & a half since it was published, but presumably few readers are interested onlyin what is currently 'groundbreaking'.
The writing is sublime. It must be magicalin the original French but alas, my poverty of intellect prevents me from sampling its delights. I have read Mauldoon's English translation & it is gorgeous. Apparently Flaubert did not consider himself the most naturally gifted of writers & spent a huge amount of time & precision over his style. Some passages, presumably as a consequence of this, feel a trifle over-delicate. Some readers might even go so far as to say dull. I wouldn't, but there are certainly moments when Flaubert's passion for what he is writing does appear to flag somewhat. These are small criticisms. The reward for his effort isin the abundance of superbly crafted metaphors, the mouth watering imagery, the hilarious characterization...I would not leave it there but I fear continuing such a list might drive me back into the novel's pages & this review would never be finished!
The genius of Flaubert's narrative voice has been noted by other readers here. It is this, principally, that undermines the notion of 'proper morals' that might otherwise inflitrate the novel. It is this that saves Emma the ignominy of becoming just another symbol of woman's capricious follies. It is this that, conversely, fashions of the novel's heroine something of a proto-feminist icon. To suggest that the book lacks sympathetic characters is ludicrous. Emma Bovary is one of the greatest heroines I have come across & I defy anyone who has ever been guilty of a romantic heart not to identify with her. Her husband Charles seems pathetic & weak, perhaps, but he will move every reader to tender pity.
In a great many respects, the irony & detachment of Flaubert's voice gives Madame Bovary a special resonance for modern society. And for those unconvinced, how about a fleeting moment of Flaubert's own splendid romanticism at work, refracted through the caddish Rodolphe:
'and human language is like a cracked kettledrum on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, when what we long to do is make music that will move the stars to pity.'
You made music Gustave, you most certainly did. I recommend this book. I hope new readers enjoy it even more than I did.
Dated Period Piece or Classic Tragedy? - By: Donald Mitchell, 20 May 2004 Depending on your perspective, this book is hopelessly dated & has little relevance to today, is an important step forwardin the French novel, or is a classic depiction of tragedyin the Greek tradition. You should decide which perspective is most meaningful to youin determining whether you should read the book or not.
The story of the younger Madame Bovary (her mother-in-law is the other) is presentedin the context of people whose illusions exceed their reality. Eventually, reality catches up with them. In the case of Emma Bovary, these illusions are mostly tied upin the notion that romantic relationships will make life wonderful & that love conquers all. She meets a young doctor of limited potential & marries with little thought. Soon, she finds him unbearable. The only time she is happy is when the two attend a ball at a chateaux put on by some of the nobility (the beautiful people of that time). She has a crisis of spirit & becomes depressed. To help, he moves to another town where life may be better for her. She has a daughter, but takes no interestin her. Other men attract her, & she falls for each one who pays attention to herin a romantic style. Clearly, she isin love with romance. Adultery is not rewarded, & she has a breakdown when one lover leaves her. Recovering, she takes on a younger lover she can dominate. This, too, works badly & she becomes recklessin her pursuit of pleasure. In the process, she takes to being recklessin other ways & brings financial ruin to herself & her family. The book endsin tragedy.
Here is the case for this being dated & irrelevant for today. A modern woman would usually not be trappedin such a way. She would separate from or divorce the husband she grew to detest, & make a new life. She would be able to earn a decent living, & would not be discouraged from raising a child alone. So the story would probably not happen now. In addition, the psychological aspects of her dilemma would be portrayedin terms of an inner struggle reflecting our knowledge today of psychology, rather than as a visual struggle followed mostly by a camera lensin this novel. The third difference is that the shallow stultifying people exalted by the society would be of little interest today. You find few novels about boring peoplein small townsin rural areas.
The case for the book as importantin French literature is varied. The writing is very fine, & will continue to attract those who love the French language forever. This is a rare novel for its dayin that it focused on a heroine who was neither noble by class nor noblein spirit. The book clearly makes more of an exploration into psychology than all but a few earlier French novels. The story itself was a shocking onein its day, for its focus on immoral behavior & the author's failure to overtly condemn that behavior. Emma pays the price, as Hollywood would require, but there is no sermonizing against her. So this book is a breakthroughin the modern novelin its shiftin focus & tone to a personal pedestrian level.
From a third perspective, this book is a modern update of the classic Green tragedyin which all-too human characters struggle against a remorseless fate & are destroyedin the process. But we see their humanity & are moved by it. Emma's character is a hopeless romantic is established early. To be a hopeless romanticin a world where no one else she meets is condemns her to disappointment. She also seems to have some form of mental illness that makes it hard for her to deal with setbacks. But her optimism that somehow things will work out makes her appealing to us, & makes us wish for her success. When she does not succeed, we grieve with her family. Flaubert makes many references to fatein the novel, so it seems likely that this reading was intended.
My own view is that the modern reader who is not a scholar of French literature can only enjoy this book from the third perspective. If you do, there are many subtle ironies relative to the times & placesin the novel that you will appreciate, as well. The ultimate ascendence of the careful, unimaginative pharmacist provides many of these. The ultimate fate of Madame Bovary's daughter, Berthe, is another. Be sure to look for these ironies among the details of these prosaic lives. The book positively teems with them.
If you are interestedin perspectives two or three, I suggest you read & savor this fine classic. If you want something that keeps pace with modern times, manners, mores & knowledge, avoid this book!
If you do decide to read Madame Bovary, after you are done be sure to considerin what elements of your life you are filled with illusions that do not correspond to reality. We all have vague hopes that "when" we have "it" (whatever "it" is), life will be perfect. These illusions are often doomed to be shattered. Let your joy come from the seeking of worthy goals, instead! What worthy goals speak deeply into your heart & mind? In this way, you can overcome the misconceptions that stall your personal progress.
The Hope Diamond of Novels - By: Bruce Kendall, 30 Nov 2002 Making a statement like Madame Bovary is the "greatest" novel ever written would be superfluous. It could be argued that it is the most perfectly written novelin the history of letters & thatin creating it, Flaubert mastered the genre. What can't be argued is that it is one of the most influential novels ever written. It changed the face of literature as no other novel has, & has been appreciated & acknowledged by virtually every important novelist who was either Flaubert's contemporary or who came after him.
It's interesting to see the rangein opinion that still surrounds this novel. Some of the Readers here at Amazon are morally affronted by the novel's central character, viewing her as something sinister & "unlikeable," & panning the novel for this reason. Such a reaction recalls the negative reviews Bovary engendered soon after its initial publication. It was attacked by many of the authorities of French literature at the time for being ugly & perverse, & for the impression that the novel presented no properly moral frame. These readers didn't "like" Emma much either, & they took their dislike out on her creator.
But this is one of the factors making Madame Bovary "modern". One of the hallmarks of modern novels is that they often portray unsympathetic characters, & Emma certainly falls into this category. How can we as readers "like" a woman who elbows her toddler daughter away from her so forcefully that the child "fell against the chest of drawers, & cut her cheek on the brass curtain-holder." After this pernicious behavior, Emma has a few brief moments of self-castigation & maybe even remorse, but very soon is struck by "what an ugly child" Berthe is. Emma's self-centeredness borders on solipsism. For readers looking for maternal instinctsin their female characters or for a depiction of a devoted wife, they had better turn to Pearl S. Buck & The Good Earth, perhaps, rather than to Flaubert.
Much has been made of Flaubert's attempts to remove himself from the narrative, that he was searching for some sort of ultimate objectivity. His narrative technique is much more complex than that, however. It is his employment of a shifting narrative, sometimes objective, sometimes subjective, that again is an indicator of the novel's modernity. At times the narrator is merely reporting events or is involvedin providing descriptive details. Yet often the authorial voice makes rather plain how the reader is to look at Emma & her plebeian persona. When she finally succumbs to Rodolphe & thinks she is trulyin love, Flaubert becomes downright cynical: " 'I've a lover, a lover,' she said to herself again & again, revellingin the thought as if she had attained a second puberty. At last she would know the delights of love, the feverish joys of which she had despaired. She was entering a marvelous world where all was passion, ecstasy, delirium."
Emma is a neurasthenic,in the modern sense, butin the 19th century she would have been said to suffer from hysteria, a mental condition diagnosed primarilyin women. When her lovers leave her, she has what amounts to nervous breakdowns. After Rodolphe leaves her she makes herself so sick that she comes near death. Her imagination is much too powerful & too impressionable for her own good. This is part of the reason for Flaubert's oft-repeated quote, "Bovary, c'est moi." Flaubert was a neurasthenic as well & could easily work himself into a swoon as a result of his imaginative flights. There is even conjecture that he may have been, like Dostoevsky, an epileptic, & it is further intimated that this disorder was brought on by nerves, though this may be dubious, medically speaking.
Madame Bovary is not flawless, but it comes awfully close. It is one of the great controlled experimentsin the fiction of any era. It even anticipates cinematic techniquein many instances, but particularlyin the scene at the Agricultural Fair. Note how Flaubert juxtaposes the utterly mundane activities & speeches occurringin the town square with Rodolphe's equally inane seduction of Emmain the empty Council Chamber above the square:
"He took her hand & she did not withdraw it."
"'General Prize!' cried the Chairman.'"
"'Just now, for instance, when I came to call on you...'"
"Monsieur Bizet of Quincampoix."
"'...how could I know that I should escort you here?'"
"Seventy francs!"
"'And I've stayed with you, because I couldn't tear myself away, though I've tried a hundred times.'"
"Manure!"
This is representative Flaubert. With a few deft strokes, he lays the whole absurdity of both the seduction & the provincial's activities bare.
If you have read this book previously & have come away feeling demoralized & even angered, please try reading it again, this time concentrating on the richness of its metaphors, Flaubert's mastery of foreshadowing, symbolism & description. Maybe you will come away with your viewpoint changed. For those who have not yet read this classic of classics, I know that if your mind remains open, you will come away with an appreciation for this master-novelist & for this monumental work.
must read - in French - By: soh@hawaii.edu, 28 Nov 2000 I re-read Madame Bovary about once every eighteen months - I read itin French because,in the original (possibly along with Anna Karenina, which I lovein English but which I have tried but repeatedly failed at readingin Russian), it is undoubtedly the most insightful & beautifully written novel of the 19th century --in the original the overall phrasing & the use of individual words is jewel-like & exquisite ("lapidaire" as a French librarian friend once put it). I have no idea of how it readsin English, but if you can't read itin French, it's probably worth a tryin English for the content alone.
