Advantages: A great French classic Disadvantages: An unappealing heroine from my male viewpoint
Madame Bovary ? Gustave Flaubert
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Emma Bovary is bored. She?s bored with her humdrum life; married to a boring and mediocre doctor she lives under the burden that people judge her only relative to her husband and she struggles to find her own identity. She fills her empty days reading chick-lit romance novels and shopping before embarking on a string of adulterous affairs trying to find a man who will love her and appreciate her as a person in her own right.
So far, so Desperate Housewives. The bookshop shelves are filled with this kind chick-lit stuff, so what makes this book stand out? Well firstly it was written by a man, and a Frenchman by the by, and secondly it was written in 1857.
Madame Bovary was the first novel published by Gustave Flaubert and to say it caused something ...
Advantages: Good characterisation Disadvantages: Characters have become rather dated
) and a yellow hat. Further investigation revealed that this was no ordinary hat for it, too, was made of leather and it had an attractive floral band around it. The man was wearing socks which were described as "serpent like" and a tie which reminded her of a carpet. So the description continued becoming more detailed and elaborate by the second. It was all I could do not to collapse into hysterical laughter as Louise demonstrated the depths of her French vocabulary. As I review "Madame Bovary" it should become apparent why this episode sprang to mind when I put pen to paper to write this piece.
When it was published in 1857, "Madame Bovary" caused something of a sensation. It's author, Gustav Flaubert, received widespread condemnation for what was deemed an immoral novel and there were even attempts to prosecute. However, it is widely held, now ...
Advantages: An enduring classic with excellent characterisation Disadvantages: Will seem a little daunting to those new to fench literature
When first introduced to Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, you may seem a little daunted by the mere fact that it is a french classic. My advice - do not be! It is pure class and in my opinion, Flaubert's masterpiece.
Within moments of beginning to read this book you are captivated by the main character, Emma, who is the passionate, tragic heroine of the novel who marries the local provincial doctor, Charles Bovary.
This is a powerful, thought-provoking piece of literature and if you relax, suurender all other thoughts and let your imagination run wild, then you will be enchanted by the wonderful settings, strong, vivid, passionate characterisations, compelling plot and will effortlessly be transported into a world that is of it's time, yet profoundly timeless.
This is one classic I would definitely recommend that everyone ...
