Many authors have identified Emma Bovary's self-centered behavior as the key character quality that leads to her downfall, and modern analyzes point to the lack of social and educational opportunities as the root cause of the decline and death of Madame Bovary's eponymous hero. However, Gustave Flaubert's incisive and unobtrusive narrative provides a simpler and more fundamental explanation for the character's increasing dissociation from reality and the bad decisions he makes as a result. This essay will show that Emma Bovary does not suffer from egocentrism but from a nagging certainty that other people's lives are better than hers and that they are experiencing a happiness that is denied to her. It is this certainty, coupled with a sense of injustice, that drives every single bad decision Emma makes throughout the book. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay For Emma, ​​the proverbial grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. No matter where she goes or what her life circumstances are, she believes others have it better. During her years in the convent school, she was allowed to entertain herself by reading French romance novels. These were not the highly sexualized books of today, but adventure stories similar to The Three Musketeers. Such novels were boldly plot-driven. Each chapter contained drama and cliffhanger excitement. Compared to the serious, everyday lifestyle in a convent school - and Emma initially knows nothing else of it since her father decided to keep her in the convent after her mother's death - life outside the convent seems full of potential and excitement, especially when receiving letters. from his friends who have moved back home or gotten married. Compared to his life, theirs seems happy and exciting. So when her father calls her home to live on the farm, Emma initially feels like her life is about to begin. Once she arrives, her excitement turns to boredom and dissatisfaction as the novelty wears off, and she's left with the question, “is that all there is?” The pattern repeats with her marriage to Charles Bovary and again when she gives birth to her daughter. But instead of finding satisfaction in everyday life with brief periods of excitement over the occasional treat, Emma responds to dissatisfaction by finding a new fence, deciding the grass is greener on the other side, and taking a leap without worrying about the consequences. herself or others. If for some reason things don't go as he expects, and when he experiences the very predictable consequences of his actions, he melts down in whatever way he believes is consistent with the people he identifies with, again without regard for the effect it might have . is having with other people. Early in her marriage, Emma is dissatisfied as the wife of a rural health officer, but feels no need to imitate the other wives in the village. While other middle-class women of that era raised chickens, did laundry, rented extra rooms, or took care of other people's children to earn extra money, Emma remained idle and read. She subscribes to a circulating library and continues to engage not just with romance novels, but with the idea that they somehow represent objective reality. For Emma, ​​fictional heroes and heroines and the worlds they live in are real, and their lives are far more exciting than hers. She does what she can to make her surroundings more beautiful and to imitate what she interprets as the mores of an upper-class woman. These include keeping a maid (despite being young, healthy and childless), keeping nails long and whitened andspending more than necessary on furniture and home decorations. Emma's mother-in-law objects to what she interprets as spendthrift behavior. His complaints, although minor, have a basis in fact. Yet they also foreshadow the years of compulsive spending that, encouraged by the merchant Lheureux, ultimately lead to her and Charles losing everything. A significant turning point in the plot occurs when Emma and Charles are invited to a ball at the home of the wealthy d'Andervilliers family. . It is an annual autumn event before the wealthier people of the area emigrate from their country estates and travel to Paris or somewhere more comfortable for the winter. The invitation is reciprocal for a gift of cherry tree cuttings from Charles: the Marquis d'Andervilliers, who is in the area with a member of his staff in need of medical care, praises the cherry trees growing on the property that Charles and Emma inherited from Charles first wife. Charles kindly sends fresh cuttings to replace the winter-killed trees on the Andervilliers property. To recognize the gift, the d'Andervilliers family sends Charles and Emma an invitation to their annual ball. The Marquis notes that since Emma does not bow like a peasant and is quite pretty, the young couple will not be particularly out of place as they enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime event that they can later tell their grandchildren about. The couple buys new clothes for the event. But while Charles simply appreciates the novelty and has a good time, Emma comes to the conclusion that she has somehow been accepted into the upper class. He didn't. While at the d'Andervilliers' ball, Emma sees and experiences things she has only read about in books. He tastes pineapple for the first time, sees someone pass a note to someone else, listens to people talk about Italy, and has a formal meal. Yet he misinterprets much of what he is experiencing, especially when he sees something that seems to contradict what he has read. When this happens, Emma decides that the people around her simply don't know the customs of their class as well as she does. He takes his theoretical knowledge as proof that he has at least as much right to be part of the clique as the people who actually occupy it. At the dinner table, Emma is shocked to see that many women don't wear gloves. their glasses of wine. What he doesn't realize is that a "silent service" communication system exists so that diners at a formal event can communicate with waiters without interrupting the flow of conversation at the table. (Some of these signals still exist but are not understood by waiters.) The gloves in the wine glass, in Emma's time, were a signal not to serve alcohol to that particular diner, who was generally a pregnant woman or a he was trying to get that way. The signal was in the same category as holding the knife at forty-five degrees, with the fork crossed above with the prongs lowered to signal the waiter to remove the plate. Having learned from her romance novels what polite elites did but not why they did it, Emma comes to the conclusion that women at the table who simply want a glass of wine with the meal are behaving rudely. Emma is also disappointed by the appearance of her guests. She expects to be surrounded by young, beautiful people, but since she is only a few years shy of legal age and the table contains all the upper class people in the area, most of the women at the table are older than her. Many are middle-aged or elderly, and therefore appear very ordinary in Emma's eyes. They also wear models from the previous season or even before. Emma herself paid handsomely for a new dress cut in the latest fashion just forthe occasion, then comes to the conclusion that her taste is better than that of the women around her. In reality, the Andervilliers ball is an annual event: an autumn farewell for wealthy locals and members of the nobility whose families have known each other for generations. Most of the guests are on their way to their winter residence in Pariswhere the big fashion houses are, where the real social season is about to begin and where their new clothes await them. They then select outfits from their existing wardrobes. The fact that Emma went to the expense of ordering a new ball gown and dresses just for one party is not evidence of her superior taste: it is evidence that she did not already own suitable clothes. She would have demonstrated more savoir-faire by purchasing slightly used clothes in Rouen and having them altered: at least the clothes would have been of the right season and not obviously new. The most potentially embarrassing gaffe, for Emma, ​​is when she waltzes with the Viscount. The handsome, wealthy bachelor is the highest-ranking man present and has danced with Emma several times. In Emma's novels, dancing with the same woman two or even three times is evidence of romantic interest. Yet when she manages to tangle the skirt of her dress between his legs and rest her head briefly on his chest, he doesn't respond to the invitation. Instead of seducing her, he leads her to a bench and dances with someone else, unaware that Emma has just identified him as her new romantic and sexual ideal. He makes up all sorts of stories about how the cigar case with his coat of arms on it must have been a gift from a lover. The Viscount - or at least Emma's impression of him at the ball - is the kind of man Emma decides she could really fall in love with. From then on she has a new romantic ideal, a secret fantasy that her husband Charles absolutely cannot compete with. She is not at all embarrassed by the waltz fiasco; it's a sign of her lack of sophistication that it doesn't occur to her that she should be. To Emma, ​​at the ball it seems like everything in her romance novels is coming to life. He feels like he is finally starting to live because he is personally experiencing the happiness and excitement he has read about. She looks at the farmers and employees peering through the window and thinks to herself that, although she was born among them, she has finally found the place where she truly belongs. This extreme joy and satisfaction represents an emotional highlight for her. But he fails to recognize that for the other participants in the dance this is also a highlight. Even among the wealthy elite, when the party ends, it's time to go home. He doesn't understand that, even for the rich, life must return to normal. Emma expects, because of what she has read, that this group of people will move from one emotional experience to the next. So, the next morning, when people are offered a light brunch before leaving, Emma is surprised to notice that the hosts do not serve champagne with the meal. In Emma's mind she has been accepted, permanently, as a member of the social elite. So when he returns to his country house with its magnificent cherry trees, he compares it to the d'Andervilliers' villa and finds it wanting. Indeed, everything, including Charles, is suddenly inadequate. He fires the elderly maid Nastasie, who faithfully served Charles' first wife and who kept house for Charles after the lady's death, because Nastasie does not display the formal, submissive behavior that Emma believes she saw at the ball. Yet, among the bourgeois class of the time, women of Emma's age rarely employed servants unless they were ill or busy with children or a family business. Additionally, the servants that people had were generally poorer relatives or family friends who they helped in exchange forfood, shelter and a little money. When Nastasie doesn't have dinner ready when she arrives, Emma scolds her. When she responds to Emma as if she were speaking to the social equal that she is, Emma throws a tantrum and fires Nastasie on the spot. To replace her, Emma hires a young girl who can be taught to always say "madame," to bring Emma a glass of water on a tray instead of just handing it to her, and to do the housework and cook while Emma entertains herself. uninterrupted free time. This turns out to be a financially stupid idea: the new waitress robs her. After the dance, Emma remembers him, talks about him constantly, and apes some of the external habits and expectations of the people she saw there, alienating the local women. in the process. He studies Italian, reads several magazines and buys an expensive desk. But instead of writing a thank you note to the hostess, and instead of sending letters to some other guest asking how to return the Viscount's lost cigar case, an activity that would have been normal and natural to the d'Andervillier social circle: he decides not to have no one to write to. This prevents her from forming the social bonds she will need to participate in her new group. Aside from her beauty and good manners, Emma has very little to offer the upper-class families she now seeks to socialize with. She is unable, for example, to return the d'Andervilliers' invitation by throwing a ball and inviting the people who entertained her. Nor can she provide artistic or intellectual stimulation: she has not traveled abroad, can play the piano but has no great skill as a musician, is not well educated, nor does she display the kind of conversational skill that is valuable to a stewardess. . In fact, the text does not show her engaged in conversation with anyone. Therefore, Emma does not develop any social or emotional bonds with her hosts or any of the other guests. It's actually a bit of a nuisance. Her fainting causes her host to order a window to be broken so she can get air, and she makes a fool of herself on the dance floor. This, plus the lack of polite correspondence with the d'Andervilliers family, ensures that there is no reason to invite her and Charles back. Unlike a true social climber like Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, who never went to a party without trying to make friends with as many other attendees as possible, Emma doesn't consolidate her new social contacts. So when she isn't invited back the following year, it's no surprise to the reader but it's a horrible shock to Emma, ​​who finds a large metaphorical fence between her and the green pasture where she thinks she belongs. So she does what any romantic heroine would do: she breaks down and refuses to tell anyone what's wrong. Emma begins to emerge from her expectation-induced depression when Charles sells his profitable studio in Tostes and buys one in another town called Yonville. It's not the change of scenery that intrigues her: it's a young employee named Léon. He introduces her to poetry, which allows for the expression of far more sublime extremes of human experience than in Emma's novels. Emma decides to have a "noble soul" and is therefore a more sensitive and refined creature than those around her. So she begins to do things she deems fit for a noble and poetic soul: she is devastated at having given birth to a girl instead of a boy through whom she could live vicariously, and entrusts the child to a wet nurse at the first opportunity. She also cultivates a platonic but intense emotional attachment to Léon which includes the gift of an expensive feather bed. She realizes that he is in love with her, or at least attracted to her, and they carry on what in modern times would be called an "emotional affair".Fantasizing about life on the other side of the fence, Emma compares her husband to the evanescent image of the waltzing vicomte, to the intelligent young Léon, and to the exaggerated romantic ideals she reads about in his poetry. Charles now seems mediocre to Emma, ​​somewhat disgusting and completely inadequate. Start doing small things to improve it: insisting that he wear gloves and being particular about his appearance. Charles naively believes that Emma is doing these things out of love for him. In fact she becomes more and more frustrated. She calms her feelings by behaving like any virtuous heroine of a sonnet cycle: she and Léon exchange long, persistent glances and subtle hints. She gives him a lavish gift in the form of a feather bed, alternately encouraging and discouraging him. But instead of responding like a poetic suitor and stalking her for years or risking his life for her Hero and Leander style, Léon leaves town. Shocked, Emma collapses again. This emotional overreaction, which is becoming Emma's standard response to disappointment, is consistent with what Tennyson's Lady of Shallot or any other tragic and poetic heroine might do. she to horse riding and adultery. He accomplishes the latter with a series of dramatic sighs, references to his unhappiness, and a conveniently placed shelter when the two are caught in the rain. Once the initial seduction is complete, Emma embraces her new identity as an adulteress and proceeds to enact every possible dramatic excess. She does everything she believes an adulterous woman should do: she dresses outrageously in men's clothing, smokes cigars in public, and her speech and facial expressions become more sexually directed. It does not shy away from speculation or discovery; in fact, she invites him because she wants drama. She takes risks, exchanging love letters with Rodolphe and crossing the countryside to surprise him in the morning. She begins spending more than she should on cosmetics, lemons to lighten her nails, and gifts for men that never seem to be worn or used by Charles. Little by little she ruins her reputation in Yonville: people are convinced that she is having an affair with a rich man, but no one knows with whom. She even brings Rodolphe to her house while Charles is present, asking Rodolphe if he has a gun to "protect" her from her husband. Rodolphe, meanwhile, has no reason to hate Charles let alone shoot him, and finds Emma's suggestion ridiculous. Sensibly, he conducts his relationship with Emma much the same as he has with his other flings. He doesn't buy Emma lavish gifts for fear they'll give away evidence. But he is more than willing to accept the cigar case, the silver-handled cane, and the other indulgences that Emma buys him. In Emma's mind, she is reenacting her fictional story about the viscount receiving gifts from his rich and indulgent mistress. It is the gifts for Rodolphe, along with other expenses for clothes and perfumes that she cannot afford, that begin to put Emma in debt. Buy on credit from merchant Lheureux, who has a history of encouraging people to accumulate debt only to sell the notes at a profit and force bankruptcy. The relationship continues for four years, during which Emma becomes bored. He raises the excitement level in several ways, such as introducing Rodolphe into the house at night while Charles is present - he asks Rodolphe if he has a gun to protect her from Charles' wrath if they are caught, which Rodolphe finds ridiculous - but eventually finds out that adultery can be as dull and boring as marriage. So she looks for another, greener pasture and finds it: she wants to get married, but not to Charles. As a result, she and Rodolphe plan to run away and live happily in an obscure village somewhere as husband and wife. Rodolphe thinks it's onefantasy, but Emma makes secret preparations. Purchase travel trunks and a new wardrobe through Lheureux, all on credit. On the day of the scheduled departure, Rodolphe comes to his senses and leaves the city, sending Emma a farewell note in a basket of apricots. Emma, ​​predictably at this point, collapses again. As usual, Emma doesn't recover until she finds a new way to identify herself. She dedicates herself to religion, spends a small fortune on a kneeler and imagines herself the quintessential repentant Mary Magdalene. She enjoys doing a pious act, but in the end she receives less attention from the village priest and other nuns. He does not experience the great emotional passion experienced by famous saints and sinners, he does not experience great religious ecstasy, and silent contemplation and meditation on the divine proves boring when no one is looking. Then his familiar “it's-all-is” feeling comes back. Charles takes her to Rouen to consult with one of his old mentors and meets not only his friend-enemy Homais but also Léon. On Homais' advice, Charles buys opera tickets. This is another key turning point that is often overlooked by critics. Yet it is as vital to Emma's character development as the Andervilliers dance. Opera is an art form that exploits exaggerated and dramatic emotions expressed through music. Every aspect of a character's feelings, thoughts and living spiritual essence is condensed into a song and channeled, with adequate orchestral support, through the only perfect medium in the world. This medium obviously is the human voice. Even heavy metal doesn't bring as much drama (although the costumes tend to be similar and it's equally difficult to understand the lyrics). Emotional extremes do not become greater than they are on the opera stage. So when Emma is exposed to the work, it affects her even though she tries to hide it. It doesn't help that author Flaubert chooses to send Emma to perform Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, one of the most exaggerated and extravagant Gothic tragedies ever staged. Lucia di Lammermoor is based on The Bride of Lammermoor by Sir Walter Scott, one of the romantic writers whose work Emma devoured in her youth. In the story, the heroine Lucy is deceived and trapped in a loveless marriage. She goes mad, kills her unwanted spouse and then commits suicide. The romantic role of the protagonist is played by the famous tenor Lagardy and Emma is completely part of the production. Like many women in the audience, she briefly identifies herself as Lucy. She wondered why she hadn't done as Lucy did, and didn't resist physically enough to have to be carried down the aisle. She now reflects that she was equally unhappy and reluctant to marry Charles, a fact not supported by the first part of the text. He adopts the fictional Lucy, complete with dramatic hyperbole, as his romantic ideal. Not only should she be full of emotional excess like an opera heroine, but if things get bad, perhaps instead of fainting or breaking down, she should instead do as Lucy did. So now he no longer sees himself as a member of the nobility who happened to be born into the wrong class, not as a “noble soul” who feels emotions more keenly and is therefore above the worldly conventions that govern mere mortals, and not like a repentant religious woman. devoted. She's an over-the-top dramatic diva. So she does what one would expect of an opera heroine with a tendency towards adultery: in the taxi on the way home, when her old passion for Léon returns, she acts accordingly. Emma's hedonic adjustment, and her new self-identification as a tragic heroine, demands that she see Léon as much as possible. He takes advantage of the death of Charles' father to spend time in Rouen pretending,. 1847-1848.