Madame Bovary is the debut novel of French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emptiness of provincial life. When the novel was first serialized in La Revue de Paris between 1 October 1856 and 15 December 1856, public prosecutors attacked the novel for obscenity. The resulting trial in January 1857 made the story notorious. After Flaubert's acquittal on 7 February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller in April 1857 when it was published in two volumes. A seminal work of literary realism, the novel is now ... continue
Emma dreams of sophistication, wealth, and romance, but what she gets is a marriage to Charles Bovary, a provincial, middle-class doctor who is a devoted but boring husband. She tries her hardest to be a loyal and loving wife, even as she grows to resent him more and more for his insufferable dullness. Soon, though, she is seduced by the dashing Rodolphe and gives into her desires. In their affair, Emma believes she has finally found true, passionate love. She borrows money to lavish Rodolphe with expensive gifts, and the neighbors begin to gossip about her indiscretion. When the moneylender c... continue