It is well documented that the French writer, Gustave Flaubert, was emotionally tormented in his private life. Actually, his internal struggle inspired much of his writing. Madame Bovary, above all other works, reflects this personal bitterness. A brief account of his personal life is in order so that one may fully grasp the subtle references and slippages of his real life into his literary life.
Flaubert was born and raised in a bourgeois family of doctors. His father was a surgeon in Rouen, and according to one source, he serves as a model for the character Dr. Lariviere in Madame Bovary.1 His mother had aristocratic blood flowing through her veins and Flaubert developed a very close relationship with her. Flaubert did not cast aside his bourgeois roots and marry the first peasant he saw, nor did he strive for success and acclamation. Instead, he dropped out of law school and finished his life status quo (not counting his literary achievements, of course).
There are several instances when Flaubert’s verbiage reveals his background. Note how over-the-top the chemist’s description of medicine’s and tonics is throughout the novel; or how he details the slightest movements of the famed out-of-town doctors when they swoop in during emergencies. At every instance of bourgeois slippage though, Flaubert’s detailing is biting and seethes (at times) with an acidic flavor.
While his distaste for the bourgeois surfaces in the characters of Dr. Bovary and the chemist, like Jonathan Swift, he cannot help but feel a comfort (however twisted) in the company of his people. He grants his bourgeois characters with complex, depth-filled lives, whether moral or immoral. The lower class characters in Madame Bovary are presented in a flat, content, but practically idiotic mold. At times Flaubert’s admiration of their “simple” lives surfaces, but mostly his disdain and pride cast these peasants in an undesirable light.
What the reader is left with is a novel which—despite its confused but fervent hatred—succeeds in revealing the flaws as well as the attributes of each level in society.
Flaubert was born and raised in a bourgeois family of doctors. His father was a surgeon in Rouen, and according to one source, he serves as a model for the character Dr. Lariviere in Madame Bovary.1 His mother had aristocratic blood flowing through her veins and Flaubert developed a very close relationship with her. Flaubert did not cast aside his bourgeois roots and marry the first peasant he saw, nor did he strive for success and acclamation. Instead, he dropped out of law school and finished his life status quo (not counting his literary achievements, of course).
There are several instances when Flaubert’s verbiage reveals his background. Note how over-the-top the chemist’s description of medicine’s and tonics is throughout the novel; or how he details the slightest movements of the famed out-of-town doctors when they swoop in during emergencies. At every instance of bourgeois slippage though, Flaubert’s detailing is biting and seethes (at times) with an acidic flavor.
While his distaste for the bourgeois surfaces in the characters of Dr. Bovary and the chemist, like Jonathan Swift, he cannot help but feel a comfort (however twisted) in the company of his people. He grants his bourgeois characters with complex, depth-filled lives, whether moral or immoral. The lower class characters in Madame Bovary are presented in a flat, content, but practically idiotic mold. At times Flaubert’s admiration of their “simple” lives surfaces, but mostly his disdain and pride cast these peasants in an undesirable light.
What the reader is left with is a novel which—despite its confused but fervent hatred—succeeds in revealing the flaws as well as the attributes of each level in society.
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