While authors Gustave Flaubert and Chinua Achebe keep their narrators at a distance from the subjects they discuss, the narrators differ in their approach to their subjects, revealing the author’s own attitudes. Achebe’s narrator in Things Fall Apart subtly reveals the flaws of the tribal people as well as the foreign missionaries, all while maintaining a fairly neutral stance. Like Achebe’s narrator, the narrator of Flaubert’s Madame Bovary subtly reveals his general attitude towards the world by focusing on character flaws, but instead of highlighting the even distribution of blame between characters, his narrator emphasizes the romantic elements of the world in which the story takes place.
Things Fall Apart is a somewhat impartial glance at tribal society and the effects of colonialism on that society. Achebe chooses to focus on the deterioration of the Igbo people due to the efforts made by the missionaries, which would lead one to infer that Achebe, himself, blames the foreigners for the fall of the tribe. But, the author gives just as much attention to the extreme violence of the tribe and the internal conflicts that exist, suggesting that Achebe does not see either issue as the sole catalyst for the decline of the Igbo society, but rather portrays the collision of both cultures as the reason for their descent. Achebe’s narrator does not criticize this tribal society for its non-western traditions and violent ways, nor does he praise them for these attributes—he simply reports in great, at times loving, detail the ways of the Igbo people and the destructive personal history of one man, Okonkwo.
It should also be noted that the narration establishes in Okonkwo a shaky and troubled character hidden by outward physical strength, reinforcing the idea that Okonkwo’s personal descent is well in the works before the missionaries arrive. If Achebe sincerely wanted to blame the missionaries for ruining this tribal society, he might have had his narrator omit damning details such as the scene where Okonkwo beats his wife, kills his adopted son, and displays irrational behavior, which would have painted him as the saint and the missionaries as the devil. Instead, the narrator wields his literary sword evenly and reveals not only Okonkwo’s flaws, but the hypocritical and dominating nature of the English missionaries.
In the narrator’s portrayal of the Igbo tribe, war is as common as eating. In this sense, the conflict he relates between the tribal peoples and the foreigners is another kind of war—a war in which the English win.
Although Flaubert is prodded as one of the first realist writers, his masterpiece, Madame Bovary, is much more romantic than realistic. The beginning of the novel is very much grounded in the realist way, but a transition begins during the second part of the novel which pushes the story into the romantic realm. Part One establishes the reliable facts and history of each character, as well as motives for future actions. Because the narrator gives the reader enough realist elements to allow their belief in the characters’ existence, it is that much easier to believe that the ridiculous events that they participate in do, in fact, occur.
The realist elements are strong in Part One, and the detail that Flaubert’s narrator goes to is great. An example of this can be seen when Emma and Bovary meet for the first time and he touches her slightly, causing her to blush:
"Mademoiselle Emma saw it, and bent over the flour sacks. Charles out of politeness made a dash also, and as he stretched out his arms at the same moment felt his breast brush against the back of the young girl bending beneath him. She drew herself up, scarlet, and looked at him over her shoulder as she handed him his whip. " (Flaubert 20)
That kind of detail definitely paints a picture for the reader.
The narrator brings romantic sensibilities in through the character of Bovary Sr., who is portrayed in a somewhat negative light (lazy, gambling, etc.), but the idealistic and impractical wants of this character lead him to romantic ventures. Romantic elements surface again in Part One of the novel at the wedding of Emma to Bovary. The wedding itself is not as notable as the scenes after the wedding. The image of Emma’s father standing in the road, watching his daughter—his only family—ride off to start her life is romantic to the nth degree. While he is happy for her, the imminent loneliness creeping into his life becomes evident. He recalls the bittersweet memories of his own wedding and the happy years he had with his wife before she passed.
Even more notable is that Emma does not match her father’s love for her. She is portrayed as somewhat complacent, going along with what is expected. This, of course, changes erratically throughout the course of the novel, when Emma turns into an adulterous, eccentric woman.
Achebe’s narrator tells a tumultuous story with an impartial, but sometimes warm, voice, while Flaubert’s narrator describes extreme characters and happenings with a calm, but sometimes bitter, voice. Both narrators remain fairly distant from their subjects, but general feelings and attitudes of the author’s seep in through the tone of their narrators when they slip out of indifference, if only for a moment.
Things Fall Apart is a somewhat impartial glance at tribal society and the effects of colonialism on that society. Achebe chooses to focus on the deterioration of the Igbo people due to the efforts made by the missionaries, which would lead one to infer that Achebe, himself, blames the foreigners for the fall of the tribe. But, the author gives just as much attention to the extreme violence of the tribe and the internal conflicts that exist, suggesting that Achebe does not see either issue as the sole catalyst for the decline of the Igbo society, but rather portrays the collision of both cultures as the reason for their descent. Achebe’s narrator does not criticize this tribal society for its non-western traditions and violent ways, nor does he praise them for these attributes—he simply reports in great, at times loving, detail the ways of the Igbo people and the destructive personal history of one man, Okonkwo.
It should also be noted that the narration establishes in Okonkwo a shaky and troubled character hidden by outward physical strength, reinforcing the idea that Okonkwo’s personal descent is well in the works before the missionaries arrive. If Achebe sincerely wanted to blame the missionaries for ruining this tribal society, he might have had his narrator omit damning details such as the scene where Okonkwo beats his wife, kills his adopted son, and displays irrational behavior, which would have painted him as the saint and the missionaries as the devil. Instead, the narrator wields his literary sword evenly and reveals not only Okonkwo’s flaws, but the hypocritical and dominating nature of the English missionaries.
In the narrator’s portrayal of the Igbo tribe, war is as common as eating. In this sense, the conflict he relates between the tribal peoples and the foreigners is another kind of war—a war in which the English win.
Although Flaubert is prodded as one of the first realist writers, his masterpiece, Madame Bovary, is much more romantic than realistic. The beginning of the novel is very much grounded in the realist way, but a transition begins during the second part of the novel which pushes the story into the romantic realm. Part One establishes the reliable facts and history of each character, as well as motives for future actions. Because the narrator gives the reader enough realist elements to allow their belief in the characters’ existence, it is that much easier to believe that the ridiculous events that they participate in do, in fact, occur.
The realist elements are strong in Part One, and the detail that Flaubert’s narrator goes to is great. An example of this can be seen when Emma and Bovary meet for the first time and he touches her slightly, causing her to blush:
"Mademoiselle Emma saw it, and bent over the flour sacks. Charles out of politeness made a dash also, and as he stretched out his arms at the same moment felt his breast brush against the back of the young girl bending beneath him. She drew herself up, scarlet, and looked at him over her shoulder as she handed him his whip. " (Flaubert 20)
That kind of detail definitely paints a picture for the reader.
The narrator brings romantic sensibilities in through the character of Bovary Sr., who is portrayed in a somewhat negative light (lazy, gambling, etc.), but the idealistic and impractical wants of this character lead him to romantic ventures. Romantic elements surface again in Part One of the novel at the wedding of Emma to Bovary. The wedding itself is not as notable as the scenes after the wedding. The image of Emma’s father standing in the road, watching his daughter—his only family—ride off to start her life is romantic to the nth degree. While he is happy for her, the imminent loneliness creeping into his life becomes evident. He recalls the bittersweet memories of his own wedding and the happy years he had with his wife before she passed.
Even more notable is that Emma does not match her father’s love for her. She is portrayed as somewhat complacent, going along with what is expected. This, of course, changes erratically throughout the course of the novel, when Emma turns into an adulterous, eccentric woman.
Achebe’s narrator tells a tumultuous story with an impartial, but sometimes warm, voice, while Flaubert’s narrator describes extreme characters and happenings with a calm, but sometimes bitter, voice. Both narrators remain fairly distant from their subjects, but general feelings and attitudes of the author’s seep in through the tone of their narrators when they slip out of indifference, if only for a moment.
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