Literatura

Posted by Nicole Smith, Dec 6, 2011FictionNo CommentsPrint
There are several divisions and blurred lines with fantasy and reality in , Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Most people experiencemoments of either wanting more than their circumstances permit or wanting different circumstances altogether. One hardly needs to look further than popular cultural adages such as “The grass is alwaysgreener on the other side of the fence” to understand just how pervasive this sentiment is. The near universality of this feeling makes it a recurrent theme in literature. This kind of persistent desireafflicts Emma, the main character in the novel, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, to such an extent that it keeps her in a permanent state of dissatisfaction, and to such a degree that it eventuallycauses her to commit suicide. In , Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert because Emma never develops the kind of coping skills that would allow her to adapt to her reality and maintain a healthy fantasylife, she instead develops a pathological approach to escaping her conditions. Her attempts fail, however, and she is unable to attain her fantasy; yet, she is also unable to live with her reality. Thismakes death the only viable option for her at the end of , Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.



Emma’s dissatisfaction with marriage in Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert begins almostimmediately after crossing the threshold of Monsieur Bovary’s door. Having read what love should be in romantic novels, Emma is disillusioned by the reality of an intimate relationship. In one of theimportant quotes from , Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert Emma says, “‘[B]liss’, ‘passion’, and ‘intoxication’” [were]…words which she had thought so fine when she read them in books” (30), but the samestates of feeling elude her. She attaches these feelings to experiences that simply are not realistic for her and her husband’s financial means. Even from this early point it is clear that Emma is both...