1. Facies: an appearance and expression of the face characteristic of a particular condition especially when abnormal. -Merriam-Webster Online
Page 280: "And despite the fact that he knew the poor devil, he pretended to be seeing him for the first time, murmuring the terms, "cornea," "opaque cornea," "sclerotic," "facies," and then asking him in a paternal tone: "Have you had this dreadful infirmity a long time, my friend?""
2. In chapters six through eight of Book Three, Emma and Leon continue their affair. One day while Emma is in Rouen, Homais pays Leon a visit. Unsure of what to do and how to shake his unexpected guest off, Leon is forced to leave Emma in the hotel room and follow Homais around the city. Emma is furious, acting immaturely and accusing Leon of caring more about Homais than about her. Emma's debts grow immensely and collectors start coming after her. She turns to Lheureux for help but he refuses to "aid her" anymore. Emma goes mad, turning to everyone she can think of for help, but is not able to secure any. After deciding she has no other options, Emma goes to Homais's shop, convinces Justin to let her in, and swallows arsenic. As she begins to die Charles reads a letter she had written to him telling about everything that happened and he calls for a doctor, but it's too late. The blind beggar from the road comes and sings underneath her window as Madame Bovary passes away.
3. I think it's very interesting to note that everything that happens to Emma in this section is based around men. Lheureux led her blindly into debt by first persuading her to buy unnecessary things and then tricking her into loans that she could not possibly keep up with. When Emma is trying to find a solution to her financial disaster, the only female she turns to for advice is her maid, but together they decide the only thing to do is talk to the men. Emma turns to Rodolphe, Leon, Guillaumet, Lheureux, Binet, etc. When Emma decides to kill herself she goes to Justin for a means to do so. Altogether this section, more than any other, emphasized men's power over women in this time period. The only time Emma truly shows resistance to men's control is when she refuses to do sexual favors for Guillaumet in return for financial assistance, but she then goes to Rodolphe and Binet, in both cases essentially trying to prostitute herself. In the end it seems very sad to me that Emma, and women in general, had so little control and so few options.
4. My first question is whether Charles will find out about Emma's affairs with Leon and Rodolphe, and if he does, whether he will react angrily or be the passive man he seems to be?
My second question is what will happen to Berthe. Her mother, although definitely not the doting matronly type, was at least a stable figure in her life. Will Charles step up and take care of his child or will she be sent somewhere to be raised?
A third question for this section is why Emma was so kind to Charles before she died. Did she truly realize how much she took him for granted? Was it the poison, making her delusional? Either way I think it was nice that his final moments with her were special to him.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
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