9 Madame Bovary, Ch 9-10

1. Cloying: disgusting or distasteful by reason of excess; also : excessively sweet or sentimental. -Merriam-Webster Online

Page 312: "Charles felt himself weakening at his constant succession of prayers and tapers beneath the cloying smell of wax and cassocks."


2. In the final two chapters of Madame Bovary everything wraps up. Charles plans an extremely lavish funeral for his late wife, Emma. While Charles is deeply hurt and angry about the death of his wife, Homais and the priest "keep him company" but really just argue in his presence. Everyone arrives for the funeral and final preparations are made. After the funeral, Emma's collectors come back, this time going to Charles. He pays as best he can but is bewildered until he comes across all of Emma's love letters from her affairs. He is in shock and becomes extremely depressed. One day he runs into Rodolphe and they have a drink together, at which point Charles tells Rodolphe that he doesn't blame him. Charles soon dies and Berthe is sent to live with first Madame Bovary senior, and after her death a poor aunt.


3. The most striking thing about this section, in my opinion, was when Justin visited Emma's grave to mourn in private. Although it is a short segment, it shows that Justin may have truly loved Emma, and if he did he was probably the only one who did. This occurs on pages 314-315 and goes as follows:

There was someone else who was not asleep at this hour. Between the firs, a kneeling boy was crying on her grave. His chest was shaking with sobs beneath the burden of great sorrow that was more tender than the moon and more unfathomable than the night. Suddenly the gate creaked. It was Lestiboudois, who had come to look for his spade, which he had forgotten earlier. He recognized Justin climbing over the wall and then knew who the culprit was who had been stealing his potatoes.

This paragraph, although seemingly insignificant in the scheme of things, absolutely broke my heart. Not only was Justin silently there supporting Emma through sickness and health, he is there after her death. I believe that he had the most real emotions out of all of the characters in the book. He loved Emma and it wasn't superficial; he was content to wait in the background forever. Add to this the fact that he is inadvertently responsible for Emma finding the arsenic and I can't even begin to imagine how he must have been feeling. Justin is my favorite character in this story, although he is not extremely developed. I wish there was more information on him, but then again, that might ruin him.


4. Upon finishing the novel I have a few questions remaining. First of all, what did Charles die of? A broken heart? Old age? Weariness? The book is extremely realistic throughout but when Charles dies it seems unclear. Seeing as he died the day after his meeting with Rodolphe, one might assume he died in a classical/romantic way, but that doesn't fit with Flaubert's writing.

A second question I have is regarding Homais. Although he began the story as a pompous man, he seemed to grow more arrogant as the tale progressed. Did Flaubert mean to demonstrate something with him? In the end he joins the Legion of Honor. Is Flaubert making a statement of some sort?

A final thinking point for Madame Bovary is about Berthe. At the end of the novel it says that Berthe moves in with her grandmother, Madame Bovary senior, and proceeding her death moves in with a poor aunt and has to go to work. Is this supposed to be circular? Flaubert could be trying to make a point about how Berthe's mother struggled her whole life with class issues and trying to climb the social ladder, yet her child ended up at the bottom. Is there deeper meaning? Or was Flaubert just providing closure?

8 Madame Bovary, Ch 6-8

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.

7 Madame Bovary, Ch 1-5

1. Dimity: a sheer usually corded cotton fabric of plain weave in checks or stripes. -Merriam-Webster Online

"Emma, dressed in a dimity dressing gown, was leaning her head against the back of the old armchair." -Page 224


2. In these chapters, Emma and Leon finally begin their affair. Emma tries to be virtuous and writes a letter to Leon explaining why she can't love him, but when she goes to deliver it to him one thing leads to another and they end up making love in the back of a cab. From there the relationship escalates, with Emma finding excuses to visit him. Eventually Emma starts taking "piano lessons," which are really just an excuse for her to go to the city and see her lover. While doing so, Emma sinks very deeply into debt. Also in this section Charles's father dies. While Charles is absolutely broken-hearted, Emma is not really affected.


3. The begger Emma encounters on her trips back to Yonville was both terrifying and mesmorizing to me. I think that he will play a larger role in the book than is evident at this time. He also seems to be a symbol for Emma's moral decay. While he is physically rotting, with skin rotting away and scabs appearing, she is spoiling internally from her adulterous behavior. Where she was once innocent she is now much too experienced and past a point from which she will ever return. This is mirrored in the beggar, although in a different way. Emma's moral lacking is also mirrored with her mounting debts. While she is rapidly receding into financial ruin, she is also losing any morals she had left. It's a very intelligent and interesting way to emphasize her deterioration without coming right out and pointing it out.


4. My first question is why Flaubert included the section where Justin is yelled at by Homais because of the pan. I assume it's foreshadowing but I'm not entirely sure. It seems out of place and is never mentioned again.

My section question is why Lheureux keeps trying to get Emma more into debt. He seems like an evil man, but I'm not sure what his intentions are.

My final question is regarding what Emma will do. Obviously it will not be easy to get herself out of her financial situation, but will she confess to Charles or will she continue to try to find a way out by herself?

6 Madame Bovary, Ch 14-15

1. Charlatan: one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability; fraud, faker. -Merriam-Webster Online

"A beautiful voice, complete self-possession, more temperament than intelligence and more bombast than true lyricism - thus was constituted this admirable charlatan, in whose nature there was a blend of hairdresser and toreador." -Page 216


2. In chapters fourteen and fifteen, Emma slowly becomes better. Charles is presented with Emma's great debts but due to his concern for her health he pays them as well as he can and doesn't think anything of them. Emma becomes fervently religious again, entertains neighbors and puts on a great show of happiness. Homais suggests that Charles takes Emma to the theater in Rouen, and while they're there Emma and Charles see Leon. The three of them go to a café, much to Charles's dismay, before the show is over. Emma's feelings for Leon rush back and Charles urges Emma to stay in Rouen to see the rest of the opera while he goes back to Yonville.


3. I love that Emma switches back and forth between "romance" and religion so furiously. It begins in her time spent in the convent, followed by her leaving and pursuing Charles. After she marries Charles and decides she is bored by him, she tries to become a pious, faithful wife anyway. She then meets Leon and developes passionate feelings toward him. When she decides this is wrong, she switches back to religion, throwing herself into becoming the perfect wife and Christian. She then has an affair with Rodolphe, but when it ends she once again becomes an avid Catholic. However, now she has seen Leon again, and I'm willing to bet that she'll become "holy" again. It strikes me as amusing that she can do this without any moral implications. If she was truly a religious woman at all she would feel guilty, but she seems to feel no remorse for her actions. It seems that whichever whim suits her at the moment is the one she follows, whether it be one of innocence and faith or one of adultery and lust.


4. My first question is whether Flaubert intentionally makes Emma seem ridiculous at times. I can only assume he realized how silly she comes across, and he seems like an intelligent writer, so I think that he sometimes purposefully pokes fun at her with the things she does.

A second question is whether Emma will continue her cycle of romance and religion through the end of the book, and what will stop it. Will she end as a pious woman or will she be found out in her cheating ways? Whichever it is will dramatically change the ending of the novel. She will either end up a saint or a condemned woman.

My third question regarding this section has to do with Leon. I wonder if he will finally man up and make a move on Emma, if they will continue to skirt awkwardly around their "love", or if they will discontinue contact completely. I'm very interested to see where the book goes next and can't wait to continue reading!

5 Madame Bovary, Ch 9-13

1. Syringa: 1. lilac; 2. mock orange -YourDictionary.com

"The tenderness of the old days came back to them, abundant and silent as the flowing river, as soft as the perfume of the syringa." -Page 194


2. In this section the full-fledged affair between Emma and Rodolphe begins. However, after Emma is almost caught sneaking to Rodolphe's house, they begin to meet only in secret in the garden at night. Rodolphe clearly has no feelings for Emma other than lust but she genuinely thinks she loves him. After recieving a letter from her father Emma tries to be a good, pure wife for Charles. Charles, meanwhile, is persuaded by Homais to perform a sugery to rid Hippolyte of his clubfoot. The operation appears to be a success but Hippolyte later gets gangrene and is forced to have his leg amputated to the thigh. After this disappointment, Emma becomes disgusted with Charles and stops trying to be a good wife. She throws herself full force into her affair with Rodolphe and eventually make a plan to run away together and start a new life. Rodolphe, however, has no intentions of following through, and writes Emma a letter before running away the day they are to leave. Emma goes into a frenzy, at one point considering suicide, and becomes bed-ridden with grief.


3. My favorite part of this section was when Rodolphe composed his letter to Emma because it showed the inadequacy of language in a completely different way than I had been considering it. I was thinking about this concept in terms of words not existing for the things we try to say, but in this section it is pointed out that words can be easily manipulated. Rodolphe does not love Emma, yet by choosing his sentences carefully, he can leave her thinking he does. Because all Emma has to go by is his written word, she may never know the deceit in this letter.


4. In this section I found myself wondering if Emma truly loved Rodolphe. Sure, she loved the IDEA of Rodolphe, and she certainly had lust for him, but I doubt she loved him, no matter how often she claims she did.

Also, along with the idea of love, I wonder how Berthe is doing. She gets no attention from her mother and there has been no mention of attention from Charles, so I imagine she's growing up primarily with her nurse or maid. I wonder if this will affect the teen and eventually the adult she turns into.

On page 184 it is said that, "The more she gave herself to one man, the more she loated the other." I wonder if this was put in place specifically to point out Emma's personality. She seems to thrust herself completely into whatever she is passionate about at the moment, but as soon as it doesn't work according to her fantasies, she loses interest. I'm not sure if this sentence was just a coincidence or if Flaubert was trying to draw attention to this trait.

4 Madame Bovary, Ch 5-8

1. Howitzer: a short cannon used to fire projectiles at medium muzzle velocities and with relatively high trajectories. -Merriam-Webster Online

Page 145: "The drum rolled, the howitzer thundered, and the gentlemen filed onto the platform, seating themselves in the armchairs of red Utrecht velvet that Madame Tuvache had lent them."


2. Emma and Leon's relationship plateaus because neither will admit their feelings for the other. Emma becomes obsessed with the idea of being "virtuous" and goes to see the priest, but he doesn't understand what she's trying to do and so she leaves without confessing anything. Leon moves to Paris, breaking Emma's heart and leaving unresolved feelings. Soon after, though, Emma meets Rodolphe Boulanger, a confident, wealthy man who developes an attraction to her. Unlike Leon, Rodolphe is quick to make his feelings known.


3. The section of this reading that really stood out to me was when Rodolphe was seducing Emma while the agriculture fair was going on. The narrative cuts back and forth between Rodolphe telling Emma whatever he thinks she wants to hear and an official giving a speech and handing out awards for things like "manure". Not only is this humorous but it also serves to emphasize Rodolphe's manipulations. This was the first part in the book that made me laugh out loud while reading it, and I think it was very cleverly done. I feel bad for Emma, though, because while it's clear she thinks she's finally getting her whirlwind romance, she's actually getting a whole lot of deception.


4. My first question from this section is about Charles's apparent blindness towards his wife and her relationships. I don't understand how he couldn't see what's going on. First with Leon, and now with Rodolphe. It's one thing to not want to see something, but he can't have not noticed that his wife acts strangely around these other men.

My second question is whether Rodolphe and Emma will actually carry through with the affair, and if so, if they will be caught. Will Charles ever wise up? Will Emma be busted in action?

My last question over this section is about Berthe. I wonder how she'll grow up. Will she end up like her mother or more like her father? It's strange to think about.

3 Madame Bovary, Ch 1-4

1. Lathe: a machine in which work is rotated about a horizontal axis and shaped by a fixed tool. -Merriam-Webster Online

Page 111: "Among the village windows there was one even more often occupied; on Sunday, from morning until night, and every afternoon if the weather was clear, Monsieur Binet's thin profile could be seen as he leaned over his lathe."


2. The second section of the book begins with a very detailed description of Yonville-l'Abbaye, the town Charles and Emma move to. The town doesn't offer a lot of excitement, and the main places of interest are an inn, a pharmacy and a cemetary. The Bovarys dine frequently at the inn and at the pharmacist Homais's house. and a strange sort of relationship develops between Emma and Leon, a clerk in town. While Charles is ecstatic about their child, Emma spends her time hoping that her life will change for the better and growing closer to Leon.


3. I found this section to be really interesting in regards to its portrayal of gender and gender roles. The first thing that struck me was in Chapter 1 when the landlady is being portrayed. While she comes across as kind of gruff and not nearly as affluent as Emma, she seems happy with her life. This is so different from the attitude we've seen displayed by Madame Bovary. The landlady might not be wealthy but she seems to take it all with a grain of salt, arguing (in a good-natured way) with her customers and taking life as it comes. Emma, on the other hand, seems uptight most of the time and hates her life even though she is well-off compared to many people. I also loved when, on page 101, when it describes Emma's thoughts on child-bearing. It says that, "Emma was at first bewildered, then she yearned for the child to be born in order to know how it felt to be a mother." It seems that Emma wants to be a mother just because it's unlike anything she's ever done and may provide some of the excitement she's looking for. However, when Emma is not free to spend money on baby preparations, she loses interest. This demonstrates her materialistic nature and once again contrasts with the landlady. Also on page 101 is a passage talking about Emma's views on gender. "A man, at least, is free. He can explore passions and countries, surmount obstacles, taste the most exotic pleasures. But a woman is continually held back. Inert and flexible at the same time, she has both the susceptibilities of the flesh and legal restrictions against her." This seems like blatant feminism on Flaubert's part, even though he disguises it through Emma's thoughts. I really liked this passage because I felt like Flaubert was addressing social inequalities that were doubtlessly occuring when he wrote the book.


4. My first question is about the "nurse". When Berthe is born she goes immediately into the care of a wet nurse and Emma goes to visit her. Was it normal for babies to be taken care of women who weren't there mothers? If so, how long did this go on for?

My second question branches off from my first. What are the "six weeks of the Virgin"? They are mentioned on page 103. I assumed they have to do with life immediately after giving birth but I have no idea if I'm even on the right track with that.

A third and final question is whether Leon will ever act on his emotions toward Emma. It's obvious they both have feelings for each other, and the tension is building, but Leon has yet to summon the courage to do anything. As much as I hate to admit it, I kind of hope he does. Although their relationship is superficial, it certainly is interesting.