![]() ![]() Madame Bovary is one of the most influential novels of the 19th century and a prime example of French Realism.The novel is a social study and the beginning of the age of Realism in literary history. He did this by taking the role of an omniscient and impersonal narrator, who describes the romantic inner life of the main character, and contrasting it with the hopeless and rather dismal reality of her life. With Madame Bovary, Flaubert created one of the first truly modern novels and pre-empted some of the innovative narrative forms of the 20th century. What upset the public most about Flaubert’s novel was that at no point did he take sides or condemn his protagonist’s actions. Madame Bovary is the story of Emma Bovary, a doctor’s wife whose passions and romantic notions drive her to start an affair, accumulate debts, entangle herself in lies and, in the end, commit suicide. Then, without missing a beat, she switches to smug, cynical satisfaction, as Rudolf admires the letter and congratulates himself on his close escape.In 1856, the relatively unknown French author Gustave Flaubert caused outrage with what was to become one of the most influential novels of literary history. In a swoony, sighing voice full of noble suffering, Jackson reads his flowery letter of tears and regret, saying he loves her too much to ruin her life and her reputation. To Rudolf, Emma is just one in a long series of conquests, and he gets cold feet at the thought of being permanently responsible for her welfare and that of her child. Jackson is especially outstanding in the scene which takes place the night before Emma plans to run off with her lover, Rudolf. Emma's unrealistic dreams (she yearns for a perfect, romantic love that will sweep her away into perpetual bliss) lead her into one affair after another, and then to financial ruin and suicide. Her reading perfectly captures the restlessness of Emma Bovary, a character perpetually dissatisfied with her solid, steady husband and bourgeois life in provincial 19th-century France. Glenda Jackson hits the mark in this superb narration of Flaubert's classic novel. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |