Comments on: Why Madame Bovary Is Not a Feminist Icon

By: jarvinism

jarvinism — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:56:45 +0000

Yes Emma may not be a feminist as to what “feminism” is traditionally defined, but she is the reason why feminism has given birth.
Though she has her flaws and psychological conflict but because she was not given a chance in her childhood to experience what a real woman is and what a real woman must do, she learned it from the romantic novels she read – which is so idealistic.
That is the root of her downfall I think – since women are not carefully educated of their major function in the society even their training is directed towards becoming a mother and wife, but strange that they are not well informed of how competitive they would have been in being a “wife” or in being a “woman” in area of sex. It is a taboo if women speak about sex – they would be branded as filthy and indecent.
Isn't that an idea to be pondered on?

By: Rob Lll

Rob Lll — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:48:10 +0000

Fabulous book and an astute post, Shaun. I think a larger conclusion to be drawn is that great works of literature by and large don’t lend themselves to reductive, ideologically-driven readings, which must surely frustrate ideologues both left and right. I can’t imagine exactly what Flaubert would say about attempts to appropriate Emma as a feminist icon (either as heroine or victim), but I doubt that it would be very respectful.

Flaubert is a big favorite of mine and I would also recommend “The Sentimental Education” (which I like even better than MB) and his novella “A Simple Heart” . The latter is one of the most tender and compassionate stories you’ll read, perhaps surprisingly so given how often Flaubert is characterized as “cold”.

By: Rob Lll

Rob Lll — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:48:10 +0000

By: stevesh

stevesh — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 02:02:40 +0000

Don't forget Karenina, either. Magnificent. Very sad, and the fella's not so noble.

By: Shaun Mullen

Shaun Mullen — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:51:16 +0000

Domajot:

Scholar schmolar. As alluded to in my previous comment, my post was in part an excercise in myth debunking. Scholarly myth debunking. I’ll take off the cuff over scholarship any day when it comes to stuff like this.

By: domajot

domajot — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:34:28 +0000

Shaun-

I’ve never heard Emma being proposed as a role model. I have no idea what feminists say, but if they characterize her at all, I’d guess it would be as a victim, not a role model.

In depictions of social classes, personal responsibility as an idea seldom plays a large role. The characters are usually portrayed as symptoms more than individuals.

This is totally off the cuff, and I’m vulnerable to being proved wrong by a more scholarly examination.

By: Shaun Mullen

Shaun Mullen — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:51:42 +0000

Domajot: You are quite right that sex was, in effect, Emma's ticket out of the ghetto. My motivation for blogging on the book was two-fold: A break from using the words Bush and Iraq and an opportunity to examine whether the deep thinkers who believe that Emma for a feminist harbinger were right. As I note, if that is so she's a lousy role model.

By: domajot

domajot — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:15:31 +0000

I read the book so long ago that probably a rereading is due.

I’ve never thought that feminism, per se, was the central theme. All the characters, not just Emma, are flawed and cought in a web of pretentions. I believe
a central theme was the bourgeois class, and how they knew enough to aspire to something higher but didn’t know enough to fulfill their aspirations.
The feminist angle could be in Emma’s rejection of her daughter, as a son would have had a better chance to escape the trap of rural bourbeois life. Remember that sex was the only currency available to Emma.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:31:20 +0000

BTW, Doktor Zhivago isn't Doctor Zhivago. If you haven't read the book, it's well worth it.

By: Dave Schuler

Dave Schuler — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 15:27:10 +0000

I read Madame Bovary more than 40 years ago so my recollections are rather dimmed with time.

I didn’t care for the book. I found Emma Bovary tedious, a character that existed solely to fulfill the literary intentions of the author—a critique of the literary and dramatic conventions of his day. Perhaps a shallow reading but there you have it.

And my favorite character in Anna Karenina was Levin, too.