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April 9th, 2007 at 7:27 am
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.
April 9th, 2007 at 7:31 am
BTW, Doktor Zhivago isn’t Doctor Zhivago. If you haven’t read the book, it’s well worth it.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:15 am
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.
April 9th, 2007 at 9:51 am
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.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:34 am
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.
April 9th, 2007 at 11:51 am
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.
April 9th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
Don’t forget Karenina, either. Magnificent. Very sad, and the fella’s not so noble.
April 9th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
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”.
April 9th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
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”.