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Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary


Irma18

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This is a book that I recently read for IB and will possibly be writing on for my WL assignments either 1 or 2 so I wanted to get some ideas on what people who have also read this book thought of it. Also, what were some major issues that came up as you read it? What do you think the central meaning is?

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The major issue: Emma is a first-rate b*tch.

There are too many central ideas to name: rich versus poor, delusions versus fantasy, romance versus reality, desire versus contentment, boredom versus adultery. The list is endless.

Characterisation of Emma is one of the strongest aspects of this book, she is this one three-dimensional character that always has the spotlight on her wherever she goes in a crowd. She is a pretty woman and very conceited regarding what she thinks she deserves.

This book...this book... You just need to read it really, all of it becomes clear thereafter.

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The major issue: Emma is a first-rate b*tch.

There are too many central ideas to name: rich versus poor, delusions versus fantasy, romance versus reality, desire versus contentment, boredom versus adultery. The list is endless.

Characterisation of Emma is one of the strongest aspects of this book, she is this one three-dimensional character that always has the spotlight on her wherever she goes in a crowd. She is a pretty woman and very conceited regarding what she thinks she deserves.

This book...this book... You just need to read it really, all of it becomes clear thereafter.

Haha I have read it, but I'm reading it again because as you've said it is quite the complex piece of literature. I am trying to form a WL1 topic around Madame Bovary, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, and possibly The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and thus far, Madame Bovary is the only piece of work that has me a bit unsteady. I will definitely need to read it more than just one or two times haha. Thank you!

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Really? I just read it once thoroughly and used it for my World Lit. I compared it to The Metamorphosis and talked about plot and character progression/regression when signalled by music in both these novels. It seemed to work out just fine for me.

Besides, the French version of Madame Bovary is so much better. When I actually learnt a decent amount of French, I picked up this book and read it in its original language and it was beautiful. All the things that were headache-inducing when I read it in English for my WL were charming and scenic in French. It was unbelievable really.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

How could you say that about Emma!?!? XD

I did a whole essay explaining why she should be a despicable character :lol:

If you're religious, yeah, she's pretty much going to hell/underworld/bad places etc.....those 3 or 4 pages of vivid description of her death were the only pages some of the candidates in my cohort enjoyed.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Emma is a b*tch!

I did my WL1 comparing suicide as an escape from unhappiness in Madame Bovary and Werther.

I wrote about their unhappiness and how was their suicide described and argued how these descriptions werre related to the time in which they were written (they belonged to realism and romanticism respectively).

There are lots of topics in that book. Check Sparknotes for some ideas :)

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