Weak Woman, Strong Men(Except Charles)

On this second section of the novel there is a clear switch in the roles of the first part of the novel, where the women were strong and the men weak. At the beginning of the novel you could see how Emma and Heloise treated Charles as their subordinate, Heloise would scold him a lot and Charles devotes his self entirely to Emma. When they arrive at Yonville there is a shift in “power” however, although Charles still tends to be weak the other men aren’t controlled as he was. At Yonville Emma falls in love twice, with Rodolphe and Leon, and is disappointed by both. Leon, who develops a tie with Emma because of their common romanticism, leaves to study law in Paris. He seems to be the most likely match to Emma because both of them are feverous romantics and this seems to be what Emma lacks in her relation ship with Charles. The other relationship Emma has is with Rodolphe, a rich landowner from the region, and Emma is quickly swept away by his manners and also because of his wealth. He is much more experienced than Leon in terms of romance, quickly seduces Emma Bovary, her relationship with Rodolphe is terrible to her. She falls in love with him very quickly and the no later the whole town already knows of their relationship, this ruins Emma’s situation with her mother-in-law, when they fight about it. He also disappoints her after not running away with her as they had planned. Although men start beginning to disappoint Emma, Charles is an exception, he is still unable to please her and she is unable to love him and finds him to be incompetent.

Leon and Rodolpe

For a second there, I’m pretty sure we all thought that Leon was going to be Emma’s lover, he seemed perfect for her---they had common interests and found each other attractive, yet of course it was not to be. Instead of proclaiming their love for one another, Leon leaves for Paris to study and Emma remains. After his unnecessary prolonged departure (he waited so long because of her when in the end, nothing came of it), Emma’s character begins to change. She obsesses over him constantly, daydreaming about him and regretting her silence in proclaiming her love.

The women admired her thrift, the patients her politeness, the poor her charity. But within she was full of envy, rage, and hatred. That dress with the straight folds hid a heard in turmoil, and those modest lips did not speak of her torment. (pg. 117) This is just before Leon is going but it predicts what is going to happen. With all this bent up passion and feistiness being trapped within her, it’s apparent that she will unleash it or someone will unleash it. I’m sure many believed this is where Leon would come in, her knight in shining armor, the man she could love, but no, he is not. And her undeclared love for him drives her crazy to the bone. We see Emma caviling her husbands every step, finding more faults and imperfections as the days go by. All the baggage she is letting build up (unhappy marriage, want to be independent, desire to have an impassioned relationship, etc) will all come out eventually.

So Leon leaves, and now we are left here wondering whom will be the key…but oh--- then comes Rodolphe---charming, seductive and rich. One thing worth mentioning is how he is a foil to our sweet, sincere Leon. Leon was genuinely wanting to be someone worthy of her affections and he is uncorrupted as far as sexual relationships go, for we never see him actually trying to seduce Emma like we see when Rodolpe and Emma have their horseback ride. Rodolpe, older, rich, and lustful sees her and immediately tries to find ways in which he can seduce her, have his fun, and then leave her with no strings attached. And so now we are left wondering what will become of our young, impressionable, spirited heroine.

2nd post

An interesting part in this second passage of the book is comparing both Rodoplhe and Leon. Leon, when he feels that Emma was into something, he leaves to Paris. Contrary to him, Rodolphe is quite a more experient person in terms of lover, and seduces Emma in a more convincing way. He seduces her until she cannot resist anymore. However, towards the end of this reading, Rodolphe already starts to get bored with Emma, because of all her romanticism.
Another interesting part is that Charles contributes to this case of Rodolphe and Emma. Preoccupied with Emma's physical state, he is the one who asks Rodolphe to arrange a horse ride, eventhough Emma rejects it. Charles doesn't notice that he is helping both Rodolphe and Emma towards being lovers. This also shows how naive Charles is, and why Emma gets so bored in her relationship.

Strong Women, Weak men

At the beginning you easily get the impression that the men in the novel are controlled by their wives. This is clearly seen by the way Heloise treats Charles and is always mad at him. Both of the female characters that play important parts of the novel are totally in control of their husbands, but there is a difference. While Heloise treats Charles harshly and yells and scolds with him a lot, Charles’ mother on the other hand seems to use more subtle actions to gain control of the situation. When Charles meets Emma you can clearly see how it seems that the men of the novel are prone to being manipulated, from the moment he meets her Charles already begins to devote to her. He is drawn to her, visiting her father much more often than necessary. There is yet another example that Emma does note marry Charles for love but rather for the illusion of leaving the rural area and having a romance as in the books she read. This is implied by the continuous references the author makes to the romantic books she reads and it is able to hypothesize that she won’t get these things, as her very first wish, which is to have a romantic wedding, is denied. Another example of Emma not having her romantic wishes satisfied is at the honeymoon, she did not want to spend her honeymoon on Tostes, especially on the account that he had to work. It is from this part where it is able to begin to hypothesize what is going to happen to Charles and Emma. She isn’t able to love him, even when she tries, this suggests that she will probably try to find happiness in another way or through another person. When she becomes thrilled by dancing with the Viscount at the ball it is able to draw conclusions of what she desires and how she is going to try and achieve her desires, which are made even more explicit on the next chapters, which describe her dreaming about high society life in Paris and unhappy on the farm.

Emma & Edna: Our Feminist Heroines

Within the first 80 pages, we get a glimpse of Charles’ and Emma’s world, more of Emma’s in the end. Charles Bovary is a dull man who has little inspirations whereas his beautiful wife dreams of another world, wanting to be in love, experiencing passion, and living a luxurious lifestyle. One character that kept reminding me of Emma is Edna Pontellier in The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Both end up trapped in a unhappy marriage due to “marrying out of convenience.” Edna rushes into marriage before her time of youth is up, and Emma is bored at her father’s as well as disillusioned, thinking that she is in love with Charles.

Yet instead of marriage satisfying their sexual and emotional desires, both end up feeling as if life is a bore with no spontaneity and crave for much more. Both of their husbands seem oblivious to the reason for their wives’ switch in attitudes. However it is good to point out that Charles Bovary seems much more attentive to his wife on some levels, more so than, Leonce Pontellier; as in The Awakening, his present is barely mentioned, whereas in Charles Bovary seems to try to be involved with his wife’s life a little more. Like at the time when they attended the Marquis d’Andervilliers’ ball at Vaubyessard and he was talking about dancing, she told him that was a foolish idea and that he’s “place” as a doctor was better to just watch the dancing. Her prominent and strong personality begins to show up around this time, seeming to come around earlier than Edna.

Emma seems to be the stronger of the two when it comes to being independent which is seen when she fires Nastasie and challenges her husband when he asks if she sent Nastasie away for good (p. 73). Both characters struggle with their identity and place in the world as a woman. In The Awakening, our heroine, Edna Pontellier, expresses her femininity and independence, and so I am guessing that Emma Bovary will follow in her same footsteps, yet in a different way which doesn‘t lead to committing suicide in the end.

I don't know exactly, but it could be 1st entry

One point in this first phase of the novel that was very interesting is the difference between Emma, who is the real Madame Bovary, and Charles' mother and his first wife, Heloise. Both Heloise and his mother are petty and not romantic, and Charles' is supposed to be controlled. However, on the other hand, Emma, Charles' second wife is completely opposite. After being raised in a convent, and reading many books of romanticism, Emma is the main character, someone who seems to eventually be the most different one, even for the time period that they are in. The difference between Emma and the other two characters is explicit. It seems that Emma is much more intelligent, however somewhat illuded with her books, while the Charles' mother and Heloise are two characters that doesn't have so much in mind, and are not so smart. An example is the lawyer that stole all of her money, and the relationship that his mother has with his father, which is a very poor one, contrasting with the type of relationship that Emma wants to have, a more romantic one.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Important Dates:

16/04: Read until page 80; complete 1st blog entry
4/30: Read until page 161; complete 2nd blog entry
5/14: Read until page 242; complete 3rd blog entry
5/21: Read until page 322; complete 4th blog entry
5/25: Both groups complete 2 blog entries on your novel: 1 concerning the treatment of class in the book and 1 concerning the portrayal of women
5/28: Groups learning journals due; complete 2 blog entries on other group's blog: 1 concerning the treatment of class in the book and 1 concerning the portrayal of women
6/01: Complete 2 blog entries on your blog comparing/contrasting your novel to Tess: 1 concerning the treatment of class in the book and 1 concerning the portrayal of women.