55 pages 1 hour read

Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1856

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Essay Topics

1.

How does Emma’s experience in a convent at a formative age feed her need for narrative and fantasy? What does this suggest about the role of storytelling, particularly in the life of a 19th-century woman?

2.

What does Emma’s quick disillusionment with her marriage reveal about the role of women in marriage in the 19th century? How is this significant to understanding Emma’s character?

3.

Why is Charles so oblivious to Emma’s apathy for him and their life together? What does this reveal about Charles’s character?