Madame Bovary Research Paper Sample

The novel, Madame Bovary, reveals a lot in terms of the psychological interaction between the Emma and Charles. Charles has been used by the author to represent both the personal characteristics that Emma hates and the society. Charles as a husband has been depicted as unimaginative, stupid an incompetent in many instances, in the novel. The negative traits exhibited by Charles make their relationship to face quite a number of challenges. Charles in many occasions, views Emma, but fails to see her soul. He only imagines the romantic aspects of Emma. Such characters depict the shallow thinking ideology that was expressed by Charles towards his wife.
The novel illustrates that the physical aspect of Emma delights her husband a lot. When the narrative focuses on the point of view of Charles, a picture of Emma’s dress, her hair and her skin is brought out. Charles is captured in the novel to be nodding as his wife does conversations that she commonly does with her dog. This depicts some lack of clear communication linkage between the couple and the extent to which Emma disregarded her husband’s thoughts and ideas. The ability to manage money is also a problem to Charles and cannot be able to see through the lies that Emma presents to him. This depicts his incompetence as a husband and also as a doctor. Charles as depicted by Flaubert is more than incompetent; he is also physically repulsive and somehow ugly in the eyes of Emma.
However, the best side of the couple is also presented. Charles has got so many psychological problems, but he has been depicted as being the most sincere and moral character. The fact that he truly loves Emma is a plus to the well-being of the couple. In his mind, Emma could be the best gift that deserves some proper treatment. The doctor proved his love to Emma in the novel when he does everything to save her during an illness. He also forgives the wife even in situations when a man can barely forgive a wife such as in cases of infidelity. The character of Charles seems favourable to the wife as it creates a healthy environment for committing more crime against their marriage through her indulgence in infidelity. The sanity of Charles can be questioned at certain instances. He seems to have clouded his mind with too much love such that he can barely take stern initiative to discipline the wife when the wife strays from the ideal path. Charles remains a good hearted husband to Emma even in situations when Emma’s lies seem to backfire.
Emma possesses beauty, intelligence and sensitivity despite the corruption of her morals. Charles, however, is free of temptations, humble, literal minded and lacks aspirations, a direct opposite of Emma. Even though Emma and Charles possess contrasting traits, due to Charles’ humility that are able to co-exist as a family and understand each other. If Charles could have been a radical man, then the relationship between Emma and him could have turned messy. Emma’s ability to manipulate Charles using his love for her plays a big role in ensuring that the relationship between the couples is fostered no matter dirty it could seem to be.
The critic presented by Thomas Pavel and Gordon Laing who is a service professor at the University of Chicago will be discussed. The professor appreciates the translation of the novel by Mackenzie. He says that the language used initially in the novel did not convey the small-mindedness that existed in the French towns, in the nineteenth century. According to him the language that was used by the original author of the book was not very friendly to the readers and this fact is widely agreeable. The nature of the men in the French town has been portrayed in a more polite manner by MacKenzie. The readers are able to view Emma nature with some level of calmness and dissatisfaction due to the admirable presentation of the character traits of the character.
Rosemary Lloyd a professor of French at Indiana University also expresses her critic on the translation of the novel. She appreciates the translation by Raymond as being faithful and fresh. She says that the translation will enable the readers to be able to uncover for themselves the complex issues that are envisaged by the tough language the novel was presented in originally. The language indeed is quite simple and will provide a better opportunity for the coming generation to understand even better the challenges that faced the woman in the provincial town of the French in their quest to pursue their sincere expectations in the society. Another factor in support for this notion is that, the nature of dialect used by the novelist is composed of vocabulary that is not too old or back dated and they are also not too contemporary. The facts relating to vocabulary that have been underscored enhances the ability of the reader to embrace the work of literature in the novel, Madam Bovary.
The psychological perspective of Emma and Charles have been brought out clearly by the novelist. The Charles, however, loving he tries to be his weaknesses never cease to portray themselves. His weakness is seen to create some negative behaviour in the wife who manipulates him and gets away with her promiscuity. The critics are right in their thought about the novel as the language that is used by the writer is more polite and understandable in its description of the state of society of the French province in the nineteenth century.