“Madame Bovary” written by Gustav Flaubert is a classic novel that depicts life in 19th Century France with relevance to moral, ideas and beliefs. There are many social and cultural influences specific to this time period, that have played a pivotal role in defining the fate of characters and in unraveling the story. The book is written in an engaging and conversational tone, captivating the reader and reflecting the author’s perspective on women in particular. The French Society was shown as it actually was because that was the trend of literally pieces specific to that era, and so goes: “Late-nineteenth-century writers moved toward a new style called “realism” practiced by authors such as Flaubert, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Maupassant, and Ibsen.” . All the factors that play a crucial part in explaining the different influences are detailed in this paper, and perfectly portray 19th Century France in its true manifestation.
Marriage is an important theme throughout the course of the novel, and 19th Century was a period when it was seen as more of an economic contract in comparison to being a relationship of love, promises and compatibility. Emma, the protagonist’s marriage to Charles Bovary highlighted that during this era in French women were treated as animals that could be exchanged or bargained for power, status and wealth. The obsession of the society with money and wealth shows that other subsequent values are defined by this core. These basic cultural values revolving around money are what in essence define the shallowness of the community. Basically marriage was an economic union which aimed to belong to a richer and more established family. The central marriage in focus of Charles and Emma Bovary demonstrated this category of short-mindedness. Moreover, the prevailing culture meant brutal hatred for those who belonged to the middle class i.e. the “bourgeoisie”. Emma’s thoughts and actions are reflective of the desire for more power and wealth. The increased frustration for revolting and rising up against the current arrangement was the historical trend specific to France in this epoch.
Amidst, this superficiality emerges the character of Emma that is idealistic to say the least. Her thoughts and perspectives were a disgrace for the society she belonged to, and far from typical. She attempted to break free from the bounds of her marriage, by putting her faith in love and committing adultery on account of being unhappy with her husband. This deviant act makes her an out-cast within the society she belongs to and she is stereotyped based on blindly considering one action, which was a common trait reflective of 19th Century France. The societal set-up is rather intricately defined, showing people as intolerant and strictly conservative when it came to widely held norms, respect and honor of the family. Thus, being solely guilty of committing adultery, Emma was subject to public scorn and hatred. The entire concept of “adultery” was deemed as derogatory and was rejected because of the non-liberal mind frame particular to the French Society.
The powerlessness of women was also a communal configuration that was adhered to stringently. Women were seen a mere tools of performing household tasks, and earning for themselves was not a desirable attribute. These restrictions were visible in Emma’s life as she had to rely completely upon her husband who is unable to provide enough. Women are seen as objects supposed to satisfy a man’s sexual desires, and are disrespected by the French Men. Males offering to pay off Emma’s debt in exchange for sex clarified the belittling and disrespectful attitude towards women that defined the composition of civilization with respect to that age.
In conclusion the societal and cultural values were extremely ancient to say the least, with no room for compromise and forgiveness. The values were strictly male dominated and women were treated as inferior beings, and not given the respect they deserved. 19th Century France might have been progressing economically, but in purely societal terms non-liberal and extremely backward, as visible throughout the course of the novel.
Works Cited
Lawall, Sarah. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Volume II. New York, 2008.
