Over the span of the XIX century, Europes socioeconomic and political reality was transformed by unprecedented changes in technological development. Urbanization and the emergence of the middle class redefined the social stratification of most European countries. These dramatic changes did not go unnoticed in art, and particularly in literature. The idealistic individualism of the romantic era gave way to a movement referred to as realism. This new wave of literature focused on the observations of everyday contemporary life and attempted to portray it with an almost scientific objectivity.
Gustave Flaubert was one of the foremost writers of the realistic tradition and his novel Madame Bovary became one of the most celebrated works of the time. Through the use of the free indirect discourse and a changing narrative point of view, Flaubert attempted to keep a level of detachment from his characters and thus to portray reality in as objective manner as possible. Despite the fact that Madame Bovary is the main character, the novel begins and ends with the point of view of Charles Bovary in order to convey the sense of objectivity characteristic of works of the realistic movement, as well as to reveal a series of ironies inherent in the main characters.
Over the span of the XIX century, Europes socioeconomic and political reality was transformed by unprecedented changes in technological development. Urbanization and the emergence of the middle class redefined the social stratification of most European countries. These dramatic changes did not go unnoticed in art, and particularly in literature. The idealistic individualism of the romantic era gave way to a movement referred to as realism. This new wave of literature focused on the observations of everyday contemporary life and attempted to portray it with an almost scientific objectivity.
Gustave Flaubert was one of the foremost writers of the realistic tradition and his novel Madame Bovary became one of the most celebrated works of the time. Through the use of the free indirect discourse and a changing narrative point of view, Flaubert attempted to keep a level of detachment from his characters and thus to portray reality in as objective manner as possible. Despite the fact that Madame Bovary is the main character, the novel begins and ends with the point of view of Charles Bovary in order to convey the sense of objectivity characteristic of works of the realistic movement, as well as to reveal a series of ironies inherent in the main characters.
Flaubert, like all other realists, wanted to be as objective in his writing as possible. Certain literary methods allow the author to portray the world he or she creates in a somewhat detached manner. One of the techniques used in Madame Bovary is referred to as the free indirect discourse. It involves the change from the linguistic form typical of a direct quote of a characters words or thoughts, to that characteristic of indirect speech. This method of writing allows the author to present events as the character would have experienced them, as opposed to interpreting them as an omniscient narrator.
Through the use of the free indirect discourse, the author reveals the novels world through the subjective point of view of its characters. In Madame Bovary, the narrator describes only things seen or experienced by the character whose point of view is being expressed at the time and the nature of this description is subjective to the manner in which the character experiences his or her world. As the point of view switches between the characters, the reader is presented with a series of subjective perceptions, a synthesis of which depicts a theoretically objective reality.
One of the main problems inherent in this subjective technique of description is that of the readers misinterpretation of the intended meaning of the novel. If Flaubert had shown the world of Madame Bovary entirely through the eyes of Emma, the reader would be bound to eventually accept her interpretation as a correct one and begin relating to her.
Furthermore, the reader would likely assume that Emmas point of view is reflective of that of Flaubert. Not only would this be detrimental to Flauberts intended effect of objectivity, but more importantly, the continuous implicit criticism of Emma would go unnoticed. To prevent this from happening, the author had to describe the events of his book through the eyes of more than one character. It is understandable, therefore, that Emma is first shown through the eyes of Charles Bovary. The reader gets slowly acquainted with her, as does Charles, and can judge her more accurately when the point of view becomes hers.
The first physical description of Emma is crucial to the readers opinion of her nature: “Charles was surprised by the whiteness of her fingernails. They were almond shaped, tapering, as polished and shining as Dieppe ivories. Her hands, however, were not pretty not pale enough, perhaps, a little rough at the knuckles; and they were too long, without softness of line” (Flaubert 898). This passage is an example of free indirect discourse, since Emmas hands are described as Charles sees them. However, the flaws described by the narrator cause the reader to recognize Emma as a peasant girl, not the bourgeois princess she will later see herself as.
Through passages such as this one, Flaubert ensures that the reader will judge Madame Bovary with a certain level of objectivity when the novel switches to her point of view.There is a second, more symbolic reason for the structural frame of Madame Bovary. The book is not just a story of Emma, but “the history of every woman like her in just such a world as hers, a foolish woman in narrow circumstances; so that the provincial scene, acting upon her, making her what she becomes, is as essential as herself” (Lubbock 80). Since Emma Bovarys character is a direct product of her environment, a thorough description of that environment is essential to a full understanding of her personality. This is where the role of Charles Bovary comes in.
Flaubert uses him as a symbol of the shallow, simple world into which the idealistic Emma was born. The reader is constantly reminded of the inanity of the pitiful, albeit good-hearted, officer de santé. His characteristics are the quintessence of the provinciality that Emma so despises. If one accepts Charles as a symbol of Emmas environment, it becomes clear why all her adulterous experiences occur indirectly because of him. It is due to Charless medical practice that Emma is invited to the ball at which she first meets the Vicomte. It is also Charles who decides to move to Yonville, which results in her acquaintance with Leon.
She would not have met Rudolph had it not been for the fact that Charles treated his servant. In other words, Emmas life is constantly unknowingly determined by her husband, which symbolizes the extent to which her experiences are shaped by the world she rebels against and her dependence on it.Having understood the relevance of Charles Bovary, one can explain t…..he reasons for the use of his point of view at the beginning and end of the novel. The reader is introduced to the provincial reality, embodied by Charles Bovary, by an anonymous narrator distinguishable by the authors use of the pronoun “we”.
This narrator represents the external reality of which the provincial world is a small part. When the point of view switches to Charless, he introduces the story of the dreaming, idealistic woman who continually tries to escape the provinciality he symbolizes. Despite her constant attempts at escaping this reality, Emma never gets far from it. It is not until her death that she recognizes the futility of her escapism, when she finally realizes that the only person who truly loved her was Charles. After the end of Emmas story, the book switches back to Charless point of view, in other words to the perspective of the provincial world which she was so desperate to run away from, yet with which she was so deeply interconnected.
Finally, after Charless death, the point of view once again returns to the external reality, in the form of the omniscient narrator. This symmetrical structure of the narration is reminiscent of the cycle of human idealism. Another reason Flaubert uses Charless point of view at the beginning and end of Madame Bovary is to reveal two very ironic elements of the story. The first of these is the fact that despite their obvious incompatibility, the personalities of Charles and Emma share a number characteristics. One can find the traits of a dreamer and an idealist in Charles, though not one that is as hopeless as Emma. He dreamed of running away from the dull life of his parents house, just as Emma dreamed of escaping the dullness of her fathers farm.
Charless ideas of marriage were nearly as idealistic as Emmas: “Charles had envisaged marriage as the beginning of a better time, thinking that he would have greater freedom and be able to do as he liked with himself and his money.” (Flaubert 895) He was as disappointed with his marriage to Madame Dubuc as Emma would become with her own marriage to him. Unfortunately for Charles, just as he decided that his relationship with Emma fulfilled his ideal, she concluded the opposite. Another example of these parallels can be found in a later scene during which Charles and Emma sit beside each other in bed, daydreaming (Flaubert 1016).
Charles is imagining the wonderful future they will have together, while she is imagining the happiness she will find after running away with Rodolphe. Both are relying on another persons feelings and both will experience a great disappointment. These ironic similarities could not have been possible if Flaubert began the novel with Emmas point of view. Charless simple version of idealism was predominant in his youth, thus the reader must follow his early development to become aware of it. If Flaubert had begun with Emmas point of view, the reader would not be able to get acquainted with the idealistic side of Charles, since by the time he met her, his ideals were slowly starting to get fulfilled. As well, the narrator would obviously not have been able to use a flashback sequence, since that would have broken the conventions of realism that Flaubert set out for himself. (Sherrington 114-116)
The other irony presented by the author relies entirely on switching the focus of the narration to Charles after Emmas death. As he is obsessively mourning her passing away, he begins to take on her personality traits: “To please her, as though she was still alive, he adopted her tastes, her ideas: he bought himself patent leather shoes, took to wearing white cravats. He waxed his mustache, and signed just as she had more promisory notes. She was corrupting him from beyond the grave” (Flaubert 1115). This passage presents one of the greatest ironies of Madame Bovary: the fact that Charles was probably the easiest man for Emma to change to her liking because he was the only one who loved her unconditionally. It shows how absolutely blind she was to his devotion, since she looked for her empty ideals elsewhere, while the person who was the most likely to fulfill them was at her side all along.
At the same time, Charless adaptation of Emmas ideals shows his complete blindness to her lies and sets him up for the final pain of seeing through them, which in turn will cause his death. Charless unawareness of his wifes deceit and her oblivious ignorance of his forthrightness result from their idealistic natures and shows once again the ironic parallels between their personalities. (Sherrington 116)Flauberts fascinating technique of changing the point of view of the narration allows the reader to explore the personalities of the characters in a very intimate way.
The author allows the reader to enter the mind of the characters presented and gives the reader the privilege of seeing the created world through their eyes. This style makes the form of the novel just as meaningful as its content, since the importance lies not only in what the characters see, but also in how they see it. By opening and closing the novel with Charles Bovary the reader can explore the provincial world Emma is born into and get a more accurate understanding of her behaviour. The reader is able to judge Emmas vision of herself and her surroundings in a more objective and accurate way. This unconventional way of beginning and ending the story is absolutely necessary to convey the authors message accurately, while staying true to the objective goal of French realism.
Works Cited
Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary. Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Maynar Mack et al. 6th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 1992. 2: 889-1120.Lubbock, P. The Craft of Fiction. London: Jonathan Cape, 1961.
Sherrington, R. J. Three Novels by Flaubert: A Study of Techniques. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970.