It took me a long time to complete this novel. Life most certainly got in the way, but I did finally finish it tonight. I have mixed emotions about it. It was a beautifully detailed, rich study of character and the desire for excitement and escape from the drabness of ordinary life (pretty applicable over 150 years after it was written, I'd say). The main character, our Madame Bovary, spends her life completely unsatisfied with her unglamorous existence and seeks out her imagined perfection of wealth and love that she never really finds, though there are times she thinks she has. So fleeting! She appreciates nothing, lives beyond her means and engages in 2 separate affairs outside of her marriage in search of the life she thinks she wants. The stale of monotony eventually taints them too.
Her marriage is beneath her as she is married to a very plain, ordinary man with no special skill. Her husband happens to adore her and looks past and around and over and under her flaws, wanting her love and approval and making excuses for her rebuffs. His affection for someone that is so apathetic towards him is pathetic and serves to help the reader understand her disdain for him. And yet, I felt so sorry for him too- he tried to be the best husband he could be. He just wasn't very good at that either. She needed a challenge and he gave her none.
So why the mixed emotions? It was precisely, perfectly written. It is masterful and should be read, but I wonder if anyone actually likes any of these characters? I found myself so frustrated with Emma, especially her lack of appreciation of the gift of motherhood, that I wasn't at all sad for her suffering. And her husband Charles? I felt pity, but his lack of any sort of strength made him hard to like (for Madame Bovary too, so I guess that works). What is it with me and needing to like characters to enjoy a book?
And I have to add, it is so sweet to me that this book was controversial when it came out and is considered in any way to be a "naughty book." Seriously, that's cute. If there is a disconnect between the time it was written and today, that would be it right there. It was quite tame and except for the fact that adultery is a significant part of the book, there is nothing distasteful at all. Damn it. ;)
There is so much that is universal to the human existence in this book that I don't think it will be hard for today's reader to appreciate it for the genius writing that it is. The rewards in this book are in the details- insightful and poetic. Not a word is out of place.
I was so excited to see a review Madame Bovary! It's been a book that I've wanted to read for such a long time. Quite a few of my trashy novels make reference to it, but I've been too lazy pick it up!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting Heather! It so much more fun to write reviews when you know someone read them and had something to say. Also, it is nice to know that the trashy novels are referencing the "classics." ;)
ReplyDeleteI do think it is worth a read, but I didn't find myself having to get back to it, you know?
Darn it. I've been pondering your thoughts about MB for the past couple of days. Certainly women of that day had few options and I find myself thinking of some friends that absolutely don't want children. What would life have been like for them in that day and age? Would they have been a Madame Bovary? Would I like them any less if they were? I might be forced to check it out now.
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