Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Madame Bovary with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, which tells the story of Emma and her desperate attempts to find excitement and passion to fuel her miserable life. The novel is now considered to be the author's greatest masterpiece, perfectly showcasing his love for a free indirect style and the inner monologue. When first released, however, it was met with scandal due to its realistic portrayal of life and society but it was gradually recognised that this was Flaubert's signature style: Realism. For anybody wanting a truthful depiction of life in France during the 19th century, this is an unmissable read.
 
Find out everything you need to know about Madame Bovary in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
   • A complete plot summary
   • Character studies
   • Key themes and symbols
   • Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Dec 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9782806270290

Book preview

French writer

Born in Rouen in 1821

Died near Rouen in 1880

Notable works:

Salammbô (1862), novel

Sentimental Education (1869), novel

Bouvard et Pécuchet (1881), unfinished novel

Gustave Flaubert was born in 1821 in Rouen. Passionate about writing, he discovered his literary vocation at a very young age. In 1841, he moved to Paris to begin studies in law, which he quickly abandoned. The author then settled in Croisset, along the Seine, and began frequenting the literary societies of the time. He befriended people such as Charles Baudelaire (French poet, 1821-1867), Ivan Turgenev (Russian writer, 1818-1883), George Sand (French woman of letters, 1804-1876) and Guy de Maupassant (French writer, 1850-1893), for whom he would be a role model.

An obsessive perfectionist, he defended reflexive literature and dreamed of writing ‘a book about nothing’. His work, which is also distinguished by the depth of the psychological study of the characters, serves as a taste of the many developments that the novel would undergo in the 20th century. Flaubert died in 1880, leaving behind several unfinished novels and extensive