Feminism, Gender Roles : Madame Bovary, By Gustave Flaubert

Feminism as it pertains to France needs a more in-depth description. Feminist theory in France appeared as a revolutionary movement that would jam the theoretical machinery of republican discourse, exposing its limits and disrupting its smooth functioning (Duchen 7). The republic showed inherent flaws in its philosophy when it promised universal suffrage to all and delivered suffrage for all males, considering its wives, mothers, and daughters as non-citizens. French Feminists faced an uphill battle with the strong patriarchal institutions upheld in the government, as well as in the church and home. Therefore, French feminism was a radical political movement often fought against by the status quo that sought "the end of a political relationship of the sexes characterized by masculine dominance and female subordinance," (Moses 7).

The first wave of feminism began somewhere in the 1860’s and lasted to the 1920’s when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified and women were given the right to vote.

As the century immediately following the American Revolution, the 19th century experienced a rise in feminism as it harbored the first feminist movement in America. Although some women chose to embrace their “roots” by retaining their domestic sphere of influence, many women began to show discontent with the limited number of rights women held. Soon enough, the fight for women’s rights resulted in women gaining more prominence in society.

This Movement began in the early 1970's ,but feminism was a problem even after they gained the suffrage right .This movement was mostly focused on giving women equal pay as men. During this time women would get paid only 63 percent of what a man made. Feminists who were involved were mainly of middle class members predominantly white. This became in issue that not only upset the poor ,but Women of color as well because they felt the NOW was only looking out for white feminists and they felt they wouldn’t represent their problems well . This was a worldwide movement, Despite the fact that not many women in other countries gained the same opportunities as we did . Feminists during this period of time not only focused on the economic, but also the social and political part to be as equal to men.<http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/history-womens-rights-movements>

Set in the Victorian era of the 1800’s Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert exemplifies society’s views on the established gender roles of this time. Flaubert utilizes Emma Bovary’s masculinity to accentuate Emma’s desire for control. Her desire for control extends from the social pressure of the period, revealing her envy towards men. Flaubert undoubtedly depicts Emma’s characteristics to have a masculine undertone and throughout the novel her femininity deviates as her priority shifts. Emma’s lack of femininity translates to her relationships by maneuvering an interchanging role of a girlfriend or boyfriend.

In his novel Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert connects the social, political, and historical period that he writes in, as seen through the archetypal, sociological, and psychological critical lenses, to leave a lasting impact on society today. He masterfully works his life and the circumstances he endured into the novel and takes the reader on a journey through this character that he has claimed is very similar to him. Many aspects of the novel allow the reader to make the connection between the social, political, and historical period that he writes in.

However, the French Revolution still reigns superior, as feminism had its origin in the political ideas of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment and the French Revolution; regarding all human beings as equal and rational creatures, who shall enjoy the same rights. An act that the US is still struggling with today. When the French Revolution broke out in 1789, 33 of the famous lists of grievances presented to the Estates General expressed female demands. This gave rise to what is usually called liberal feminism or equal-rights feminism. This early flourish of feminist propaganda generated tracts of feminism in other parts of Europe, seen in England with Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women (1792) and Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel’s the Civil Improvement of Women (1794, Germany). However this little fling with liberation did not last long. The French constitution of 1792 and the Emperor Napoleon's Civil Code of 1804 were subsequently implemented in much of continental Europe, effectively denying women legal rights and access to divorce, re-placing their property and income in the control of their husbands, and re-confining them to a subordinate, domestic role. Feminism was not seen again in France for another

Throughout time women have been placed in a subjugated position. Men have placed themselves as the leaders but to contest the unfairness in rule feminism became a movement. Feminism is the movement, ideal set that women and men should be equal to each other in all ways. This includes socially, lawfully and any other way that would make the society better. In the time of Chaucer, the roles of women were very rigid and set in stone. Women were thought to be little more than adolescent possessions that needed taking care of and it was through this image that women were treated. They were expected to be little more than house wives that took care of children and

In Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, it is difficult to know what to think of Monsieur Binet and his lathe. His constant devotion to such an unrewarding pursuit would seem to act as the bourgeois backdrop to Emma Bovary’s quest for eternal passion and excitement, a polar opposite with which Emma can stand in sharp contrast. However, it turns out that Binet and his lathe have more in common with Emma and her rampant desires than what would first appear obvious. Binet’s lathe still serves as a background with which to compare Emma’s quest for love and riches, but instead of acting as a complete antithesis to everything she does, the lathe is meant to be subtly different

Many women were involved in the uncertainty of women's rights during the French Revolution between the years of 1789 and 1804. Exploration of the unfolding struggles of France managed to turn my head in the direction of woman's rights more than once in my discovery. Perhaps because of the persistence of the women during this time period and their straight forwardness in their mission, was I so determined to see a positive progression in the fulfillment of their needs. "Even during a revolutionary time like this, equal rights for women seemed out of reach. Women had to struggle for a position in the revolution" (Ajaibu 2001, 1).

Feminism was a cultural movement born in the late nineteenth century, following the booming of the Industrial Revolution and the formation of diverse social ideologies. Feminism originated in France and then was gradually introduced to other countries such a the United Kingdom and the United States. Feminism was officially introduced into China during the May Fourth Movement and Feminist Art rose up in the Chinese contemporary art scene around 1990s.

Written by Gustave Flaubert and published in 1856, Madame Bovary tells a story about the life and death of Emma Bovary, a middle class woman living in mid-nineteenth century France. This novel is known as one of the best examples of literary realism ever written, and for good reason. Through his writing and attention to detail, Flaubert does an excellent job of giving the reader an idea of just how mundane everyday life was like in France during the mid-nineteenth century. Through the various characters in the novel, Flaubert is also able to portray many positive and negative characteristics he saw in the people living during this time. Of the many different characteristics and ideas that Flaubert uses to describe characters throughout the novel, I think that the many aspects he saw in the bourgeoisie class and materialism are uniquely important. I believe that the ways Flaubert uses the ideas and issues of materialism and similar principles he saw in the bourgeoisie to tell the story of Madame Bovary, to criticize the bourgeoisie, as well as show how harmful and destructive he believed these issues could be to a society.

Madame Bovary is a novel by author Gustave Flaubert in which one woman’s provincial bourgeois life becomes an expansive commentary on class, gender, and social roles in nineteenth-century France. Emma Bovary is the novel’s eponymous antiheroine who uses deviant behavior and willful acts of indiscretion to reject a lifestyle imposed upon her by an oppressive patriarchal society. Madame Bovary’s struggle to circumvent and overthrow social roles reflects both a cultural and an existential critique of gender and class boundaries, and her unwillingness to tolerate the banalities of domestic life in a predetermined caste culminates in several distinct means of defiance. Emma Bovary exploits traditional cultural values such as marriage,

    Often in literature, a character is found that is quite memorable. Never was this more true than in Flaubert's Madame Bovary. To some, Emma Bovary's action at the end of the novel was drastic and unnecessary; others believed her death to be the end of the natural progression of the story. However, Emma's decision to commit suicide was relatively simple, yet came as a last resort. She had exhausted all the other options she felt were available, and in the end made her plan based on finances, lost love, and the sheer boredom of her life.

The French Revolution led to reconsidering women’s place in society because the idea of the French Revolution was to find new ways to govern a society. Pre-revolutionary, the social norms for women was to stay home, take care of the children, and be dependent on their husband. Although women had some form of political rights, they were insignificant compared to men. During the French Revolution, women hoped that there would be social, political and economic change away from social norms, but it is seen that women were still experiencing inequality. Feminists like de Olympe de Gouges and Marquis de Condorcet had such difficulty persuading men to recognize women as equals. Even with the influence of ideas of the Enlightenment period, women’s rights were still ignored due to the perception of women being unfit in politics and being more fit in the role of a mother and a wife. The Declaration Rights of Women (1791), published by Olympe de Gouges, challenged the social norms and countered the declaration for men. Soon after, women again were backlashed for trying to obtain rights after Napoleon came into power.