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Literary Summary : The Characters Of Madame Bovary

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Madame Bovary was written by The French writer Gustave Flaubert in 1856. The characters discussed in this paper are Emma Bovary, Charles Bovary, Leon, and Rodolphe Boulanger. Emma is married to Charles, but strays away somewhere in the middle of the text. Emma encounters unavoidable financial troubles but refuses to admit there is a problem. Although, Emma encounters financial issues, her downfall is not caused by only this, but rather by a combination of financial and romantic issues. Throughout the literature Emma faces many setbacks which are related to her both situations regarding romance and finance. Emma Bovary started off her marriage happy, but quickly fell into a pit of depression once she realized that marriage is not what she thought. Emma and Charles start off in a decent relationship, but soon after marrying, Emma realizes marriage isn’t exactly what she thought it was. Emma’s thoughts are constantly on her having better life. A life full of romance, and extravagance. This leads her into a depression, which makes her ill. An example of Emma’s intrusive thoughts reads, “Would this suffering last forever? Would she never be able to get out of it”(Flaubert, 1259)? She is truly suffering in her own thoughts. The constant thought of a better life is really tearing at her mind, and causing her health to slip already. It becomes clear that Bovary is not in her right mind and that this is affecting her health when she is described a drinking vinegar. Flaubert

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