Bedside Lamp English Learning Reader--Madame Bovary

Author: Wang Ruoping et al. (Editor-in-Chief)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-01-01
Features: This series of readers is written by American authors and composed of 3,300 commonly used words. The language is modern, authentic, and standard. It is pure and easy to understand. You can enjoy learning English without looking up a dictionary while lying in bed. The novels feature people, their eating, drinking, excretion, sleep, emotions, desires, and the complex relationships between individuals, as well as conflicts and harmonies between people and nature or society. From the perspective of language acquisition, this series achieves the goal of meticulously expressing and explaining the details of life and the rich inner world of people using 3,300 basic words. By immersing yourself in an English novel, you are essentially living in an "English world," which is the best way for Chinese learners to overcome the lack of an English-speaking environment. Simply reading a few textbooks to learn English is unrealistic. This series selects 50 outstanding literary works from abroad that are worth reading in a lifetime. Reading these works not only helps master English but also accumulates Western culture and enhances personal taste and refinement. This series truly brings English learning into daily life! You can read 20 books in a year, 40 books in two years. After reading 40 books, it is equivalent to living in an English environment for two years, which will definitely enable you to acquire strong English proficiency. Remember, without millions of words of English input, it is impossible to learn English well.
The author, Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880), was born into a family of doctors. His childhood coincided with the height of Romanticism in France, and Hugo was an idol in his eyes. However, what truly shaped his writing was the positivist science that began to flourish in France in the mid-19th century. He regarded novels as "the scientific form of life"① and demanded that writers depict and dissect everything with the same cool, objective attitude that natural scientists apply to nature. In Flaubert's view, "Beauty means truth, though not everything true is beautiful, and the most beautiful is always true,"② and "to lose truth is to lose artistry."③ Therefore, he placed great importance on observation, analysis, and understanding. He believed that "to thoroughly understand reality and faithfully reflect it through typicalization"③ is a fundamental principle that novelists should follow. This perspective led him to diverge from Hugo, whom he revered, and made him the successor of Balzac and Stendhal. However, Flaubert did not completely follow in others' footsteps in art; he forged his own path, determined to innovate, and ultimately developed a unique artistic style, enriching and advancing 19th-century realism.
Madame Bovary was originally the daughter of a relatively wealthy farmer in a provincial French village. She received an education at a convent in Rouen and loved romantic novels, which led her to develop unrealistic ideas about love and marriage. Later, she married Charles Bovary, whom she considered mediocre and incapable of bringing her happiness. She was first seduced by Rodolphe, only to be deceived by this charming rogue, and then had an affair with Leon. In reality, their relationship was based solely on fleeting pleasure, without genuine affection. Eventually, she fell into the trap of the merchant Loisel, accumulated debts she could not repay, and took her own life by poisoning herself. This is the tragedy of an ordinary woman. Madame Bovary had her weaknesses, but the author clearly points out that the cause of this tragedy was the society she lived in. The vulgar and monotonous provincial environment, the hypocritical bourgeois morality, the deceitful bourgeoisie, and so on—all contributed to her gradual decline, forcing her to take the ultimate path. The cunning and treacherous Loisel, the shrewd Omé, the opportunistic Guillaume, and even the malicious Mrs. Vauquer of Yonville—all bear responsibility for Madame Bovary's tragedy. Of course, there were also the shameless Rodolphe and Leon.
Dr. Bovary may lack refined tastes, and in his wife's eyes, he does not understand art or love, cannot appreciate opera, and is utterly vulgar. Especially given his limited medical skills, he caused a great laugh when treating Hippolyte's foot. However, objectively speaking, Bovary was an upright man. He worked early and late, treating the people in the village, and loved his wife, family, and daughter. When Emma was ill, he was extremely anxious. He believed her lies and sent her to Rouen to study the piano. When she did not return one night, he rushed to Rouen immediately. By the time readers near the end of this book, they must notice that he held a long strand of black hair in his hand when he died—it was cut from Emma's corpse. His love for his wife was truly profound! Was he not also a (poor man)?
Flaubert mercilessly exposed the cold and merciless nature of that society, making this novel deeply thought-provoking. As for its artistic appeal, let the readers savor it themselves.