Madame Bovary - Love Letters

Author: (French) Gustave Flaubert, translated by Chu Shuangyue
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Flaubert was an artist striving for perfection, viewing words and literary creation as his life. His word choice was extremely precise, his writing elegant and classical, with a smooth and melodious rhythm. Madame Bovary, as his masterpiece, marked a turning point in French literary history. The charm of this classic work has only grown more enduring with time. The protagonist of the book, Emma, is the daughter of a wealthy provincial farmer and spent her youth in a convent, reading extensively in Romantic literature. After marrying the mediocre and dull town doctor Charles Bovary, she was dissatisfied with her life and became the mistress of the landowner Rodolphe and the clerk Leon. To please Leon and maintain a luxurious lifestyle, she squandered her husband's wealth and borrowed money at high interest. Later, Leon grew tired of her, and her creditors began to demand repayment. With no way out, she took arsenic and committed suicide.
Flaubert was an artist striving for perfection, viewing words and literary creation as his life. His word choice was extremely precise, his writing elegant and classical, with a smooth and melodious rhythm. Madame Bovary, as his masterpiece, marked a turning point in French literary history. The charm of this classic work has only grown more enduring with time.