Madame Bovary

Outline

Madame Bovary (1857) tells the story of Emma Bovary, the wife of a modest country doctor in provincial France. Raised on romantic novels, Emma longs for passion, luxury, and excitement, and her growing dissatisfaction leads her into reckless choices and serious debt. Gustave Flaubert’s precise, realistic portrait of her illusions made the novel one of the most influential works in literary history.

• Emma Bovary is the wife of a modest country doctor in provincial France, and her ordinary life leaves her restless.
• Raised on romantic novels, Emma longs for passion, luxury, and excitement that her daily life cannot offer.
• Her growing dissatisfaction pushes her toward reckless choices and serious debt.
• Flaubert paints her illusions in a precise, realistic way instead of idealising them.
• First published in 1857, the novel became one of the most influential works in literary history.

Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880) was a French novelist known for his careful craftsmanship and his search for exactly the right word. Madame Bovary established him as a leading figure of literary realism. His other works include Sentimental Education and Salammbô.