Analysis Pages

Character Analysis in Madame Bovary

Character Analysis Examples in Madame Bovary:

Part I - Chapter One

🔒 6

"his wife was master..."   (Part I - Chapter One)

This is the result of the emasculation mentioned in the previous annotation.

Subscribe to unlock »

"Madame Bovary had to oust them all..."   (Part I - Chapter One)

Notice how Charles's mother (who is not the eponymous Madame Bovary), works for her son and emasculates him.

Subscribe to unlock »

"he was strong on hand, fresh of colour..."   (Part I - Chapter One)

In contrast to his future wife, Emma, Charles will prove to be earth-like, wild, coarse, and simple. Here we see it is all the way he was raised.

Subscribe to unlock »

"calico..."   (Part I - Chapter One)

"Calico" is a type of cotton fabric. Charles Denis Bartolome is a wannabe dandy, and he cares more about his dress than about his work in the farm.

Subscribe to unlock »

"A fine man, a great talker, making his spurs ring as he walked, wearing whiskers that ran into his moustache, his fingers always garnished with rings and dressed in loud colours, he had the dash of a military man with the easy go of a commercial traveller..."   (Part I - Chapter One)

Note the startling contrast between the shy, content Charles and his flamboyant father.

Subscribe to unlock »

"Charbovari..."   (Part I - Chapter One)

The phrase "Charbovari" mixes the first and last names of Charles Bovary. This helps readers understand that Charles was awkward in every way, even in his speech.

Subscribe to unlock »

"her thoughts wandering..."   (Part I - Chapter Three)

Readers see the first instances of Emma's personality and start hearing how she "would wish" or "would have wanted" several things. Keep that in mind for further analysis of Emma.

Subscribe to unlock »

"On it were four sirloins, six chicken fricassees, stewed veal, three legs of mutton, and in the middle a fine roast suckling pig, flanked by four chitterlings with sorrel..."   (Part I - Chapter Four)

This description, which contrast tremendously with Emma's future visit to a Chateau, shows the difference between where Emma comes from and where she wishes to be.

Subscribe to unlock »

"had loved the church for the sake of the flowers, and music for the words of the songs, and literature for its passional stimulus..."   (Part I - Chapter Six)

This description show how Emma as an impulsive and reactive woman. She only dwells on the superficial, for the sake of satisfying whims.

Subscribe to unlock »

"For six months, then, Emma, at fifteen years of age, made her hands dirty with books from old lending libraries..."   (Part I - Chapter Six)

Notice the amount of fantastic stories Emma was computing in her mind, and the deep impact that it left on her psyche. Hence, her latter reactions as a result.

Subscribe to unlock »

"She tried, by way of mortification, to eat nothing a whole day..."   (Part I - Chapter Six)

Emma frequently endures extreme pain to make a point. She tends to over-dramatize things. According to blogs about literature characters and mental illnesses, Emma may have suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder.

Subscribe to unlock »

"she was invited by the Marquis d'Andervilliers to Vaubyessard..."   (Part I - Chapter Seven)

This is a huge life event for Emma. Connect her emotional state at the convent, during prize days, and then the banquet.

Subscribe to unlock »

"like her greyhound..."   (Part I - Chapter Seven)

Once again, readers see Emma and her greyhound as mirror images. The dog reflects Emma's anxiety. This leads one to wonder whether Flaubert is sending a message using irony.

Subscribe to unlock »

" In town, with the noise of the streets, the buzz of the theatres and the lights of the ballroom, they were living lives where the heart expands, the senses bourgeon out..."   (Part I - Chapter Seven)

This sentence defines Emma Bovary's personality. She strongly believes in the assumptions that she produces, and takes them to heart. Then, she makes decisions based on those assumptions.

Subscribe to unlock »

"should he not know everything..."   (Part I - Chapter Seven)

Flaubert is adamant that Charles should be presented as a breathing, walking dial-tone. However, is this so, or is it just what Emma sees as someone who is not quite attuned with reality?

Subscribe to unlock »

"But as the intimacy of their life became deeper, the greater became the gulf that separated her from him..."   (Part I - Chapter Seven)

This is a euphemism meaning that as Charles and Emma grew closer (because they could predict each other's every move), they also became more separate (precisely because such predictions led to tediousness).

Subscribe to unlock »

"a modern building in Italian style..."   (Part I - Chapter Eight)

A hint that the Marquis has just come back to money and that his lack of elegance has led him to replicate an Italian (not French) building. Moreover, it is not even an inherited family estate linked to history. 

Subscribe to unlock »

"Hivert..."   (Part II - Chapter One)

Think about Hivert as the only connection between Yonville and the rest of France. He is the town's "go-for" who brought in news and goods from the nearby cities. How can a character who does this type of work fit into the overall plot?

Subscribe to unlock »

"Monsieur Leon..."   (Part II - Chapter One)

Monsieur Leon is a young student staying at the Lion d'Or who will play a significant role in the novel. His character is dynamic, that is, he will change throughout the novel.

Subscribe to unlock »

"The keeper, who is at once gravedigger and church beadle (thus making a double profit out of the parish corpses), has taken advantage of the unused plot of ground to plant potatoes there. From year to year, however, his small field grows smaller, and when there is an epidemic, he does not know whether to rejoice at the deaths or regret the burials..."   (Part II - Chapter One)

This describes the character of Lestiboudois, who will plan a secondary but still significant part in the novel. Note that the connection with the dead points to foreshadowing.

Subscribe to unlock »

"had been bad..."   (Part II - Chapter Two)

This is all according to the point of view of Emma, who always wanted more and different. Other than that, there is little indication that  Emma's life had been a tragedy with the exception of Emma's own personality which makes her her worst enemy.

Subscribe to unlock »

"I like change of place..."   (Part II - Chapter Two)

Remember the greyhound annotation about it representing Emma's own soul, wanting to cut loose and run away? 

Subscribe to unlock »

"back-parlour..."   (Part II - Chapter Three)

Homais disregarded the chastising and continued to "take patients" in his house. Keep this in mind, as it also denotes some foreshadowing. 

Subscribe to unlock »

Analysis Pages