Madame Bovary is one of the best-known novels ever written in any language. It has been called a perfect novel and its publication in 1857 changed French literature forever. The novel, by Gustave Flaubert, is a portrait of a young woman, her marriage, and the society in which they live. Emma Rouault is the naïve daughter of a farmer who was raised in a convent in rural Normandy. She reads sentimental romantic novels and dreams of marriage as a whirlwind adventure with a dashing and passionate man. But Charles Bovary is not the hero of a romantic novel, and Emma’s disappointment with her boring middle-class life leads her to look for love and excitement in ways that lead to disaster and tragedy. 

Flaubert is known for his beautiful prose and his attention to detail. This novel tells a sad story, but it does so with exceptional artistry. It is a probing psychological study of a woman, an especially difficult task for a male author to get right. And it is a searing portrait of French provincial bourgeois society in the 1830’s and 40’s.  Emma Bovary is no feminist icon, but is she no more than a victim? Can we understand her choices given the constraints of her time and her gender? What responsibility should be assigned to Charles and the other men in Emma’s story? What relevance does this novel have in 2025? Let’s figure it out together.