In Gustave Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary the heroine Emma Bovary commits suicide in the end after going broke and being rejected by her lovers. Years after that, her husband Charles meets Rudolphe, one of her lovers, but Charles does not blame him for her death, but “fate.” By definition, fate is the development of events outside a person’s control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power and leading thus to the inescapable death of a person. In order to determine whether or not fate is to blame, one has to consider the events that led to Emma’s death and if they are based on her own decisions:
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- In Gustave Flauberts novel Madame Bovary the heroine Emma Bovary commits suicide in the end after going broke and being rejected by her lovers
- Years after that, her husband Charles meets Rudolphe, one of her lovers, but Charles does not blame hm for her death, but "fate"
- By definition, fate is the development of events outside a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power and leading thus to the inescapable death of a persom
- In order to determine whether or not fate is to blame, one has to consider the events that led to Emma's death and if they are based on her own decisions.
- Emma's first free willingly decision that leads to her death was to marry the doctor Charles Bovary but he bores her because he cannot satisfy her image of an ideal marriage, which she could not have predicted in the first Place.
- Emma's interest in romantic fiction, which she actually comes across during her education in the convent after her mother's death, even enhances her unhappiness With Charles
- As a consequence, Emma starts to buy things for the house to compensate for her unhappiness and makes her second decision to borrow money from the pharmacist Lheureux without telling Charles
- However, Charles eventually finds it out but he does not do anything about it because he wants his wife to be happy.
- Charles even constantly leaves Emma alone With Léon and eventually they fall in love With each other but Emma does not want to have an affair With him in the first Place.
- After Léon leaves the City, Emma meets Rudolphe, and Charles leaves her again alone With a man which eventually leads to her third choice to have Rudolphe as her first lover
- Nevertheless, Rudolphe makes the decision to abandon Emma because she wanted to run away With him
- Coincidently, she meets Léon again and starts to have an affair With him.
- Unfortunately, Lheureux makes the decision to finally let Emma pay back her debts, which she is not able to and asks Rudolphe for help, Who is a gambler and can therefore not give her the money.
- Even Léon is not able to give her the money because he fears to lose his good reputation
- Emma's last decision was to commit suicide, which does not come as a surprise because she shows suicidal traits throughout the novel and shows therefore mental health problems.
- In addition to that, she neglects her daughter because she thinks she is ugly and lets her maid basically raise her.
- Summarizing all the facts mentioned above there can be considered that, Charles' and Rodolphe's claim that fate is to blame is a too easy excuse, since both contributed to Emma's death
- Charles basically pushes Emma to her affairs because he cannot make her happy and Rudolphe is to blame because he seduced a married woman.
- Both, as well as Lheureux's greedy scheming and Léon's abandonment create a trap for Emma from which she feels she cannot escape anymore
- Although Emma makes her own decisions, these men pose an obstacle to her happiness which could have been prevented
- References
- SparkNotes Editors. "SparkNote on Madame Bovary"
- SparkNotes LLC, 2003. Web. 14 Mar. 2013
- SparkNotes.com
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte
The main objective of this essay is to determine whether fate is to blame for Emma Bovary's suicide in Gustave Flaubert's novel "Madame Bovary." The essay examines the events leading up to her death and analyzes whether they were predetermined or a result of her own decisions.
- Emma's pursuit of an idealized romantic life
- The role of societal expectations and gender roles
- The impact of male characters on Emma's choices
- Emma's mental health and suicidal tendencies
- The concept of fate versus free will
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel
The essay begins by introducing the tragic end of Emma Bovary, who commits suicide after facing financial ruin and rejection from her lovers. The author then defines fate as the predetermined course of events beyond human control, leading to an inevitable outcome. To determine whether fate is to blame, the essay analyzes the events that led to Emma's death.
The essay then examines Emma's decision to marry Charles Bovary, a man who fails to fulfill her idealized image of a romantic marriage. This dissatisfaction is fueled by Emma's exposure to romantic fiction during her convent education. To compensate for her unhappiness, Emma makes a series of decisions that ultimately lead to her downfall. She borrows money from the pharmacist Lheureux without her husband's knowledge, engages in affairs with Léon and Rudolphe, and eventually resorts to suicide.
The essay argues that while Emma makes her own choices, the actions of the male characters in her life, including Charles, Rudolphe, Lheureux, and Léon, contribute to her tragic fate. Charles' inability to fulfill her romantic desires, Rudolphe's abandonment, Lheureux's financial pressure, and Léon's fear of losing his reputation create a web of circumstances that Emma feels she cannot escape. The essay concludes that the claim that fate is to blame for Emma's death is an oversimplification, as the characters' actions, as well as Emma's own choices, played a significant role in her demise.
Schlüsselwörter
Die Schlüsselwörter und Schwerpunktthemen des Textes umfassen die Figur Emma Bovary, den Roman "Madame Bovary" von Gustave Flaubert, die Rolle des Schicksals und der freien Entscheidung, die Analyse von Emma's Entscheidungen und ihre Beziehung zu den männlichen Figuren im Roman. Die Auswirkungen von gesellschaftlichen Erwartungen und Geschlechterrollen auf Emma's Leben und ihre psychische Gesundheit werden ebenfalls beleuchtet. Weitere wichtige Themen sind die Bedeutung von romantischer Literatur für Emma's Vorstellung von Liebe und die Rolle der finanziellen Schwierigkeiten in Emma's Schicksal. Die Analyse untersucht die Frage, inwieweit Emma's Entscheidungen durch ihre Umwelt und die Handlungen der männlichen Figuren beeinflusst wurden und ob sie letztendlich selbst für ihr Schicksal verantwortlich ist.
- Citation du texte
- Narnia Fernandez (Auteur), 2012, Is Fate to Blame in "Madame Bovary"?, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/212634
