analysis of Emma Bovary in Madame Bovary
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In Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Emma and Charles, though having completely opposite personalities, are somewhat alike in that they both strive to have things in life that are well outside their grasps. Charles tries to win Emma's love, and believes he does, but never accomplishes this. Emma longs to live out the fantasies depicted in the novels she reads, which later leads to her demise. Emma, in trying to live out these fantasies, gets involved with characters Leon and Rodolphe who are both womanizers. The three factors that lead to Emma's ultimate demise are her large debts, her affairs with Leon and Rodolphe, the depression caused by her failure to achieve the fairy tale goals she has set for herself.
Emma's affair with Leon begins shortly after the birth of her daughter, Berthe. This relays the idea that Emma wishes to be free of her duties as a woman. She doesn't want to be responsible for her child and would much rather be carrying out her fantasies of the perfect romance. The affair started when Emma began to idolize Leon because of his spewing forth of romantic poetry to her during dinner conversation. "Artemise, (the sister of Apollo, protector of young women) the maid, listlessly dragged her slippered feet over the tile floor" (Flaubert 60)...