Alpine Summer

Today we talked about the advent of Realism (( capital R )) in literature and what Madame Bovary did for everything after it. I was not personally impressed by the text in general, though it had a few redeeming qualities. The attention Flaubert paid to the tiny details was something that one could directly see reflected in prose like that of James Joyce or most modern poetry. Without first knowing the exact shade of Emma's dress we might never know exactly what sound a priest's robes make when he walks past.

None of the characters were particularly likable. I think this owes a lot to the nationality of the author and his characters. It has become a joke that no one likes the French and the French don't like anyone, but it's basically true. My father always said, “Even the French don't like the French.” I think this is very visible in this novel. In creating something Realistic, something here-and-now, his characters would naturally be members of then-modern France. Being a Frenchman, himself, Flaubert could not like his characters – the best he could seemingly muster is pity. Pity from the pathetic; we don't ever really like Emma or Charles, but sometimes we feel sorry for them. This makes perfect sense . . . the French are full of the pathetic! If you really step back and analyze each of the relationships presented in the text, nobody likes anyone. They think they're in love, they're controlled, they live through others vicariously, they're obsessed, they're amused, but they never genuinely like another.

It's funny to me that this is considered THE first Realistic novel. It set the scene for all the rest of the bunch. If you've ever wondered by Realistic literature is harsh, maybe you should see where it all started.