[Up: Flaubert] MBov Salam SentimE StAnt 3Tales B&P [home]
"If my book is good, it will gently caress many a feminine wound..."
French: etext (700k), ditto, ditto, extracts, ditto, summary, drafts?, search
annotated bilingual: partial
English:
Marx-Aveling (1886): ClassLib (chapters), Marxists, PGut txt (662k), Bibliomania (multimultipage)
May (1928): Litrix, BlackMask, concordance
translators: Eleanor Marx-Aveling (1886), William Walton (1896), William Blaydes (1902), James Lewis May (1928), Gerard Hopkins (1948), Joan Charles (1949), Alan Russell (1950), Francis Steegmuller (1957), Lowell Bair (1959), Mildred Marmur (1964), Paul De Man (1965), Merloyd Lawrence (1969), Geoffrey Wall (1992) [info]
crit: Byatt-2pg, study guide, Sparknotes, Barron's, sources, influences, vocab, 1stThings, EJong, Baudelaire (French)
Amazon: paper, hard, largeprint, tapes, abridged-tape
Movies:
IMDb: US-1932, Fr-1933 (dir Jean Renoir), German-1937 (Pola Negri as Emma), Argentina-1947 (Ricardo Galache as GF), US-1949 (James Mason as GF, Jennifer Jones as Emma), German-1969, French-tv-1974, UK-miniseries-1975, Russian-1989 (impressionistic), French-1991 (Claude Chabrol-dir, Isabelle Huppert as Emma), Hindi-1992, UK-tv-2000
To compare French and English etexts this Javascript will split the page horizontally. (Then click again on whichever texts you choose.)
1781: birth of Charles Bovary's father
1783: Catherine Leroux starts 54 years at same farm [MB2.8]
1790? Felicite (Simple Soul) born
1791: Bouvard and Pecuchet born
1794: GF's mother born
1803: birth of Rodolphe
1809: Felicite hired by Mme Aubain (Paul 7yo, Virginia 4yo)
1812: CB's father leaves army, marries (GF's parents marry)
textile business, farming
1813: birth of GF's older brother
1814: winter? birth of Charles Bovary
1814: birth of Emma Roualt
1818? birth of Leon? death of Rodolphe's mother
1819: birth of Felicite
1821: birth of GF
1822: birth of Frederic Moreau (Sentimental Education)
1825: birth of Justin
1826: 45yo Bovary rents farm, 12yo CB starts lessons w/priest
1827: CB 1st Communion; 13yo Emma starts at convent school
convent farm CB Leon Rodolphe . ch1 2 3 4 78 9 1 3 56 7 89 101315 1 7 . 1828|1829|1830|1831|1832|1833|1834|1835|1836|1837|1838|1839|1840
part one
1828 [calendar]
late-Oct: 14yo CB starts lycee in Rouen
1829 [calendar]
1830 [calendar]
1830: 16yo CB to medical school; death of Emma's mother
1831 [calendar]
Emma leaves school (GF starts lycee; Felicite gets parrot?)
Feb: 17yo CB's marriage, practice in Tostes
Night call; Monsieur Rouault's broken leg; A Norman farm; Mademoiselle Emma; Visits to les Bertaux; Heloise is jealous; Love in absence; The defaulting lawyer; The doctor is widowed.
1832 [calendar]
The bill is paid; Pull yourself together; Advantages of independence; A visit to Emma; What will become of her?; Father and daughter; The opened shutter; Preparations for marriage.
07Jan: CB attends Emma's father
22Feb: leg healed
early spring: CB's wife's money-crisis, death
Aug 1832: CB returns to visiting Emma
late Sept: 18yo CB proposes to 18yo Emma
winter: waiting
Wedding guests; Country finery; The procession from the church; A rural banquet; Confectioner's masterpiece; After the feast; The bride's parents; An old man's memories.
1833 [calendar]
spring: wedding
Madame Bovary's new home; Bridal bouquets; Changes in the house; A new trap; Charles finds happiness; Blowing kisses; The devoted husband; Life and the books.
Tostes house
Child's imaginings; Convent girlhood; The sewing woman's lessons; Glimpses of romance; Ballads and keepsakes; A lost vocation; The coming of passion.
Emma's history
(GF read Walter Scott c13yo)
A commonplace husband; Emma's accomplishments; Dainty meals and heavy boots; Mother-in-law; Monotonous affection; Why did I get married?; The beeches of Banneville; The Marquis's invitation.
Emma's growing disillusionment
late-Sep
The Chateau de Vaubyessard; Dinner; A retired courtier; The dance and the guests; A noble partner; Return to Tostes; Charles finds a cigar-case; Nastasie gets notice.
Oct 1833: Marquis' ball
"I have to write a narrative; and that is something I find very tiresome."
Dreams of Paris; The groom in clogs; Training a maid; Medical practice; The homely husband; What's the good?; The hurdy-gurdy man; Visitors from les Bertaux; The fate of the bouquet.
dreams of Paris
hires 14yo Felicite
1834 [calendar]
Jul
Sep
winter
1835 [calendar]
1835: road to Yonville opens
Emma depressed
Lent
Mar: move to Yonville
part two
Yonville; The chemist's shop; At the Lion d'Or; The taciturn guest; Phlebotomy for the clergy; Monsieur Binet's views on theology; The 'Hirondelle' arrives.
1852: 19Sep: "Never in my life have I written anything more difficult than what I am doing now-- trivial dialogue. This inn scene may take me three months... but I'll die rather than botch it." [ht124]
March 1835: Bovarys arrival in Yonville
The Bovarys arrive; Dinner at the inn; Monsieur Homais describes the climate; The chemist's lodger; Emma finds a kindred spirit; The chemist's library; The Bovarys' new home.
dinner with Leon
"I'm working on a conversation between a young man and a young lady on literature, the sea, the mountains, music-- in short, every poetic subject there is. It could be taken seriously and I intend it to be totally absurd." (09Oct 1852)
Monsieur Homais in trouble; Bothers over money; Emma's baby; Choosing a name; The christening party; Madame Bovary visits her daughter; A walk with Leon; How to make friends.
(summer: 14yo GF falls for 26yo Mme Schlesinger)
autumn 1835: birth of Berthe
(40 days?) visit to wetnurse with Leon
The chemist's visits; Evenings with Leon; Dominoes; The birth of romance; Phrenology and cactuses; Emma makes a present.
flirtation and gifts (CB's birthday, winter?)
(Leon's feelings towards married-Emma must owe something to GF's towards married-ElisaS)
1836 [calendar]
Visit to the mill; Charles and Leon; The draper's treasures; A good housewife; Berthe comes home; The inaccessible beloved; Learning to hate.
Feb 1836: visit to new mill w/Leon
Emma's realises Leon's love; Lheureux's visit; Emma virtuous
(death of Loulou the parrot in Simple Soul)
A Spring evening; Emma meets the cure; Berthe's fall; Charles's portrait; Leon is bored; Off to Paris; Monsieur Homais's evening call; An event for Yonville.
early-Apr: visit to priest
late-spring: Leon leaves for Paris (perhaps 18yo?)
Memories of Leon; Strange whims; No more novels; Market day; Enter M. Boulanger; Bleeding a Peasant; Justin faints; Rodolphe contemplates a change; Plans for acquaintance.
a year passes
1837 [calendar]
visit from CB's mother
Emma meets 34yo Rodolphe
The Agricultural Show; Monsieur Homais expounds; Emma and Rodolphe again; Duty and passion; The Counsellor's speech; Emma's memories; The prizegiving; The feast and the fireworks; Homais, reporter.
summer 1837: agricultural fair
(GF researched this scene by going to a fair at Grand-Couronne on 18 July 1852: "idiotic rustic ceremony")
"If the effects of a symphony have ever been conveyed in a book it will be in these pages. I want the reader to hear everything together in one great roar-- the bellowing of bulls, the sighing of lovers, the bombast of official oratory. The sun shines down on it all, and there are gusts of wind that threaten to blow off the women's big bonnets. I achieve dramatic effect simply by the interweaving of dialogue and by contrasts of character."
Rodolphe calls on Emma; The coming of romance; Riding companions; Lovers by the pool; Charles's purchase; 'I have a lover'; Emma at the chateau.
Sep Rodolphe returns
early-Oct riding with Rodolphe
Captain Binet goes duck-hunting; A large order for Monsieur Homais; Nights with Rodolphe; The pistols; A letter from les Bertaux; Lost illusions; Berthe.
1838 [calendar]
Apr
The stableman's club-foot; Surgical lore; Charles operates; Yonville in the press; Unfavourable prognosis; The visit of the cure; Monsieur Canivet's opinion; The second operation; Repenting of repentance.
clubfoot operation
Comparisons; Two wooden legs; How Emma paid Lheureux's bill; Presents for Rodolphe; The Mother-in-law; 'Take me away!'; The Husband's dreams; The Wife's dreams; Until tomorrow.
29Jun: St Peter's Day
(in Paris, Bouvard meets Pecuchet)
Sep
full moon 04Sep (Tues not Monday) [calendar]
A pile of tosh; Rodolphe says good-bye; A basket of apricots; Emma reads her letter; The carriage crosses the square; Monsieur Homais on perfumes; Emma's illness.
Sep 1838: Rodolphe's farewell letter
Money troubles; Winter convalescence; Consolations of religion; Reading and good works; Visitors at the bedside; Monsieur Homais; disputes with the cure; Preparing for the theatre.
winter
1839 [calendar]
The Bovarys at the opera; Monsieur Lagardy; Charles wants to understand; The spilt barley-water; Re-enter Leon; 'Night brings counsel'.
Rouen opera, Emma meets Leon again after 3 years
part three
Leon's life in Rouen; He calls at the inn; An exchange of memories; Impossible love; An uncancelled meeting; In the cathedral; A long cab-ride.
"Tour de Nesle": Dumas [pic] [more]
summer 1839: cab ride with Leon
Return to Yonville; Monsieur Homais's lumber-room; Justin's book; Charles becomes an orphan; Hippolyte brings the luggage; Leon's violets; A Power of Attorney; Emma's new gown.
death of 58yo Bovary pere
currant-jam-making day
Three days in Rouen; Boating with Leon; Lovers' delights; A scarlet ribbon; The boatman's compliment; Emma's instructions; Why is she so anxious?
Leon's longing; Back to the Lion d'Or; Meeting in a storm; More business with Lheureux; A forgotten accomplishment; Music lessons.
On the 'Hirondelle'; Leon's room; The blind singer; Received, sixty-five francs; Pressing for money; Lheureux's bills; Another Power of Attorney; Charles seeks for Emma; Leon the bewitched.
1840 [calendar]
(GF graduates lycee, Mediterranean tour, Eulalie Foucaud)
Monsieur Homais at Rouen; The connoisseur in women; An unfulfilled engagement; The summons; Ways and means; Leon's resolution; After the ball; Lheureux shows his hand.
autumn
(1840: 15Sep: opening date of final 'Sentimental Education'; FM returning from Le Havre)
1841 [calendar]
Lent
The bailiff arrives; The secret in the attic; Appeal to Leon; The Viscount passes; Advice for the blind; man; At the Notary's; Binet at work; Waiting for Leon; 'No one at home'; Rodolphe.
March 1841
Back to the chateau; Three thousand francs; Rodolphe's refusal; M. Homais's white powder; Emma's letter; Berthe at the bedside; The three doctors; Lunch at the druggist's; Emma dies.
The widower; Funeral instructions; Philosophy and belief; Watching by the body; A lock of hair; The coffin is closed.
Monsieur Rouault receives the news; Husband and father; The funeral service; At the graveside; Back at home; Charles's mother; A lonely mourner.
The bills arrive; Leon is married; Platonic love; Monsieur Homais's articles; The druggist's ambition; Charles meets Rodolphe; Berthe's discovery.
30May? Whitsuntide: Felicite leaves
1 franc in 1850 was equal to about $4 today
1821: 12Dec: Gustave Flaubert born in Rouen [map]
no-date: Eugene Delamare a student of Dr Flaubert (model for Charles Bovary)
1837: writes early variant of Madame Bovary, 'Passion et Vertu'
"To Mazza, virtue was a word, religion an illusion, reputation a deceptive mask..."
Eugene marries Delphine Couturier, daughter born in Ry (near Rouen)
Delphine cheats on Eugene, secret debts
1848: suicide of Delphine Couturier Delamare, model for Emma Bovary
1849: Sep: supposed date Louis Bouilhet suggests GF write about the Delamares [ht93] (consolation after Antoine flop)
1850: 24Mar: according to Du Camp, GF shouts "Eureka! I will call her Emma Bovary!" as they watch the Nile at the Second Cataract [fie135] (probably a lie-- cf below)
1850: 14Nov: plans "my Flemish novel about the girl who dies a virgin and mystic, having lived with her father and mother in a small provincial town, at the foot of a garden planted with cabbages and fruit-trees, beside a stream the size of the Robec... insatiable love in the two forms, earthly and mystical... combined in the same person, and one leads to the other; only my heroine dies of religious masturbation"
1851: Apr: back in France
1851: 19Sep: begins Madame Bovary "Last night I began my novel. Now I foresee terrifying difficulties of style. It's no easy business to be simple." [ht111] (trying to avoid de Kock or 'Chateaubriandised Balzac') "Sometimes I even think it wrong of me to want to write a rational book..." [ht112]
writes from 10pm to dawn "What a devilish style I have adopted!" [ht114] shouts out sentences to test sound [ht118]
1852: 16Jan: "...what I should like to write is a book about nothing... dependent on nothing external... held together by the internal strength of its style" [ht116]
"I'm trying to be as buttoned up in this one as I was slovenly in the others [Antoine, 1st SE, Nov?] and to follow a geometrically straight line. No lyricism, no commentaries, author's personality absent. It will make depressing reading. There will be atrocious things in it-- wretched, sordid things." [ht117] "My gaze is fixed on the mossy mold that grows in the soul."
1852: 21Mar: "The whole value of my book, if it has any, will be to have succeeded in treading a hairline between the two abysses of lyricism and vulgarity (which I want to fuse in a narrative analysis)."
1852: Mar: 20 pages in one month, 7hrs/day [ht117] "My conscience tells me that I am fulfilling my duty, obeying a decree of fate-- that I am doing what is Good, that I am in the Right." [ht118]
1852: 24Apr: 25 pages in six weeks "I have nothing to sustain me but a kind of permanent rage" "to recreate for aesthetics what Stoicism invented for ethics" "Prose is in its infancy... the forms of prose remain to be discovered."
1852: 09May: "The comic carried to the extreme, the comic that does not arouse laughter, the poetry of the joke is for me everything I desire most as a writer."
"As for love, all my life it has been my great subject for reflection... the heart I studied was my own... [MB] will represent the sum total of my knowledge of psychology, and that will be its only originality." [ht122]
no-date: re party scene [I.8] "I have to write a narrative; and that is something I find very tiresome."
1852: 18Jul: agriculture show at Grand-Couronne [ht123] "idiotic rustic ceremony"
1852: 22Jul: "Nor does it seem to me impossible to give psychological analysis the speed, precision, and excitement of a purely dramatic narrative."
1852: 19Sep: "Never in my life have I written anything more difficult than what I am doing now-- trivial dialogue. This inn scene may [II.1] take me three months... but I'll die rather than botch it." [ht124]
1852: 09Oct: MB2.2
"This will be the first time, I think, that a book makes fun of its leading lady and its leading man... The irony does not detract from the pathetic aspect, but rather intensifies it. In my third part, which will be full of farcical things, I want my readers to weep."
1852: conceives metaphysical novel, 'The Spiral' [French]
1852: 27Dec: worried by parallels in Balzac's 'Country Doctor' [etext]
1853: Jul-Nov: polishing MB's scene of agricultural show [Marx-Av] [May]
"If the effects of a symphony have ever been conveyed in a book it will be in these pages. I want the reader to hear everything together in one great roar-- the bellowing of bulls, the sighing of lovers, the bombast of official oratory. The sun shines down on it all, and there are gusts of wind that threaten to blow off the women's big bonnets. I achieve dramatic effect simply by the interweaving of dialogue and by contrasts of character."
1855: final break with Louise Colet
1856: sells serial rights to MB for 2000 francs ($8000 today)
1856: rewriting St Anthony "it will be increasingly stranger than beautiful... I seek brutal effects" [French]
1856: Oct-Dec: Madame Bovary published serially
1856: Dec: sells MB to publisher for paltry 800 francs ($3200 today)
1857: obscenity trial (acquitted) [French]
"I have been attacked by the government, by the priests and by the newspapers. My triumph is complete."
1857: Apr: MB published as book (6600 copies); 500 francs ($2000) for 2nd edition of 15k copies
1858: Jan: rejects proposal to stage MB [ht161] "I was about to enter the ranks of hacks, but my pride rebelled."
1862: 03Mar: Goncourts: 'There is one thing for which he feels a remorse that poisons his life. It's that in MB he put two genitives one on top of the other: une couronne de fleurs d'oranger. He is very upset over it; but there was nothing he could do, it was impossible to say it any other way.' (??? "une couronne d'oranger" MB2.15)
1880: 08May: dies suddenly of stroke [deathmask]
sources: [overview] [website] [bio] [bio] World&I, bk-rev, ditto, ditto, short, Barron's, Bibliomania, short, Babelfished, quotes, philosophy, bibliog
French: website, timeline, ditto, etexts, ditto, works
other: Dutch
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