Societal and Cultural Forces on Emma Bovary

 Gustave Flaubert’s realistic masterpiece, Madame Bovary, depicts the life of Emma Bovary. It is the tale of a girl who came from innocent beginnings, but whose dreams were worth more than money. The dichotomy between reality and her imagination caused her to compromise herself by having multiple partners as well as frivolously spending, spinning her into depression and ultimately death. While the story of Emma Bovary is a tragedy, I do not think there were outside factors that can be held accountable for her failures. Rather the blame should be put on her selfish self because she creates her own problems, and every time she comes across a problem, she does whatever it takes to temporarily fix the present problem. Consequently, it creates a cycle of endless problems, and at some point, her problems become unmanageable.

The church plays the role of cultural pressures since during this time period the church played a big influence in people’s lives. Emma was born and raised up in the church life. When Charles and Emma first conversed, he learned that, “Mademoiselle Rouault, brought up at the Ursuline Convent, had received what is called ‘a good education’; and so knew dancing, geography, drawing, how to embroider and play the piano” (Flaubert, 1.3). This indicates that Emma understands what is morally right and what is wrong. Therefore, she knows that having lustful materialistic desires as well as, committing adultery are sins. While it may be argued that the convent was corrupt, because the convent sneaked in non-religious books for the girls to read over, it can be refuted with the fact that she was young, and innocent at the time and as people grow up, there is a contrast between fairytales and reality. When Charles and Emma settle down in Yonville, it is safe to assume that Emma and Charles attended church services. After she realizes how she is feeling about Leon, Emma goes to see Father Bournisien. He asks Emma, “But what does Monsieur Bovary think of it?” (Flaubert, 2.6). Whether or not the couple attends church services every weekend, it is safe to assume that they attend enough so that the Father knows who they are. Thus, Emma is choosing not to listen to what the Church is preaching since she carelessly spends money on lavish accessories as well as cheating on Charles with Leon and Rodolph. Additionally, her choosing to disobey the word of god illustrates how cultural pressures do not affect her because if they did, she would still have the temptations, but would restrain herself from acting upon them.

Additionally, after visiting Father Bournisien, she creates a new problem by cheating with Rodolph because she thinks Rodolph is everything she wants. Rodolph and Emma grow passionate of each other to the extent where they made plans to “to run away. [Emma] was to leave Yonville as if she was going on some business to Rouen. Rodolphe would have booked the seats, procured the passports, and even have written to Paris in order to have the whole mail-coach reserved for them as far as Marseilles, where they would buy a carriage, and go on thence without stopping to Genoa” (Flaubert,2.12) Rodolph felt it was too absurd and decides to abort the plan and go on his own journey. This causes Emma to have a break down. As she recovers from her breakdown, she turns to faith as “Her soul, tortured by pride, at length found rest in Christian humility, and, tasting the joy of weakness, she saw within herself the destruction of her will, …She saw amid the illusions of her hope a state of purity floating above the earth mingling with heaven, to which she aspired. She wanted to become a saint. She bought chaplets and wore amulets” (Flaubert, 2.14). Here, she uses religion as a temporary combatant to her case of depression. It seems optimistic for Emma as she does get serious about it by talking to the priest and reading religious texts. Unfortunately, shortly after Leon re-enters Emma’s life as they meet up in Rouen and watch a play together. The two start seeing each other, and Emma drops her faith as she has an affair with Leon later in the book. The series of these events showcases how Emma selfishly creates her own problems, tries to fix it by any means necessary (in this case it was religion), and then drops it for something else.