Madame Bovary is a landmark realist novel written by French author Gustave Flaubert and published in 1857. Considered a masterpiece of world literature, the novel famously pushed boundaries for its unflinching psychological realism and moral complexity, leading to an obscenity trial for Flaubert upon its release (though he was ultimately acquitted). Set in provincial 19th-century France, the…
The story follows Emma Rouault, a beautiful country girl who grows up reading romantic, sentimental novels filled with passionate heroes, luxurious châteaux, and sweeping emotional highs. When she marries Charles Bovary, a well-meaning but dull and unimaginative country doctor, Emma expects her marriage to instantly transport her into that glamorous, transcendent fantasy world. Instead, rea…