Study Questions &
Essay Topics
Study Questions
1. Discuss social
class in Madame Bovary. Is Emma a sophisticated aristocrat born
by mistake into a bourgeois prison, or is she simply a middle-class
girl obsessed with a richer life? In the world of the novel, are these
distinctions meaningful?
2. What role does
fate play in Emma's downfall? To what degree does she have power
over her own destiny?
3. Compare and
contrast Charles and Rodolphe. What are their attitudes about love?
How does each respond to Emma?
Suggested Essay Topics
1. Discuss the theme of love
and romance. How do Emma's unrealized dreams of passionate romance
contribute to her unhappiness? Are her romantic expectations attainable,
or are they fanciful impossibilities? How do Emma and Leon attempt
to make each other into their romantic ideals?
2. To what degree is Emma really
capable of love? Is she really in love with Rodolphe and Leon? Does
she really love Berthe? Use specific textual examples to support
your argument.
3. How is the plot of Madame
Bovary arranged? Does the novel build suspense leading
up to Emma's suicide? Is Emma's cycle of frustration-boredom-illness
an effective device for pacing her story, or is it repeated too
often?
4. What is Homais's role in the
novel? Is he simply a symbol for the bourgeoisie, enabling Flaubert
to ridicule its attitudes and values, or does he serve a larger
narrative purpose?
5. Discuss Flaubert's prose style.
How does he match his prose to the mood of his narrative?
6. Discuss the novel's use of
irony. With particular reference to the scene of the fair (Part
Two, Chapter VIII), how does Flaubert comment on his story by directing
the narration toward peripheral details?
