Paper Summary:

In this book review, the writer explores the literary innovations used by Gustave Flaubert in his novel, "Madame Bovary". Contrary to the popular Romanticism of the time, Flaubert used realism in describing Emma Bovary's life. According to the writer, Flaubert used his novel to deconstruct romanticism by playing off of Madame Bovary's fantasies against the reality of her life.

From the Paper:

"Emma Bovary is a woman who fantasizes about a life that is meant for the rich and famous. She purchases magazines so she can read of the latest fashions. She educates herself and takes music lessons. She even sends her own child to a wet nurse because that is what all the rich mothers in Paris do. She constantly lives beyond her means in order to escape the emptiness of her simple life. Emma lives through her fantasy novels. This is why the ball that she attended was such an important event to her. She could see the noble characters of her fantasies participating in such a regal event. As Emma said, "the memory of the ball would not leave her" though her memory of it would grow weak; "the yearning still remained (1121)". Emma was back in her simple existence, the place she longed to escape from."

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