Death Over Life in Flauberts Madame Bovary Essay -- Madame Bovary Ess

Death Over Life in Flauberts Madame Bovary Often in literature, a character is found that is sooner memorable. Never was this more true than in Flauberts Madame Bovary. To some, Emma Bovarys action at the end of the novel was drastic and unnecessary others believed her death to be the end of the natural betterment of the story. However, Emmas decision to commit suicide was relatively simple, yet came as a last resort. She had exhausted all the other options she felt were available, and in the end make her plan based on finances, lost love, and the sheer boredom of her life. One motivation for Emmas suicide was her financial problems. She spent extravagant amounts of her husband, Charles, money on dresses, scarves, and nursing home decorations. More money was expended for Emmas music lessons, which were actually her alibi for her affair with Leon. Also, she had spent too much money while preparing to run off with Rodolphe, a journeying that never occurred. All Emmas debts piled up, then came due at the same time she tried to put them out of her mind, to no avail. She even went as far as to beg money from Rodolphe, her former lover, who rejects her. After leaving Rodolphe Emma is angry she has lost her normal ability to reason, but could still make a decision (Roe 42). As she could not forget, she devised, in a moment of Emma-style logic, the solution to her problems. So, ...in an ecstasy of heroism, that made her almost joyous, she ran down the hill...and reached the chemists shop (Flaubert 221-222). Once at the chemists, she frantically ingests a lethal dose of arsenic. It is tragic that the only release from her problems Emma could see was death. Emmas failed love af... ...cide became her only option, and having taken the action she thought necessary, ...she went home, suddenly calmed, and with something of the serenity of one who had performed a duty (Flaubert 222). However, Emmas death was not serene it was violent and grote sque. Ironically, she did finally achieve tragic romance heroine status she died young, penniless, and heartbroken. Works Cited Buck, Stratton. Gustave Flaubert. University of the South Twayne. 1966. 68-72. Flaubert, Gustave. Madame Bovary. New York Dover. 1996. Green, Frederick C. French Novelists From the rotation to Proust. New York Frederick Ungar, 1964. 233. Roe, David. Gustave Flaubert. New York St. Martins, 1989. Turnell, Martin. Madame Bovary. Flaubert A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Raymond Giraud. Englewood Cliffs Prentice-Hall, 1964.