Women, marriage, and shame in the nineteenth century France Term Paper

Women, marriage, and shame in the nineteenth century France - Term Paper Example Flaubert relates the marriage and the shame Emma had to endure with the other ordinary women of France and the way French trends were followed by them. Emma, in the beginning of novel, is presented as a beautiful, sharp and happy girl but, after marriage is referred to as a troubled, unhappy and unsatisfied house wife and mother, while at the end of the novel, she portraits herself as a tragic heroine and kills herself. Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary): Madame Bovary, was the young and beautiful wife of a doctor named â€Å"Charles†. She lived in the world of imaginations and fantasy. For Emma, life was nothing but a bundle of excitements. She was not only beautiful, but was also very intelligent and sharp. But, unfortunately, she could not develop her mind as a cautious adult woman. She could not utilize her intelligence and be well-aware of the world and her surroundings. The world in which Emma would live was far more different from the actual world. Emma had a very extremely ro mantic view and imagination of the world. She strongly believed in romance and excitement related to romance. This opinion of her about a beautiful and romantic world differed from the real world. As Emma was in a habit of reading romantic books and novels, this habit drove her even more towards the heights of passion for romance. She grew even more desperate to experience it. After she met Charles, she felt that she was having a great compatibility with him as both of them enjoyed each other’s company. They would spend a lot of time meeting each other which would please not only Emma but also Charles. Soon with the consent of Emma’s father, they got married. But, unexpectedly Emma started getting bored after marriage and started losing interest in her husband. Therefore, Emma’s opinion about marriage and her excitement about romance in the married life perished away. She became quite disillusioned, dull and miserable about her married life as her husband Charle s was very good but a bit dull and boring and was not able to come up with the expectations of his wife, rather the imaginations of his wife. This dissatisfaction with her married life led Emma to two marital affairs. This was because she was trying to seek for more romantic pleasure and wanted to make her life risky and excited. Emma, after marriage, soon gave birth to a daughter who was named â€Å"Berthe†. This could prove to be a change and a reason to get excited fir Emma but even motherhood seemed boring to her and was again disappointed with her life Women in the 19th century France: Women in 19th century France, were quite different and far more responsible and loyal than the way Emma was described I the novel. They not only had to look after their home but also earn for their family. They would work in different fields performing different jobs in order to act as a helping hand for their husband. They would usually work outside their homes without their children, hus band and other members of the family being neglected. Working outside the home would make them face uncountable and unimaginable sorts of challenges which they would face readily and bravely and then would take good care of their family as well. Some women would work indoors as well, such as maids, laundry women, tailors etc. This would not only keep them safe from the challenges of the outer world but also provide them with the income to help their family. But, these kinds of indoor jobs were not always helpful and enough for their family, therefore, majority of them had to go out to