Madame Bovary’s plot was partly inspired by a sensational news story featuring a French woman named Delphine Delamare. At the age of 17, Delamare left her rural home to marry a health officer who, like Charles Bovary, was also a widower. Delamare cheated on her spouse, spent his money on frivolities, and ultimately incurred so much debt that she killed herself with poison at the age of 27. [1]
A book that shocked readers and caused a scandal that spread throughout France was published on 12 April 1857. Madame Bovary became Gustave Flaubert’s masterpiece and was a significant event in the history of French literature.
Widely regarded as groundbreaking Madame Bovary pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable in literature at the time, and caused a scandal due to its frank portrayal of adultery and perceived attacks on the morality and values of the French bourgeoisie.
When the work was first serialized in Revue de Paris between October and December 1856, public prosecutors attacked it for obscenity. The resulting trial held in the following January made the story notorious and after Flaubert’s acquittal in February 1857, Madame Bovary became a bestseller when it was published in two volumes in 1857.
The novel tells the story of Emma Bovary, a young woman from a provincial town who dreams of a life of romance and luxury. She becomes bored and disillusioned with her marriage to Charles Bovary, a well-meaning but dull country doctor, and embarks on a series of affairs with other men in an attempt to find the passion and excitement she craves.
Over the years, Madame Bovary has been celebrated for its vivid depiction of life in rural France in the mid-19th century, as well as for its innovative use of narrative techniques and psychological realism. The novel has been translated into numerous languages and adapted into countless stage productions, films, and other works of art, cementing its place as a classic of world literature.