Emma Bovary as a Romantic and Tragic Heroine

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The character of Emma Bovary, created by Gustave Flaubert and introduced to the readers through the famous novel ”Madame Bovary”, can be seen from literary perspectives based on the interpretation of her actions and ideals throughout the plot. Some aspects of her life seem to have tragic while others a romantic connotation, which gives Emma depth and makes her stand out above other persons depicted in the book. This however gives birth to controversy and questions asking to what extent is Emma Bovary a romantic or tragic heroine? Madame Bovary expresses many characteristics of a tragic heroine throughout the course of the novel. The theme of tragedy in literature has never been new; even the Ancient Greeks and Romans regularly played tragic dramas for the eager public in the early civilizations. Though the philosophers differ in their opinions, they both agree that literature becomes a tragedy through the existence of the hero and the hero’s hamartia or tragic flaw. Emma Rouault Bovary appears to have several character flaws that may compel the reader to overlook her goodness. The character flaws of Madame Bovary are the result of the circumstances of her life. She was raised as a daughter of a landowner, in this time lower middle class in the ranks of society. From her perspective the only possible way to lead a successful life was to marry to wealthier man than herself. In a patriarchal, she was trapped between the higher class, to which she wanted to belong, and middle class, which she wanted to leave behind. In her endeavors to do so she sunk deeper and deeper into the trap of over expenditure to the point of her downfall as seen on page 259 “(…) Now her situation, like an abyss, again presented itself ”. Another flaw she shows is her inability to distinguish between reality and her imagination. This causes her to pursue goals, which for her weren’t in reach
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