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Madame Bovary

 

            Emma Bovary lived a life constantly vacillating between reality and illusion through things such as marriage, status and lust. Emma was always very wanting of more and of things she did not or could not have. She spent her short, pitiful life married to a man whom showed her such strong love which she could not return. She used her husband ultimately creating a situation which ended both of their lives leaving a helpless child behind. Emma Bovary lived in a world of her own creation where she deluded herself into thinking she had status, could successfully commit adultery all the while reaping the benefits of her marriage. .
             Despite Emma's thoughts, Charles and Emma Bovary held little status in their society. Emma lived her life believing that she held a high status and that people saw her differently then she really was. Towards the beginning of their marriage, Charles and Emma were invited to a ball hosted by one of Charles's patients. This invitation greatly excited Emma and filled her head with false thoughts about herself. "Emma groomed and dressed herself with the meticulous care of an actress about to make her debut"(42). Emma believed that by doing her hair and wearing an expensive dress that people would see her as a wealthy, honorable woman. When almost a year had passed since the ball, .
             Emma began to await another invitation. She felt as though she made the impression that she was a person of high social status. "Early in July she began to count on her fingers the number of weeks were left till October, thinking that the Marquis d'Andervillers might give another ball""(54). She had it set in her mind that if there was another ball, she would be invited. Later in the novel, Charles was given the chance to perform a new type of surgery that he hoped would make him famous. Ultimately it failed, but when first talked about it excited Emma. "She was eager to have something more solid to lean on"(150).


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