Madame Bovary: Part I

On the first page, Charles is a child at school. Instead of throwing his hat to the floor like the other students, he holds it in his lap. When the teacher tells him to, “get rid of that helmet of yours”, he once again chooses to hold it in his lap. This is interesting because there is a constant battle between the head and the heart; it’s a matter of logical thinking versus passion and desire. A hat covers the head, which can indicate a blinding of logical thinking. Despite attempts by the teacher to make him let go of his hat, he refuses – not out of stubbornness, but simply because he is confused and doesn’t know what else to do. In keeping the ‘helmet’, Charles is condemning himself to a life ruled by his heart’s desire. He is choosing to remain blind to logic, which is in large part, the reason he stays in a miserable relationship with Emma when she clearly does not return his love.

Emma and Charles are invited to a party at Vaubyessard and Emma is ecstatic to rub elbows with the upper class. She meticulously plans her outfit and basks in every single decadent second of the party. On their way home, Charles finds a cigar box dropped by what Emma thinks is the vicomte she had waltzed with at the party.  The cigar box is used as a means to contrast Emma’s dream with her reality. The vicomte, an image of class and wealth, dropped the lavish cigar case with two cigars inside. He doesn’t turn back for it or show any signs of distress over his loss; after all, what is a cigar case to a vicomte? On the other hand, when Charles discovers the last two cigars in the box, he is quite pleased, telling Emma that they will save them for a treat after dinner. What the ordinary Charles considers a treat is trivial and almost instantly forgotten by the exotic vicomte.  

The cigar box that Charles finds on the way out of the party at Vaubyessard is lined with green silk and embroidered with a coat of arms. Satin and silk are generally associated with luxury and the coat of arms Emma described is reminiscent of the monogrammed coats of the wealthier guests at the party. The color of the fabric is interesting because green is traditionally considered to be the color of greed and envy. The object itself is a box, which is used to contain and hold something.

Emma keeps the cigar box hidden away, only indulging in it when she’s alone. It contains her dreams and her desires, and in turn Emma herself. It holds all of her fantasies about afternoons in Paris and luxurious balls, but because she has confined all of these desires, she has also confined herself. Emma has no choice but to live with Charles as her husband and to only enjoy snippets of her dreams when she can sneak time alone because women weren’t afforded a great degree of independence in the 1800s. Her desires are out of her own control, as is her fate, which is usually defined by the men in her life.

It seems like Emma is always staring out the window, with her forehead pressed to the glass. In the early days of their courtship, Charles sees Emma staring outside and later in the novel, she would always go to the window to watch Leon come and go from her house. At the party at Vaubyessard, the windows shatter and Emma glances outside. She sees peasants on the other side and turns back to the party. Additionally, Emma and Rodolphe stand by a window to watch the speech at the agricultural fair. The windows are a barrier between Emma and what she wants, much like the door between Melibea and Calisto. She can see the other side, where there are parties with dancing and delectable dinners, but she can only be a spectator. She can always see how much greener the grass is on the other side, but she has no means to get there. At the party, the window shatters. She is on 'the other side' and when she sees the peasants outside, she turns away.

I’m not sure the lack of character empathy I’m feeling for Emma is Flaubert’s intention. He does not paint her in an overly positive light – she is generally negative, bitter, and resentful. She is unaffectionate towards her daughter and colder than ice towards her husband, Charles. I’m curious to know the extent of Charles’ understanding of Emma’s situation. He is portrayed as a patient, loving husband who cherishes his wife dearly. It would be interesting to see things from his perspective, though. Would his love for Emma blind him to her bitterness and unhappiness? Or, perhaps he is in the same boat as Emma, but she is too absorbed in her own dismal state to notice.