The Elements of Feminism in Madame Bovary

To describe her globally, Emma Bovary is a bourgeois woman of the 19th century, which suffers from being a woman. Because of this suffering, she questions the gender that is attributed to her. Even if she is reduced to the state of object, victim of patriarchy and dependent on men, she is not passive, she tries to resist against the patriarchal structure. Actually, she seeks to emancipate herself and to get out of the constraints imposed on her, by adopting certain male attitudes and behaviors.

First of all, Emma Bovary is fully aware of her misfortune of being a woman, and that already makes her character more interesting. She is aware of the injustice of the difference in treatment between men and women, and of the limits imposed by femininity. Actually, in the 19th century, a woman could only leave the family home by marrying, that is why Emma decides to marry Charles, even if she does not love him. Therefore, it is her feminine condition which compels her to marry, and once married, she knows that she can not leave as she would like.

For example, we can see her awareness in this passage from the novel, Part Two, Chapter 8, where she mentions with envy Rodolphe’s freedom, during a conversation with him. Emma says to Rodolphe, which make us understand that she knows very well that Rodolphe’s freedom is due to his male gender.

There is another passage where Emma describes this inequality between men and women. It puts on emphasis the fact that she perceives this female misfortune as inevitable, that from birth, women are marked by the seal of dependence. Indeed, we can see that when Emma is pregnant, she dreams of having a boy, so that her own child could at least escape the misfortune of femininity. The narrator evokes precisely. At the end of this passage, we can see that when Emma realizes that she gave birth to a girl, she faints because she knows perfectly well that this girl will be struck by the misfortune of femininity too. As a consequence, Emma is doubly affected, because not only must she be a woman and therefore not be free, but her own child is exposed to these same misfortunes.

To continue in this presentation, there is a masculine dimension in Emma Bovary’s character, which she develops herself, partly with her clothes. For example, we can see that in this passage from the novel, Part One, Chapter 2, when Charles shares with Emma a meal at Bertaux. Indeed, her outfit is described as masculine, since it is specified that she is dressed “like a man”.

This precision, “like a man”, is also present in another passage from the novel, Part Two, Chapter 2. In this passage, we can see that Emma’s bond with Rodolphe gives her a feeling of freedom. Therefore, she dresses like a man to express this feeling. Finally, there is a last passage where Emma dresses like a man, in Part Three, Chapter 6, when she is at the masked ball with Leon. Actually, she wears a man’s outfit, as it is described.

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But Emma Bovary’s masculinity is not limited to her outfit. In fact, the masculine side of her character is also portrayed in her behavior, her attitude. For example, in this passage from Part Two, Chapter 7 of the novel, we can see that when Emma helps her husband to bleed Monsieur Boulanger’s man, the latter is surprised. This passage denounces the fact that fainting is perceived as being a weakness and only reserved for women. Then, since Emma does not pass out, it makes us understand that she clearly refuses the weakness of her feminine condition.

This rejection of feminine weakness is also shown in the way Emma manages her relationships. Indeed, in this passage from Part Three, Chapter 5 of the novel, it is specified that concerning her relationship with Léon. Thus, we can see that Emma, manly, takes control of the relationship, refusing the traditional fragility and submission of women.

It is also specified there that Emma's attitude becomes like a man’s one. Those manners, like her clothing, normally reserved only for men at the time, are a way for her to express this freedom which men enjoy and which she envies a lot. To finish this presentation, there is clearly a kind of revolt in the behavior and attitude of Emma Bovary. Indeed, there is from her a clear refusal of the expected female life. In fact, in the 19th century, the condition of women was synonymous with a world of restrictions, even in the bourgeoisie. By questioning her femininity, Emma Bovary questions her predetermined destiny as a woman.

First of all, she questions marital life, she is very far from accepting the husband that she was given. For example, in this passage from Part Three, Chapter 2 of the novel, we can see how she rejects and despises Charles in the way she perceives and describes him and his actions. Indeed, she uses only pejorative terms. Clearly, Emma makes us understand that there is absolutely nothing to save in this man she married, or in this “interminable evening”, as she says.

Then, the other aspect of femininity that Emma questions is maternity, which, of course, was the ultimate feminine characteristic, according to the codes of the time. Indeed, when Emma is about to fulfill the maternal duty imposed on women, she rejects it. We can see this rejection in this passage from Part Two, Chapter 3 of the novel, which illustrates the fact that although Emma is pregnant, this unborn child has a very small place in her interest, her life and her thoughts. In fact, it is Charles who manages to make her take an interest in the unborn baby when she is pregnant. As a consequence, this passage shows us how Charles seems much more involved than Emma at being a parent, although it was seen as a female characteristic at the time.

To summarize, even if Emma Bovary is often remembered as a fragile, melancholic and dreamy woman, she has more complex personality traits which give her a masculine, almost manly identity. However, her manly attitudes are not a way for her to deny her femininity, but more a way to question that. This masculinity is a way for her to revolt against her feminine condition, more precisely, to revolt against what femininity imposed on women at the time, that is to say submission to men, and deprivation of liberty.

To conclude, Emma Bovary is a very complex character, far from being passive. Through her behavior and attitude, she perfectly illustrates the complexity of the women of the time, who were fighting against patriarchal society in their own ways.