Madame Bovary Explication and Analysis

Madame Bovary

Explication and Analysis of Emma and Rodolphe's Initial Tryst in Flaubert's Madame Bovary

It is at approximately the midpoint of the action of the novel when Emma Bovary first -- and rather quickly -- succumbs to the seductions of Rodolphe Boulanger, and it is also at this point that the tale of Madame Bovary takes an explicit and, at the time of the novel's publication, a highly controversial turn. This scene begins Emma's descent into the depravity and debauchery that ultimately ends with her taking her own life, and is the first instance where the titular heroine (of sorts) seems to take a truly full enjoyment and engagement in her chosen activity. It is perhaps ironic, then, that she demurs at Rodolphe's initial invitations to ride, and even argues against riding with her husband, Charles. Ultimately, Emma becomes very enamored with…riding…with Rodolphe, taking an active and conscious concern in the direction of her life and the fulfillment of her desires.

At the same time, though Emma is clearly a willing participant in the sexual activity and reflects on her first encounter with great joy and a new self-awareness, it is clear the Rodolphe is the dominant partner in this scene as well as in their overall relationship throughout the novel. This juxtaposition of empowerment and dominance is one of the essential ambiguities that Flaubert deals with in Madame Bovary; the protagonist is at once internally empowered and externally dominated due to her femininity, and evidence of both forces is clear in the action, imagery, and narration of this scene.

The Act of Empowerment

The very act of sexual infidelity as engaged in by Emma and Rodolphe contains a high degree of seemingly paradoxical juxtaposition. It is clear at this point in the story that in addition to -- or perhaps as a result of -- her boredom, Emma has come to enjoy disagreeing with her husband, though she rarely directly disobeys him. In explaining her initial refusal to go riding with Rodolphe, "She made a sulky face, gave every kind of excuse…" (Flaubert, Madame Bovary, pp. 145). She continues to argue with him about the riding until he purchases here a new riding outfit; she has learned to use disagreement and protestation as a means of achieving her desires. In her interactions with Rodolphe, however, she is directly transgressing against her husband, and though she is initially resistant to this idea she feels no remorse but rather a thrill of enjoyment once it is accomplished.

At the same time as Emma is freeing herself from her obedience to her husband, however, she is making herself obedient to Rodolphe. It is through a series of missteps and refusals that Rodolphe eventually wears Emma down, and ultimately he commands and controls her to the point that she gives in: "Oh! Not yet, said Rodolphe. We're not going yet! Stay!" (149). Though he is being seductive, there is also no doubt that there is a command in Rodolphe's voice, and his physical actions are no less dominating until he eventually wins Emma over. Though there are textual indications that she was prepared to give in all along, it is important to note that Emma is controlled into making her descent into infidelity.

At the end of this scene, Emma learns from her husband that they are now the owners of a horse, intended for her to continue to ride in order to promote her health. Charles rather puppyishly asks, "was that a good idea? Do tell me" (150). Emma nods her ascent, no longer disagreeing with Charles but brimming over with the secret of her much deeper transgression. Charles' buying of the horse, of course, facilitates her continued infidelity with Rodolphe, as though he, too, has become subservient to Rodolphe's desires. This makes him also subservient to his wife, and so Emma Bovary's position has certainly and significantly changed: she is now, albeit clandestinely and in a limited fashion, served by her husband rather than vice versa, but at the same time this power only came to her through her "service" to another man, leaving her still largely without true power.

Images of the Feminine, the Masculine, and Power

As in much of the novel there is an abundance of sexual imagery in this scene of Madame Bovary, and it takes on especial significance here as the forces of feminine and masculine power collide and are hierarchically sorted in a very direct and physical way. Emma falls asleep after their lustful encounter, awakening to "Rodolphe, a cigar between his teeth…mending one if the two broken reins" (149). This simple description of the scene following Emma's first truly enjoyed sexual experience shows Rodolphe in a highly masculine state (complete with Freudian cigar) as the protector, while Emma appears both less capable and more vulnerable as she sleeps in the wild through Rodolphe's mending activities.

There are other images that are perhaps less direct but even more prevalent throughout the scene that both reflect the growing inner empowerment of Emma's femininity and the ultimate dominance and control of Rodolphe's masculinity. As the two riders leave the borders of visualization, the narrator notes the "damp air. The earth, reddish like powdered tobacco" (147). This image is vaguely evocative of traditional feminine symbols, especially the receptive and generative nature of the Earth. Pine cones appear on the path at the hors's feet, however, and this feminine landscape is seen as covered -- though not necessarily unpleasantly so -- with the seeds (a traditionally male symbol, for fairly obvious reasons) of the might pine trees that also eventually eclipse the feminine view of the land, taking over with their strong and unequivocal upward -- and masculine -- growth.

Immediately following this image, Emma's awareness shifts explicitly to "the rows of pine-trunks, an endless procession that stupefied her slightly" (147). There is a direct implication in this imagery of a phallic symbol, and it is something that both amazes and worries Emma, reducing her nearly to a state of "stupefaction." Though she is certainly aware of the nature of this ride with Rodolphe and his ultimate intentions, her feminine curiosity and indeed her own sexuality is awed and overpowered by the masculine power and sexuality that exists with Rodolphe. The imagery at once supports the notion that feminine power exists and is highly necessary in the world, and yet that -- at least in the world as it currently exists -- this power will ultimately be dominated by masculine drives and desires.

The Broader View of the Narrator

An examination of the narrative style and point-of-view of this scene is less certain in its determination of what powers exist and dominate in the natural world and in the world of Madame Bovary. The perspective is primarily that of Emma's, though Rodolphe's inner and untold thoughts are exposed form time to time, and the various places in the scene at which this point-of-view shifts as well as some of the specific delivery of certain pieces of information by the narrator create a much more mixed balance of power between the feminine and the masculine at work in this scene, calling into question the exact nature of dominance and submission generally and as they specifically relate to this scene in Emma Bovary's self-awakening and growing self-awareness.

Rodolphe does not turn immediately to aggressive seduction, and several of the narrator's insights into his inner thinking demonstrate a seeming acknowledgment of respect for the feminine power that Emma possesses: "He did not frighten her off with compliments. He was calm, serious, melancholy" and "immediately he became respectful, caressing, timid" (148, 149). Though both of these glimpses could be read as simple manipulations on Rodolphe's part in his attempt to seduce Emma, the fact that the narrator chooses these moments to offer up Rodolphe's perspective could indicate that a deeper resonance and truth is at work in his sentiments and actions, if only for brief and relatively infrequent moments. There is a feminine side to his masculinity, that is, and this passage shows that Emma has an equal share in this dichotomy.