Bovary Narrative Style and Objectification

Bovary

Narrative Style and Objectification in Flaubert's Madame Bovary

Third person narration is almost certainly the most common narrative voice employed by novelists, especially prior to the twentieth century. There are several types of third person narration however, and the indirect libre or subjective third person narration used by Gustave Flaubert in his novel Madame Bovary has very specific and direct implication on the interpretation and understanding of the story. Though the narration is not accomplished by a character in the story, many personal details and apparent subjectivities seem to suggest that the narrator is not truly as detached from the story as third-person distance often implies. In a strange way, the apparent subjectivity of the narrator creates a strengthened sense of objectification of the title character of the novel, making Emma Bovary appear to be less a person in control of her own circumstances and more an object of desire that is controlled by other people who are able to perceive and manipulate her inner workings.

Even a relatively tame passage in which Emma Bovary accompanies her husband to the opera demonstrates the apparent lack of control over her own feelings, impulses, and actions that this style of narration creates. Before going into the theatre, Emma feels like strolling around: "Her heart began to beat as soon as she reached the vestibule. She involuntarily smiled with vanity on seeing the crowd rushing…" (Madame Bovary Part 11, Chapter 15). Even without the explicit mention of her involuntary smile, the level of intimacy mingled with detachment that the narration contains in relation to this character especially is indicative of her existence as an object without a real drive or any sense of self-directed behavior.

Even when Emma Bovary's passions are more directly and explicitly enflamed, it seems clear from the style of narration that she is not truly in control of them, nor in how she responds to them. While on another walk later in the book, "all the sensations of her first tenderness came back to her, and her poor aching heart opened out amorously" (Madame Bovary Part III Chapter 8). If a first person narrator had said, "all the sensations of my first tenderness cam back to me, and my poor heart…," there would appear to be some sense of self-control and self-reflection; the actions taken would be described by the person taking them, and commentary such as referring to a heart as "poor" would not be a label attached by someone else, but rather a reflection of one's own thinking. This is not the case here, however, but instead a narrator with more information than a true stake in any outcomes or actions describes characters and behaviors in a highly subjective manner that takes power away from the other characters. Because Emma Bovary is the focus of the novel, the effects of this narrative style are more prominent and extreme in her case than in the case of other characters.