Emma's Dreams and Reality

Emma dreams of sophistication, wealth, and romance, but what she gets is a marriage to Charles Bovary, a provincial, middle-class doctor who is a devoted but boring husband. She tries her hardest to be a loyal and loving wife, even as she grows to resent him more and more for his insufferable dullness.

The Affair and Passion

Soon, though, she is seduced by the dashing Rodolphe and gives into her desires. In their affair, Emma believes she has finally found true, passionate love. She borrows money to lavish Rodolphe with expensive gifts, and the neighbors begin to gossip about her indiscretion.

The Consequences

When the moneylender comes to collect and Rodolphe leaves her, where will Emma turn? This tragic romance by Gustave Flaubert was first published in French in 1857. This is an unabridged version taken from the 1886 translation by Eleanor Marx-Aveling.