Madame Bovary: Vollständige Ausgabe

Von Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary, in älteren Übersetzungen auch Frau Bovary, ist ein von Gustave Flaubert verfasster Roman. Er gilt als eines der großen Werke der Weltliteratur aufgrund der seinerzeit neuartigen realitätsnahen Erzählweise. Ein Zeitungsbericht über den Selbstmord einer jungen Ehefrau veranlasste Flaubert zur Ausgestaltung dieses Gesellschaftsromanes, der den Untertitel Ein Sittenbild aus der Provinz trägt. (aus wikipedia.de)

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
• Erscheinungsdatum: 21. Juli 2012
• ISBN: 9783849612764

Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert was born in Rouen in 1821. He initially studied to become a lawyer, but gave it up after a bout of ill-health, and devoted himself to writing. After travelling extensively, and working on many unpublished projects, he completed Madame Bovary in 1856. This was published to great scandal and acclaim, and Flaubert became a celebrated literary figure. His reputation was cemented with Salammbô (1862) and Sentimental Education (1869). He died in 1880, probably of a stroke, leaving his last work, Bouvard et Pécuchet, unfinished.

Rezensionen für Madame Bovary

[deltaqueen50 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I have been reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert by installments from Daily Lit since November, 2018. I was very happy to reach the end of this book although it certainly held my attention throughout the reading, but there was an inevitable sense of doom building. The story, set in 1840’s Normandy, is of a doctor’s unhappy and unfaithful wife. I found this a very sad tale, as to me, it was obvious that Emma was married to a dull man and had no outlet available for her other than adultery. Women of a certain class did not work, or really have much to occupy their time, other than oversee the servants. Emma Bovary was a woman of passion, in fact shopping excited her every bit as much as sex. Yes, she was beautiful, somewhat selfish and immature but I still felt a great deal of sympathy for her. It was hard not to emphasize with a woman whose happiness was so out of tune with her situation.Did I have sympathy for her husband, Charles, yes, indeed. He tried to provide Emma with what he thought he wanted and she carefully never revealed her unhappiness in the life he provided her. Charles was not the brightest of men, he was quiet and easily satisfied, didn’t have a romantic bone in his body and apparently never questioned their life or situation until it was too late. The Boyarys were a mismatched couple and the marriage, right from the start seemed doomed to failure.Flaubert has written an excellent morality tale that still stands today. Our happiness does not rely on anyone or anything other than ourselves. Emma Bovary paid a heavy price for her longings to escape the caged life that she lead and this book reminds me that woman can still fall into the same patterns as Emma Bovary even though we have more choices today in our search for a fulfilling life.

[debbiemccauley-2 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Written in 1857. Emma, a doctor's wife, is lonely and bored and has affairs with Rodolphe and Léon which are both ill-fated. In her disillusionment she has a taste of arsenic with the usual outcome. Okay, but showing it's age.

[eoin-311239 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

The kind of book that uses "spaded" as a transitive verb and it works. (How to judge classics in translation? The voice is so far from Davis' own work (as well as her Proust) that one assumes the translation is impeccable. What struck me most was how idiotic, provincial, and fixed the characters were regarded by the narrative voice. Still, pretty good for a first novel circa 1856. The structure is, of course, flawless. Worth it for the opening scene of poor Bovary in school.)

[jackmassa · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

English translation by Merloyd Lawrence. Fantastique.

[rmckeown_9 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert remains one of the most important pieces of 19th century French literature. In Lydia Davis’s introduction to her new translation of Bovary, she quotes Flaubert, “‘Yesterday evening, I started my novel. Now I begin to see stylistic difficulties that horrify me. To be simple is no small matter.’ This is what Flaubert wrote to his friend, lover, and fellow writer Louise Colet on the evening of September 20, 1851, and the novel he was referring to was Madame Bovary. He was just under thirty years old.” (ix). In my Batcheler days, I met a member of the French Language department at The University of Pennsylvania. The details of the event have withered away, but I have not forgotten the 2-3 hours we spent discussing Emma Bovary and her tragic story. Since then, I have read and re-read Bovary too many times to count. I have used it dozens of times in my world literature classes. Now, I have a new translation by Lydia Davis, and I am thrilled--once again with the power of this masterful novel. The story has so much minute detail, his prose is magnificent, and this new translation has rekindled all my passion for Emma. Instead of robbing my first-time readers of this story, I have selected an interesting passage for comparison with my original copy translated by Margaret Cohen. I begin with Cohen’s version. “The atmosphere of the ball was heavy; the lamps were growing dim. Guests were flocking to the billiard room. A servant got upon a chair and broke the window-panes. At the crash of the glass, Madame Bovary turned her head and saw in the garden the faces of peasants pressed against the window looking in at them. Then the memory of the Bertaux came back to her. She saw the farm again, the muddy pond, her father in his apron under the apple trees, and she saw herself again as formerly, skimming with her finger the cream off the milk-pans in the dairy. But in the splendor of the present hour her past life, so distinct until then, faded away completely, and she almost doubted having lived it. She was there; beyond the ball was only shadow overspreading all the rest. She was eating a maraschino ice that she held with her left hand in a silver-gilt cup, her eyes half-closed and the spoon between her teeth” (Cohen (45-46).Here is Lydia Davis’s version. “The air of the ball was heavy; the lamps were growing dim. People were drifting back into the billiard room. A servant climbing up onto a chair broke two windowpanes at the noise of the shattered glass, Madame Bovary turned her head and noticed in the garden, against the window, the faces of country people looking in. Then the memory of Les Bertaux returned to her. She saw the farm again, the muddy pond, her father in a smock under the apple trees, and she saw herself as she used to be, skimming cream with her finger from the pans of milk in the milk house. But under the dazzling splendors of the present hour, her past life, so distinct until now, was vanishing altogether, and she almost doubted that she had ever lived it. She was here; and then, surrounding the ball, there was nothing left but darkness, spread out over all the rest. She was at that moment eating a maraschino ice that she held with her left hand in a silver-gilt shell and half closing her eyes, the spoon between her teeth” (Trans, Davis (44-45)).Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is one of those novels a reader can easily fall in love in a heartbeat. 5 stars for Cohen and Davis.--Chiron, 8/20/18

[kylekatz · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

This was a good read, but I didn't like Madame Bovary, so it was kind of annoying. She seemed to have no good reason for being as messed up as she was. Flaubert failed to make me understand why she was so vapid, venal, and obsessed with romance and money. She seemed to have a sociopathic lack of compassion for others.However, I'm always happy to read a slow, story about people living before all the technology we have today spoiled everything. It was refreshing to have people calling on their neighbors because that was the only way to get in touch with them. I could have done with a little less brutal mistreatment of horses. People were constantly riding them to death in a hurry to get somewhere, a spurring them bloody and whipping them.I really hoped to come to understand MB and have her find happiness or growth in some way. She failed to be able to grow or change and ended by killing herself. Give her a Darwin Award for unsurvival of the unfit-est.

[klayman-1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I started the book only because I suddenly ran out of books to read, but the first few chapters grabbed me and brought me on an exciting, as well as unexpexted, ride.
I was expecting a corny romance and I found myself in the obscure and a bit scary depths of a woman's mind.

I can't say I could sympathise with Madame Bovary herself, but the book has been a real thrill.

[tess_schoolmarm · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Madame Bovary was a slog and a bore. It is the ageless, timeless story of a woman who is seeking fulfillment in "love." She has romanticized love and will never be happy. Emma tries multiple affairs and spending large amounts of money to make her happy, but no cigar. This was scandalous when it came out in 1856 but would be mild today. Since the story line was blase I looked for great prose; but found little. 384 pages 2 1/2 stars

[kristelh_15 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I read this in college and again in 2009. I didn't review it? Hard to believe but my thoughts include; I really did not like Emma but then I did not like her husband either. It is a classic however.

[feleciak-1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Madame Bovary Looking for love in all the wrong places2.5 starsThe story was a little less than average. Madame Bovary was a terrible wife (didn't respect but loathed her husband, Charles) and mother (daughter cared for by hired help), who was never content. She had affairs, hoping they would bring some form of happiness. They never did. She spent excessively behind her husbands back, causing their ruin. Her husband, who I pitied, loved her dearly, but didn't have a clue. Sadly, the story ends in tragedy. I'm glad I plowed my way through, even when the story dragged a bit. I recommend it but not highly.

[gypsysmom_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

I had read this book some time in the distant past but when I saw the audiobook available on my library's electronic media site I thought it would be worth a listen. It was but it also bothered me a great deal. The tale is ultimately so tragic for Madame Bovary and her family and it seemed a high price to pay for essentially being an attractive woman. If you don't know the story it is pretty simple but beware spoilers follow. Emma Bovary is a lovely young woman who attracts the attention of a doctor. They marry but Emma is not happy in the small village they live in. So the doctor decides to move to a larger town where Emma attracts the attention of more men. Her first flirtation is quite innocent with the young clerk who lives across the street. However, he leaves to pursue legal studies in Paris and Emma is bereft. She has a child but perhaps due to post-partum depression doesn't seem to bond with the child. Then a wealthy landowner, Rodolphe, notices Emma and woos and wins her. They have a passionate affair and, in time, Emma begs him to run away with her. He agrees but has no intention of doing so. Emma orders clothes and travelling chests incurring quite a debt. When Rodolphe finally sends her a note breaking off their affair she becomes ill. The debts she incurred come due and she has no way of paying them. She goes to Rodolphe to get money from him but he tells her he does not have it. Emma gets arsenic from the chemist, swallows it and dies in agony. Her husband dies soon after, no doubt of a broken heart. The young daughter goes to a cousin who puts her to work in a cotton factory. Although the Bovarys are destroyed, nothing seems to happen to Rodolphe who is the cause of the tragedy really. If Flaubert's intention was to show what disparity existed (and possibly still exists) between men and women then he succeeded admirably.

[fyrefly98 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

Summary: Emma Bovary is stuck in her provincial life. She is married to a successful but dull country doctor, and longs for the city, for the culture and refinement and romance that she does not find in her marriage nor in motherhood. She becomes infatuated with a young law student, but does not show her affections, trying to cling to the image of devoted wife. However, she then allows herself to be seduced by a wealthy man about town, and to run up huge debts trying to live the live she wants, only to find that reality still does not live up to her romantic fantasy. Review: I really, really did not care for this book. I don't know if it's a matter of the writing, or the translation, or the narration, or what, but it just did very little for me. I found the characters flat and unlikable - I felt sorry for Charles (Emma's husband), but that's about it. Emma herself bugged the heck out of me - I get that women in the 1800s didn't have many options, or really any control over their lives, but Emma just seemed so stubbornly flighty and selfish that I wanted to give her a solid kick to the shins. I also didn't really care for the writing itself (again, this may have been the translation more than the writing). The introduction talks about how meticulous Flaubert was, always in search of the perfect word, but in listening to it, I didn't get that at all. The book came across as incredibly wordy and meandering and unnecessarily descriptive of just about everything. I didn't understand the point of some of the lengthy narrative diversions, and even parts of the plot that were important (the whole scheme of buying and selling debt, for example) wasn't entirely clear. Maybe if I had read this in a literature class, or if I spent more time analyzing the structure of the narrative and the significance of some of the details, maybe then I'd have gotten more out of it. But reading it by myself from a character and story-centric point of view? I had a hard time with it, and was glad when it was over. 1.5 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: I don't want to dissuade people from reading the classics, but this one didn't do it for me. You can get much the same story with more compelling characters and in a much shorter package in Kate Chopin's The Awakening.

[brakketh-1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Brilliant realism with characters throughout who are spiteful and hard to watch,

[ldvoorberg · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Lost in the translation of time and culture? Okay, scandalous because of her affairs, but her abject financial sense was more problematic, to me. Were the two "sins" linked or equally representative of her poor judgement? and why the opening school room scene with Charles, if he's not even the main character? I don't think I got this one.

[jbarringer-2 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

For a classic novel written by a man, about a fallen woman in European traditional society, this was a surprisingly readable book. There are a lot of topics embedded in the story that would be great for book club discussions and class papers, and the writing style is smooth enough that younger readers may not get too bogged down by the length of this novel.
While I didn't particularly like Emma or any of the other characters in the story, they are well-rounded characters. Emma is a bit of the female equivalent of a playboy, constrained by society but still quite good at dodging responsibility and attracting extra-marital partners. Eventually her lifestyle catches up with her, as it does for many others, male and female, who approach their relationships and their lives the way Emma does, and rather than finally accepting responsibility publicly for her decisions, she takes poison, dying in a rather long, drawn out death scene as overdramatic as much of Emma's other adventures.

[doryfish-1 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

Clearly the only way I can get myself to read one of the books in my continually growing to-be-read pile is for there to be a movie coming out. Get on it Hollywood, there are about 60 books I still need to get through.

Disclaimers: I read a translation due to my French being nonexistent, but the original is supposed to be exquisite. I don't have to warn about spoilers in a review about something published in 1856, do I?

Madame Bovary is one of those classics in which the elements that were once fresh and shocking are now cliched. Emma Bovary is unhappily married to a devoted but dull country doctor, Charles. Bored with her duties as a wife and mother, she fantasizes about a life full of romance and pleasure, similar to what she's read about in popular novels. Emma futilely chases these dreams by having love affairs and buying expensive items on credit. Both her lovers grow tired of her, and her debts bring about her husband's ruin. Emma swallows arsenic and dies an excruciating death.

It's said that Gustave Flaubert does not judge Emma, and in fact that's partially why the book was banned and he landed in an obscenity trial. But I don't think I agree with that. Isn't making your character a silly, shallow woman and then having her downfall stem from being silly and shallow pretty judgy in of itself? I've read a lot of books about doomed women and unlike most of them, Emma has no redeeming features. In Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy seemed to actually like his heroine. I did not not get that feeling in Madame Bovary.

[amyshaff · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

She's the original bored housewife looking for thrills to give "meaning" to her life.

[cbl_tn · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

In 19th century France, a bored doctor’s wife has affairs with two men, and in the process, she runs up debts she can’t repay. I was as bored as Emma at some points in the book. I had little sympathy for her because her troubles were largely of her own making. I did feel sorry for her naïve husband, and really sorry for the daughter whom both parents largely neglected. Simon Vance’s outstanding narration made the story more interesting than I otherwise would have found it.

[alexrichman_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Fair play, Flaubert - this holds up very well! Still thoughtful and funny after all these years, and that's ignoring how groundbreaking it was at the time. The novel (ho ho) approach has become so commonplace that it's actually hard to appreciate when reading it now. That being said, you can certainly appreciate this as a fine, fun novel in and of itself.

[juva_3 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

A young woman is imprudently married and finds herself dissatisfied and unhappy. Although she struggles against it, she finds herself enmeshed in a number of passionate affairs that inevitably end in poorly. Driven to further devious acts, she begins borrowing money in her husbands name.Ultimately, when her latest affair ends and her debts come due, she takes poison to end her misery. Her husband is destitute and soon dies. Her child is sent to live with poor relations.

[nx74defiant · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I really enjoyed this. I found it a rather quick read. Emma Bovary has a lot of dreams. She doesn't care for reality. She wants romance, passion, beautiful clothes and life. Her quest for the fantasy she thinks she deserves leads to disaster.

[oacevedo-792047 · Bewertung: 2 von 5 Sternen]

I never quite understood Madame Bovary, whether the book or the character. Have I missed something in the translation I read many years ago? (Likewise, the movie left me betrayed as a lover of period dramas.) Flaubert is unquestioningly a superb writer, though, and perhaps one day I can try again.

[crazymamie · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Juliet Stevenson is one of my favorite narrators, and she does not disappoint here in bringing this story to life. I loved the writing, and I wish I could find out who did the translation, but even in the PDF materials, that is not provided. The characters are not really likable, and yet one cannot help feeling sympathetic to them. Emma, the lady named in this famous title is a desperate housewife - she is bored and unhappy and unfulfilled. In her quest to find happiness, she covets the wrong things and is easily mislead. She and her husband Charles are too distracted by other things to truly pay attention to one another or to their mounting bills. This allows others to take advantage of them, and we can do nothing but watch as a clever web is woven around them by the manipulative merchant Lheureux and the pharmacist Homais, each acting separately and in their own interests. The author does an excellent job of slowly building the tension until the reader knows that disaster has to be just around the corner - I was amazed at how caught up in the story I got even though I did not particularly like Emma or Charles. I still wanted to know what happened and how it played out. It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel - my only quibble is that the ending feels slightly rushed.

[tess_w · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Madame Bovary was a slog and a bore. It is the ageless, timeless story of a woman who is seeking fulfillment in "love." She has romanticized love and will never be happy. Emma tries multiple affairs and spending large amounts of money to make her happy, but no cigar. This was scandalous when it came out in 1856 but would be mild today. Since the story line was blase I looked for great prose; but found little. 384 pages 2 1/2 stars

[sandrabrower · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

OH Gustave, you sure do know how to turn a sentence. Your words are flowery and descriptive. Still that darn Emma could never enjoy the happiness and good life she had and always had to keep searching for that "story-like" romance. Life is not like a romance novel, sorry, Emma.

The only thing I did not like about this book was the 5 second wrap up at the end. Couldn't Gustave just wrote another book from Charles' point of view and tell us the story of what happened to poor little Berthe? That I would've liked better than the 5 second wrap up that gave me no ending...

[maxernst11 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Slap begin, met oninteressante Charles als hoofdfiguur. Pas vaart na ontmoeting met Emma. Geleidelijke opbouw van het thema van de door romantische idee?n tot waanzin gedreven vrouw. Nogal vrijmoedige acties voor die tijd. Prachtige stijl: het midden houdend tussen klinisch-realisme en romantische lyriek. Bitter einde, puur cynisme. Zeer grote roman, vooral door beeldkracht, minder door verhaal en visie.

[katerobinson-1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Ah, lovely greed and lust take Madame down the primrose path . . . I enjoyed reading Madame Bovary in the context of a course on modern and postmodern philosophy and literature.

[bhutton_10 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

Had to force myself to finish it, but glad I did. The story may be about nothing but the prose and themes are brilliant and subtle. A book that has stayed with me far more than I thought it would.

[cyderry · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

The story of a young woman who is filled with romantic dreams and discontent over the how her life has transpired.I didn't care for the story or the characters. It may have been about the period that it was written in.

[jvioland_1 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

An immoral wife sleeps around to escape the hum-drum of existence. Ho hum. Who cares? Still, well written.