Valentina Menarini 12.BRA
Madame Bovary
Similarities and differences of Emma and Charles
In the first part of the novel, Madame Bovary, written by Gustave Flaubert, there are two main characters introduced to us; Emma Rouault and Charles Bovary. These two characters marry and become the “Bovary’s”. They both have interesting characteristics that lead to being opposing characters. In part one, we come across several descriptions of appearance, personality, education, background, and attitudes; that help us analyze these.
The novel starts off with an introduction of what type of person Charles was during his childhood at school and what his classmates thought of him. Since a very young age, Charles had always been a very educated and respectful person towards others but always showed to be very insecure. He was described as “[…] country lad […] taller than any of us (pg15)”. Therefore you can see that his class mates didn’t really accept him because he was different as for his physical appearance, character and style of dressing. The narrator talks to the reader as a school mate which sat in his class and observed him very carefully, he is also described as a forgettable child which shows that his presence didn’t remain in people’s minds.
During his school years, Charles tried his best to attain the best results he could as he had never received a primary education- They “[…] postponed sending him to school as long as they possibly could, for reasons of economy”(pg.18)
Charles had a mother that loved him immensely and would spoil him rotten, whereas Emma lost her mother at a very young age when she was at a convent for her studies. Charles cared truly of his mother as when he was in boarding school he would write a letter to her once a week telling her everything that he was experiencing, as for Emma she really never actually cared, and upon the death of he mother she took it as an opportunity to feel sentimental and be melodramatic like in the novels she would read. This is a big contrast of Emma and Charles as they clearly have different values of life.
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Peer Reviews
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Quality of writing
Clear language, though not without mistakes. Phrases such as “very interesting†should be avoided, as they are virtually meaningless. At times, the essay is too personal (use of “I...â€Â) and resembles an opinion rather than a literary analysis. The writer should pay more attention to commas; some sentences, for instance, should have been split up. Moreover, there are some spelling mistakes, e.g. “peoples eyesâ€Â, “the bible†or “she is competent woman†(moreover, in the latter example, the word “competent†has not been used correctly). These kinds of mistakes are strange to see in an essay of relatively high intellectual calibre, and are certainly not acceptable at this level of qualification. But on the other hand, the writer is consistently clear in what he/she attempts to say, the writing is succinct and the structure well-built.
Level of analysis
The differences and similarities between Emma and Charles are explored deeply and eloquently throughout the essay; many aspects of their characters, both psychological and social, are analysed well. The writer addresses the way each of them perceives love and passion, how they react to their surrounding realities and how they themselves are perceived. Indeed, the writer has managed to answer the question by picking out some of the novel's more important themes – and appropriate quotations – and juxtaposing Emma and Charles within them. This is done skilfully – each paragraph gives us a sense of direct and textually close comparison. Oddly, there is a contradiction in the essay regarding Charles; at first, the writer describes him as “educatedâ€Â, only to defy his own words in the next paragraphs and state instead that he “was a simple country lad which received no educationâ€Â. As this is a significant part of the essay, where we are meant to compare Emma and Charles' upbringing, the line of the argument weakens somehow. But apart from this slip-up, the analysis is perceptive and focused. One of the examples would be the penultimate paragraph, which deals with religion. The analysis is rather impressive here, as the writer has picked two very short phrases and compared them in detail in the context of their respective bearers. In order to better the essay, perhaps the writer could have focused on the subtle differences in speech between Charles and Emma, or the symbols associated with them – this would have definitely made the essay even more competent.
Response to question
This is an intelligent essay, which answers the question appropriately and approaches it using both the general issues presented by the novel, as well as the more subtle textual innuendos. The introduction is clear about the argument of the essay and offers us an insight into the themes that will be elaborated upon. In the main body of the essay, we are given a good balance of differences and similarities between Charles and Emma, and the fact that several individual and original points are made means that the writer has acquainted him/herself with the text very well. Examples, comparisons and analysis of these comparisons run throughout the essay regularly, giving it a measured pace. The conclusion, unfortunately, disappoints; it is vague and seems to introduce “all the characters†in the novel, who had no role to play in the essay at all. The writer should focus on what he has already said, rather than launching an entirely new initiative.
