Feminism In Zola's Thérèse Raquin And Flaubert's Madame Bovary

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Feminism In Zola’s Thérèse Raquin And Flaubert’s Madame Bovary

The representation of gender in the works of both Zola’s Thérèse Raquin and Flaubert’s Madame Bovary could, on the surface, be considered to hold more similarities than differences. The situation of the young wife, a focal point in both novels, is especially crucial and how the two titular characters in their respective novels have to stifle their feelings and fantasies for fear of being shamed by society. Although, Emma’s situation is perhaps more focussed and intense as Thérèse does appear to be slightly more subservient and domestic in comparison yet both are slaves to the choices of their mothers.

Feminism is another important theme in both novels. Thérèse’s affair with Laurent in Zola’s novel could almost be compared to Rudolph’s seduction of Emma in Madame Bovary, however, Laurent’s is rather unremarkable and unmemorable in comparison to that of Rodolphe’s. Chapter VI of Thérèse Raquin, in which the beginning of the seduction occurs, features Laurent almost as a predator stalking his prey, which so happens to be Thérèse: ”Here is a little woman,’ said he to himself, ‘who will be my sweetheart whenever I choose…” . The patronising condescension evident in Laurent’s internalised is nothing more than a product of the zeitgeist of the era yet for a modern audience his thoughts would anger many, particularly with his insensitive critique that highlights his own psychological indecision, ‘But she is ugly, thought he…’. The demeaning adjective ‘little’ combined with the possessive first person pronoun ‘my sweetheart’ belies the assumed subservient nature of women, to which Zola could be examined to subversively represent in a conscious effort to make a change to the typical female role in society. Madame Bovary also explores a seduction by a ‘powerful’ man to Emma yet their empty speeches to one another hold certain ‘framed’ narratives and mimic those of a tragedy, which could perhaps foreground the narrative of the novel.

The importance of a novel’s title is not to be underestimated as it often illustrates a particularly prominent idea within the novel. Upon first inspection, the title of Annie Ernaux’s novella, A Man’s Place, could also be an indicator of the importance of feminism in this work of literature. The focus on a ‘man’s place’ is particularly unsettling as the language blatantly discriminates between gender, however, Ernaux’s biographical novella focuses intensely on the relationship between her and her father during her education and subsequent rise in societal class. ‘It is a story of a working-class man who believed that self-denial, hard work, and careful speech would gain him entrance into the middle class where good manners, well-spoken words, and respectability reigned. The focus is not on feminism or the lack of it but rather Ernaux manages to misdirect her readers before they had even started reading.

Madame Bovary, meanwhile, does hold significant feminist ideologies, especially in the sense that, during the course of Flaubert’s novel, there are several Madame Bovary’s yet it is focussed on the role and characterisation of Emma, as opposed to the numerous other women who take up the title. This could be Flaubert’s way of subtly subverting the stereotypical female role by illustrating through his rather aptly-named title that a woman is more than just a mere name or title, much as in the same manner as a man is. Flaubert encourages his readers to engage beyond Emma’s title as Madame Bovary and instead focus on the personality traits and the characteristics of the role of Emma, which is why it is particularly emancipating when her adultery is revealed to the audience.

The clear subversion of society is evident in both Thérèse Raquin and Madame Bovary with the dichotomy of murder and morality a clear motif in both of these novels. Zola’s Thérèse Raquin could be considered a scientific study into the complexities of the human mind with the intertwining of poetry and scientific facts. The lyrical prose and poetry remains separate from the science, however, though the paranoia and mental breakening of the characters matches the lyric and rhythm of the language, leading some readers to possibly deduce that the novel is, in fact, an analysis of the various reactions of the human psyche. The slow descension into paranoia and insanity provides a rather deep psychoanalysis into the profiles of Zola’s characters Thérèse and Laurent, evidenced through several examples of Freudian psychology. The manipulation of their characters by Zola provides a clear message to his readership on how a crime such as the murder they both willingly committed will impact severely and psychologically on one’s conscience and morality. Chapter XXVIII of Thérèse Raquin represents their slow descent into madness and hatred: ‘The quarrel continued, bitter and piercing, and Camille was killed over again’ The repetition of Camille’s murder represents Thérèse’s and Laurent’s guilt over their respective roles in his death.

Whilst Zola’s novel might be considered rather psychoanalytical with references to Freud’s own psychological practices interwoven throughout, the manipulation of the language and rhythm of a piece of literature for societal representation is something both Madame Bovary and A Man’s Place have in common.

Moreover, the publication of Madame Bovary was also wrought with public outcry in France in the nineteenth century, due to its apparent scandalous nature for the time period and for its rather adulterous themes that would betray the stereotypical image of the perfect nineteenth century French image. The trial of Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, on the 7th February 1857, was met with similar criticism as D.H Lawrence’s 1928 novel, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, would in England wherein an unadulterated version would not be published until 1960 due to similar, adulterous content. The history of literary trials in that sense is rather fascinating in that it reveals the power society had over literature and also it illustrates the depths society would allow itself to sink to in order to protect against such scandalous material manipulating others. As one modern perspective has on the matter of Madame Bovary’s trial, ‘All those participating in the trialprosecution, defence, and the court in its judgmenttend to read the novel in an extremely restricted way,’ it does highlight just how narrow-minded society can become and how it is so against change, particularly if that change is to come about through a literary movement.

Furthermore, the representation of class should not be overlooked in examining representation in work as a whole. Annie Ernaux’s novel, A Man’s Place, is perhaps most closely associated with this theme. The notion that Annie Ernaux does not belong to either world provides a clear link to Emma’s early characterisation in Madame Bovary. Ernaux states that, ‘I felt separated from myself’ , depicting this state of division. In spite of this similar, liminal state almost between the two characters, the reasoning behind those feelings are distinctly different – Ernaux’s is based on her ever-changing social status and her close familial links that provide the basis for the 1984 novel, whereas Flaubert’s Emma instead desires adventure and excitement (‘At the bottom of her heart, however, she was waiting for something to happen’ ) as opposed to the state of self-duplicity Ernaux finds herself in. The beginning and end of the novella symbolises her plight and social class dillema, epitomising them and the contrasts within herself based on how she should act and behave depending on which social class she is representing. The representation of herself through herself is also significant, such as her claim that there are different styles of writing, showing her readers a glimpse into her childhood and family. Although, this does also reinforce the contrasts between social classes as even the style of writing can be accommodated based on the pragmatics of such an occassion. A source from a library journal has claimed that: ‘Ernaux tells the story without sentimentality, conveying the alienation and pain of the humiliating limitations of class’ .

Madame Bovary is representative of the political, social and cultural zeitgeist of the time period and the difference in class, while not quite as centred as it is in A Man’s Place, is still present in Flaubert’s novel. Rodolphe is an upper class aristocrat and, as such, has no true issues with money and is able to obtain anything he desires.

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