Mme bovary trial

Table of Contents. A Problem in Reading pp. The Trial pp. From Trial to Text pp. Flaubert's Projects: Pure Art and Carnivalization pp. Dual Style pp. Narrative Practice and Free Indirect Style pp. Selected Passages pp. Aspects of the Novel pp. Conclusion pp. Index pp. Project MUSE Mission Project MUSE promotes the creation and dissemination of essential humanities and social science resources through collaboration with libraries, publishers, and scholars worldwide.

Gustave Flaubert was born on December 12, After all, the trial took place in an environment in which press freedom was a low priority. The book hardly reads as scandalous today, but its depiction of a bored housewife who embarks on a life of infidelity was nothing less than revolutionary years ago.

Though his publisher did dial down a few passages, the author angrily insisted that a disclaimer appear along with the book, which in turn alerted the authorities to its incendiary content. These legal norms—themselves relics of pre-revolutionary guild codes—were accepted by authors of the day.

Instead, he insisted his book was moral and that he was too bourgeois to be prosecuted. Despite his private views of artistic freedom, he did not agitate against the laws under which he was prosecuted. Nor did any of his contemporaries. Privacy Policy Contact Us You may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the provided link on any marketing message. Were Flaubert and his contemporaries afraid? Perhaps, says Haynes, but they were likely more concerned about upholding their newfound right to make money from their own work.

Property trumped the right to expression, and the general feeling was that publishing professionals were public servants. As a result, many writers like Flaubert seem to have been ambivalent about how much they were willing to fight forces of censorship. Flaubert was eventually acquitted, and his book quickly became a classic. Ironically, the very descriptions of sin to which the prosecution objected are what make his book stand strong to this day.

JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. From an illustrated edition of Madame Bovary. By: Erin Blakemore.