Rodolphe's Letter to Emma as a Symbol for their Relationship in Madame Bovary Anonymous 12th Grade

Flaubert uses the letter from Rodolphe to Emma as a symbol for their relationship by recounting and clarifying the tendencies and actions of both characters, to show how these have led to the downfall of their relationship. Flaubert concentrates on two things: the power of language and Rodolphe's rhetoric which manipulates Emma, to create a stark contrast between their interpretations of the relationship. In the creation, content and reception of the letter, he demonstrates Rodolphe's cunning and Emma's hopeless infatuation with him.

Rodolphe crafts the letter in the same way that he has previously manipulated Emma. Flaubert uses free indirect discourse to juxtapose Rodolphe's thoughts with his writing, which explicitly shows the previously implicit deceptive intentions of Rodolphe towards Emma. Previously, Flaubert interjects his own view of language, that "human speech is like a cracked cauldron on which we knock out tunes for dancing-bears, when we wish to conjure pity from the stars". This abstract simile demonstrates its content: the imprecision of language means that it can be moulded to "conjure pity from the stars" by mixing up the right things in a cauldron. The cracks in that cauldron show its flaws, as the intention...