Madame Bovary Lesson Plan

Why do you think Flaubert wanted to make the protagonist of this book female? How might this story have been different (or the same) if it had had a male protagonist?

Although it wasn’t uncommon for French authors of this time period to populate fiction, poetry, and plays with female protagonists, this may nevertheless contradict some students’ expectations. One way that students might try to account for this curious fact is by tying it to Flaubert’s intention to paint a portrait of provincial life. Given the fact that Flaubert wanted to portray and parody the stultifying ennui that country life produced in the life of his protagonist, making his protagonist female would...