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Wednesday 25 September 2019

Timeline of Madame Bovary

Do you wonder about how much time passes between events or how long something lasts in Madame Bovary? I did. It’s not always clear, but I’m trying to piece together the timeline of the story.
1/ Charles Bovary moves to Tostes to practise as a doctor (P.1, ch.1), and lives there for 4 years before moving to Yonville (P.1, ch.9). 
It’s not said how long after he moves to Tostes that he gets married to his 1st wife Heloise, but the marriage lasts 14 months (P.1, ch.5). 
Charles meets Emma whilst still married, and about 5 months after the 1st wife’s death, he sees Emma again. Because of mourning, I think the wedding is about a year later. 
2/ Part 1 of the book is about Emma marrying Charles, becoming Madame Bovary, moving to Tostes, meeting and fantasising about the Vicomte. At the end of Part 1, before leaving Tostes, she becomes pregnant. 
Part 2 is about Emma in Yonville, her 1st meeting with Léon, and affair with Rodolphe. 
Part 3 is about Emma’s affair with Léon and her financial troubles. During this time, she travels back and forth between Yonville and Rouen for her affair. 
3/ In Part 2 chapter 12, during the affair with Rodolphe, and soon before they plan to elope, Emma tells him that she has suffered for 4 years. That most likely means that at that point she has been married to Charles for 4 years. 
4/ In Part 3 chapter 1, Flaubert tells us that Léon sees Emma again after 3 years. That means that Part 2 is at least 3 years, could be 3 years and a half, depending on when Léon moves away. I’m not sure about that point. 
5/ Emma has an affair with Rodolphe for 2 years (P.3, ch.8).  
6/ In Part 3 chapter 6, when Emma has had an affair with Léon for some time and is now starting to have financial troubles, Flaubert tells us that 2 years have passed since her illness (after Rodolphe’s abandonment). 
I’m not sure how long the illness lasts, nor how much time passes between it and her meeting with Léon in Rouen. However, in Part 2 chapter 14, Flaubert says that it’s a hard winter and Emma takes a long time to recover, so I assume that her illness lasts a few months. During this time she re-discovers, then drops, religion, then Homais brings up the idea of going to the theatre in Rouen, where she meets Léon. The whole thing would be a few months. 
7/ In Part 3 chapter 8, when Emma comes to Rodolphe for help, we are told that he has been avoiding her for 3 years. I would guess that Emma has an affair with Léon for about 2 years and a half. 
An easy way Flaubert could have done to mark time and help the reader keep track of time is by mentioning Berthe’s age, which he never did. By my calculation, she’s about 6 when Emma dies.
What do you think? 

11 comments:

  1. you've put a lot of work and thought into this book: admirable, although i'm not sure it's worth it. i still think Flaubert was a pretty good writer, but not as good as he thought he was... try Salammbo for a change of pace; it's hard to believe they were both written by the same person...

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    1. I'm not sure why you think it's not worth it though. I think Madame Bovary is a masterpiece, and I like it even more this time around.
      I don't have a copy of Salammbô, so my next Flaubert would probably be Bouvard and Pecuchet.

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    2. i'm not sure either: it just doesn't resonate with me is all... i think you'll really like B&P: i did... and i don't know why i liked that one but not the other, either... well, that's not strictly true: i'm probably a hands on sort of person: i was a mechanic, a musician, an oil field worker, a geologist and i retired from the gas company, so probably i prefer stories about things i know something about...

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    3. I thought you haven't read Madame Bovary?
      I'll probably like Bouvard and Pecuchet, but I'm very misanthropic and pessimistic at the moment so it's probably not good for me now.
      I'm reading a book about jazz.

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    4. i haven't... so... oh, i see what you mean... an unfounded prejudice most likely... jazz is good.

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    5. if you're job-hunting i totally understand...

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    6. I'm currently working as manager's assistant at my mom's new salon.

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    7. it's nice that you can be together... i hope it's a low stress position: they're beyond price nowadays...

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    8. Hahahhahaa. I'm in a constant state of stress and annoyance.
      Today my boyfriend and I had a day trip to Wakefield though. It was a nice break.

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  2. Thanks a lot for this. It really helped me last year when I was reading the book.



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