Madame Bovary Part 2, Ch. 1-4

1. blaspheming (page 91) : speaking of or addressing with irreverence

2. This section starts off by giving a description of Yonville, the place where Emma and Charles are moving. Upon arriving at the town, they discover that there is not much there other than the inn, the graveyard, and the pharmacy. The pharmacy is owned by a man named Homais who eats a meal every Sunday with the Bovarys, and Leon, a boarder at the inn. During these meals Charles and Homais discuss medicine and Emma and Leon bond instantly by discovering the things that they both like. Only a little while after moving to Yonville, Emma gives birth to a baby girl named Berthe, even though she desperately wished for a boy. One day, Emma decided that she wanted to go see her baby, but on the way she was overcome with weakness and she encountered Leon, so she asked him to come along. This is when the town starts to suspect that the two of them are having an affair, but Charles knows nothing of it. Continuing their bonding, Leon and Emma go off on a walk together and become very romantic. Both of them love each other, however, neither one will speak of it.

3. It became very obvious to me that from the second that Leon and Emma met, there was an attraction between them. Emma thinks it is love, but Leon has another plan. He was planning ways to get rid of her even before they were romantically involved. He is telling her exactly what she wants to hear in order to make her fall in love with him. The common interests between the two of them fuels their relationship. But is it really common interest? A conversation from page 95 leads me to believe that Leon is doing exactly what he needs to do to make Emma swoon over him. It says, " I find nothing as inspiring as sunsets, " she said, "but especially at the seashore."
" Oh, I adore the sea," Monsieur Leon said.
"And don't you agree, " Madame Bovary continued, "that your spirit soars more freely over that limitless expanse? That just looking at it elevates your soul and inspires thoughts about the infinite ideal?"
"Mountain landscapes do the same," Leon said.
Leon is merely pretending to be in agreement with her in order to take advantage of Emma who is so desperate for love.

4. a) On page 101 it says, " She hoped for a son; he would be strong and dark and she would call him Georges. The thought of having a male was an anticipatory revenge for all her earlier helplessness. A man, at least, is free. He can explore passions and countries, surmount obstacles, taste the most exotice pleasures." Is the author suggesting that women are helpless or that it is society's fault that women cannot do these things?

b) In this section, there are contradicting views about what Yonville is like, does Flaubert want us to believe that it is a place with beautiful country land or that it is a place for people with no character?

c) In this time period, women were portrayed as being naive, but isn't Charles the one who is being naive? He has no idea that his wife is unhappy with their marriage, let alone that she is having an affair, even though the whole town can see what is going on.